EUGENE – The coach carousel is already spinning just two full weeks into college football season and Mario Cristobal of Oregon, who has finished with the biggest win of his career in the state of Ohio, has been mentioned in numerous lists of possible candidates for USC.
Asked during an appearance on the Doug Gottlieb Show what his response would be to being mentioned in connection with USC work, which opened Monday after Clay Helton was fired after a loss at Stanford, Cristobal said : “My answer is Go Ducks.”
Pressed on whether he would at least hold a conversation about opening at USC, Cristobal repeated himself.
“I say it, telling you again Go Ducks,” he said. “I’m not sure why you took me to this interview, I had the impression we were talking about the Oregon Ducks and everything. Since we go this route, I will reinforce it again, Go Ducks ”.
Oregon is 2-0 against USC under Cristobal’s lead, including a 31-24 victory in last year’s Pac-12 Championship game at the LA Coliseum.
Cristobal signed a new contract last December that extends through the 2025 season and his purchase is $ 9 million through Jan. 14. He’s earning $ 4.3 million this season, in addition to a $ 300,000 retention bonus and can qualify for just over $ 2 million in performance bonuses.