Mike Bohn's New USC Job Begins With One Big Job

Can Mike Bohn land Urban Meyer? It's the elephant in the room as he begins his tenure as the USC athletic director.

Courtesy of USC Athletics/John McGillen

LOS ANGELES -- The first reference was subtle but intentional, as it came at the conclusion of his opening statement. He then repeated himself when asked about expectations for the football coach and once more in regards to improving the athletic department.

The longtime AD with no previous affiliation to USC summoned its most recognizable slogan, except he emphasized the last two words -- “Fight on to victory.”

Winning is the part of the journey that new athletic director Mike Bohn will ultimately be judged by.

“It’s more than fight on,” Bohn asserted at his introductory conference Thursday. “It’s fight on to victory, is the line. And it’s in our fight song, it’s an iconic song. It’s one of the best. I’ve had it on my playlist since I was a kid. So I get it. But it is more than that, it’s on to victory. So let’s keep our eye on the ball associated with the things we want to try and instill.”

To that end, Bohn has been brought in to bring back victory to USC. His first move is a matter of when not if. His second, and it’s the one that could define his entire tenure, is a matter of who.

There were two elephants in the room as he fielded questions for the first time as the Trojans’ AD: What’s up with Clay Helton, and what’s up with Urban Meyer?

Regarding the former, Bohn’s comments suggested Helton’s days are numbered. In fact, he called it “premature” to say whether the fourth-year coach would even remain through the end of the regular season.

“Just like any program, this time of year we expect him to finish strong,” Bohn said. “I mentioned fight on and the sense of being able to do that. But it’s also fight on to victory. It’s important to win. You heard the president talking about winning. I’m not trying to add more pressure to him or the student athletes that represent him, but we always want to finish strong.

“Good programs finish strong, so the idea is we want to see him and his team finish strong, and I’m going to do everything I can to support those young men and those coaches and everybody tied to the program to do exactly that.”

Sources reiterated to SI on Thursday that Helton could be dismissed this weekend should USC lose at Arizona State. Bohn, interestingly, will not be in attendance.

“I’ll be watching it on TV just like I watched the Oregon game,” said Bohn, who’d already planned to return to Cincinnati for a farewell and added that he’ll return to Los Angeles on Sunday and be back in his new office on Monday.

He has also yet to meet Helton.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people about Coach,” Bohn said. “But I’m anxious to meet him.”

Someone the former Cincinnati AD knows a bit more is Meyer, whom he denied was the cause of any delay in him accepting USC's offer. He did, however, stress that the process took longer because he, President Carol Folt and her leadership team were “building alignment.” Perhaps as important, Folt was asked directly if there are any limitations on who Bohn could pursue for a football coach.

Her full response: "No."

Bohn obviously did not mention Meyer by name, but he did call upon three key areas currently lacking as it concerns the football team. Suffice it to say, he knows how hiring Meyer would transform a program trending in the wrong direction in performance, recruiting and attendance for the second year in a row.

“It’d be premature to be talking about coaches or any situation when I’ve just arrived,” Bohn said. “I’m in the process of learning and trying to listen. But again, I have a good sense of really quickly being able to connect and find out how we’re doing and where we’re going, and I want to impact recruiting. And I recognize the importance. …

“Southern California is critical for us to ensure that we are viable in recruiting, that we are viable in outreach, we’re viable in attendance at our games and intensity of interest that supports our program.”

The support, as sources have indicated for weeks, is there from prominent boosters to offer Meyer. That initiative was in motion long before Bohn was on board. It’s now his job to finalize it.

The university popped its "Trojan Family" bubble in making Bohn its ninth athletic director. If Thursday is any indication, he’ll bring passion, he'll bring teamwork, and he’ll bring experience.

But will he bring winning?

Bohn was asked twice Thursday what exactly his expectations are for the football program. It’s a question that was never clearly answered by his predecessor. Bohn alluded to winning national titles but again called it premature to say when would be a reasonable timeline for the team to get back to that position.

We’ll find out soon if Bohn can deliver on the two words USC fans want most.

-- Adam Maya is a USC graduate and has been covering the Trojans since 2003. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJMaya.