LOS ANGELES_USC is about to land Kliff Kingsbury. Now comes the hard part.
Coach Clay Helton has to hand over the offense to him. Entirely.
Kingsbury's ideas can't be implemented half way. No hybrid system. If his version of the Air Raid Offense is going to work at USC, the Trojans have to be all in.
Kingsbury's wide-open spread system would mark a major break from the program's ground-based tradition.
Sure, the Trojans use some spread concepts and their quarterback now operates out of the shotgun on most plays. But the foundation of their offense remains the running game, with Helton continuing to preach the importance of a balanced attack.
This will be as much of a shift for Helton individually as it will be for the program as a whole. Helton is an offensive coach. When the Trojans slumped offensively this year, he reclaimed playcalling responsibilities from since-dismissed coordinator Tee Martin.
What Helton has to do is move into more of a CEO-type role and let Kingsbury do whatever he did to make Texas Tech one of the highest-scoring teams in the country. Kingsbury will inherit a group that can make his system work, with JT Daniels throwing to a group of talented receivers that include Amon-ra St. Brown, Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Vaughns.
Any gamble that involves the longstanding identity of a program is a considerable risk. Then again, the Trojans are in a position where they have to make that wager. Another year like this one and Helton is out of work. Another year like this year and the renovated Coliseum could be empty next season.
