We continue our conversation with Rams Wire writer and contributing analyst Brock Vierra. We examine USC football, the coaching carousel, and the 2024 NFL draft, among other subjects.
Trojans Wire: Where did it all go wrong for the Trojans this year, currently sitting at 7-5?
Vierra: The obvious answer is the defense, but the real answer is the offseason. USC did not do enough in the portal to make up for the losses of Jordan Addison, Andrew Voorhees, Mekhi Blackmon and others.
Dorian Singer was good but didn’t elevate the offense in the way desired. The offensive line was poor and, well, we know about the defense. USC did not prioritize fixing their massive deficiencies and it showed.
Trojans Wire: Chip Kelly did beat USC this weekend but is still on the hot seat. Should UCLA look at Kliff Kingsbury as their next head coach ?
Vierra: No. Kliff Kingsbury has done nothing to prove he deserves another P-5 (Power Five) job. He had the greatest QB of our generation in Pat Mahomes and yet averaged 5.3 wins a season at Texas Tech with the star QB.
He isn’t a winner, a good recruiter or a good college head coach. UCLA is a hard place to win at. Their stadium is almost an hour away from campus. People really don’t care about UCLA football and UCLA’s current success is a direct result of the fact that Chip Kelly can actually build a balanced offense and defense.
Kliff would never survive in the Big Ten and UCLA shouldn’t put themselves in position to give a coach another buyout.
Trojans Wire: Ending on a positive note, do you have a current NFL comparison for Brenden Rice of USC, who was another bright spot oustside of Caleb Williams this year?
Vierra: Donovan Peoples-Jones of the Cleveland Browns is a solid comp for Rice at the next level.
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