LOS ANGELES (AP) Mike Bohn took over as athletic director at Southern California on Nov. 7. His first major assignment was to assess the state of the football program and determine whether Clay Helton would continue to be the Trojans' head coach.

He had about two weeks to make a decision that could potentially cost USC tens of millions of dollars, regardless of which way it went.

Instead of changing head coaches, USC's new leadership team of Bohn and President Carol Folt chose to upgrade around Helton - from assistant coaches to tighten up a chronically leaky defense and special teams to graphic designers to bring the program's recruiting apparatus into the 21st century.