USC coaching search heat check 3.0: The latest hottest — and coldest — candidates

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell looks on against Navy on Oct. 23.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati head coach: I went to Cincinnati in late September to learn more about Fickell and assess whether he would be able to uproot his wife and six kids from their happy Ohio rhythms to step into the adventure of a lifetime in Los Angeles. I left feeling it was unlikely — read the profile to understand why — but still possible because Fickell’s wife, mother and coaching mentors did not slam the door on USC.

After Cincinnati beat Notre Dame in South Bend, I wrote a column pointing out why I think the Bearcats’ emphatic win made it even more unlikely.

That said, due to the connection between Fickell and Bohn, who hired him at Cincinnati, he’s going to be perceived as a serious candidate up until the moment Bohn says it’s someone else.

USC fans who still have their heart set on Fickell should be rooting for No. 2 Cincinnati to miss the College Football Playoff, sending Fickell the message he needs to move to a major program to win the big prize. That still wouldn’t guarantee he would say yes to USC, though.

MOVING DOWN: James Franklin, Penn State head coach: Since the search began, Franklin sat at the top of our list, and he is still considered the favorite to land the USC job by many observers. But after Penn State’s humiliating defeat to Illinois as a 24-point favorite last Saturday, leader of the Nittany Lions has lost some of his luster.

This week I wrote an analysis of why — especially given the fresh doubt about his on-field coaching acumen — Franklin may not be worth the risk for USC.

Any vetting of Franklin by Bohn and the USC administration should include a thorough review of Franklin’s handling of a gang rape by four Vanderbilt football players while Franklin was coach in 2013. There are still many questions, most of which are probably unanswerable. Plus, Franklin would be the most expensive of the candidates, and that was the case before it came out this week he added big-gun Jimmy Sexton as his agent.

My gut says USC has legitimate reasons to cool on Franklin. We’ll see.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach: The Cyclones began the season ranked No. 7 but have lost to Iowa and Baylor. Here’s the thing, though: The shine should not come off Campbell at all. What he’s accomplished in Ames is so impressive a disappointing start does not remotely overshadow it.

Campbell’s revival of Iowa State is the closest thing we’ve seen to the miracle Bill Snyder worked at Kansas State. Snyder was much older than Campbell and decided to stay in Manhattan, and now he has a stadium named after him. Campbell could do the same in Ames. Only he knows how much of an itch he has to coach at a school where the expectation is competing for a national championship.

A mediocre 2021 season could be just what Bohn needs to persuade Campbell it’s time to move on, but Iowa State recovered last week by beating previously undefeated Oklahoma State and still controls its destiny in the Big 12.

Campbell can flat-out coach, and USC should want him. But can it get him?