Clemson Football Report: USC and Tony Elliott have mutual interest

A report from a legitimate analyst has us thinking that Clemson football fans may need to get prepared for a coaching change in the near future.

The University of Southern California recently fired its head coach Clay Helton and is now conducting a search for what Trojans fans are hoping will be the “savior” of the program.

Larry Brown Sports reported earlier this week that there is some “mutual interest” coming from USC and current Clemson football Offensive Coordinator Tony Elliott.

"According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, a number of influential USC power brokers have been “intrigued” by Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. Elliott, a California native, is said to find the prospect of returning to his home state “very intriguing” as well."

Of course, the publication points out that the intrigue and interest between the two parties doesn’t mean any deal is close to being done.

"There’s a big distance between interest in the position and actually becoming a leading candidate. Elliott has long been highly regarded in coaching circles and has attracted interest from other big schools, but has been very picky about which opportunities he wants to pursue. It remains to be seen whether the USC job would be intriguing enough for him to consider."

Tony Elliott would at least answer the call, but his loyalty to the Clemson football program still speaks volumes

There’s no doubt that Elliott would have to answer the call if USC decided that he was going to be one of its leading candidates.

Elliott’s loyalty to Clemson over the years has led to him turning down potential offers and stopping conversations before they ever formulated. That being said, this one feels a little different.

Elliott is a California native and USC– even in its current mediocre state– is still one of the most powerful programs in the nation. If he took the job, he would have a heavy arsenal of weapons, including recruiting power, booster money and facilities, all at his disposal. That would be a tough gig to turn down.

Many Clemson fans have grown stale on Tony Elliott and we understand that many Tiger fans would welcome a change, but there certainly would be an element of the unknown if Clemson had to go back to the drawing board to bring in a new Offensive Coordinator, whether that be from the outside or from promoting within with a name like Brandon Streeter.

At this point, though, this is all just hearsay and something to keep your eye on more than anything else.