Two months have passed since USC athletic director Mike Bohn announced the firing of head coach Clay Helton, and began searching for his successor. At this time, the Trojans' nationwide process is still ongoing.
Although the school hasn't name-dropped top candidates, a national search means that they're big-game hunting. And according to CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel, USC should be targeting Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly.
"Brian Kelly has done everything in the coaching world except win a national title," Neuheisel told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. "And the likelihood of winning one at Notre Dame is small, given that your admission standards just don't let you recruit the defensive line talent you need, especially depth at that front. He's proven he can get to the Playoff, but to get over that hump, taking his formula and operation to Southern California would be a huge deal.
"And who wouldn't mind a little sunshine at this point in your career? And with that being said, [Pac-12 commissioner] George Kliavkoff would stamp that with an unbelievable golden seal of approval to get the Trojans back going for the Pac-12's wellbeing... Kelly has done everything he can at Notre Dame... You've done it all, gone past the immortals. So, why not get in the sun and see if you can take the Trojans... I don't think there'd even be any bad blood."
Kelly, who took over as head coach of Notre Dame back in 2010, has led the program to 11 winning seasons, and two trips to the College Football Playoff. In September, Kelly surpassed coaching legend Knute Rockne with 106 wins with the school, although the NCAA doesn't acknowledge 21 of those games due to penalties. This year, the Fighting Irish are 9-1 overall, currently ranked eighth in the CFP rankings.
Helton's tenure at USC was disappointing. Although he led the program to a Rose Bowl victory in 2017, he was unable to take advantage of the Pac-12's downturn in six seasons. Overall, the Trojans won just one conference title under Helton's watch, and failed to reached the CFP. Entering this weekend, USC (4-5) sits in fourth place in the Pac-12 South standings.
The entire college football conversation between Neuheisel and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.