Pac-12 coaching carousel: Changes reported for ASU, conflicting sources for USC, and rumors for DeRuyter

Less than twelve hours removed from the close of the regular season, the Pac-12 coaching carousel has begun to turn.

Sports Illustrated’s USC site is reporting that “multiple sources” have Clay Helton being dismissed by the Trojans.

New athletic director Mike Bohn held on to Helton during the team’s bye week in the event that the Trojans reached the Pac-12 title game. While a Utah win over Colorado on Saturday spoiled that bid and ended USC’s regular season, the university had already decided to make a coaching change, per sources. A school spokesman declined to comment Sunday morning; Helton could not be reached.

I’ll miss awkward hugs between Helton and Chip Kelly.

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

It has been widely reported that USC will target the ever-unretiring Urban Meyer and the same article cites “optimism” that the deal will happen.

But maybe not.

Pat Forde and his “multiple sources” are saying that no decisions or moves have been made yet and Helton’s fate has not yet been decided.

There’s more certainty elsewhere in the Pac-12 South, with Bruce Feldman reporting shake-ups with the Arizona State Sun Devils offensively.

Arizona State is in the bottom half of the conference in yardage, but that was with a true-freshman quarterback who performed quite impressively. Likens was a wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator for the California Golden Bears under Sonny Dykes (2013 and 2014 seasons) and has since served as offense coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Sun Devils.

Lastly, let’s hope that the carousel doesn’t turn this way—the UNLV Rebels has a vacancy for head coach and have “attracted interest” from a few Pac-12 names (Marcus Arroyo and Jim Mora), including Tim DeRuyter. Let’s all hope that we can retain DeRuyter and his defensive dominance.