The reports Friday morning that USC is set to hire Cincinnati's Mike Bohn as its new athletic director surely sent fans scrambling to Google to learn more about the well-traveled athletics administrator.
Bohn is an experienced AD with tenures at Idaho (1998-2003), San Diego State (2003-05), Colorado (2005-13) and Cincinnati (since 2014).
But what has he done in those stops?
Here's a breakdown of Bohn's major coaching hires and how they fared:
Idaho (1998-2003)
Bohn's first major hire came in 1999 when football coach Chris Tormey left Idaho for Nevada, and Bohn hired Tom Cable to replace him. Cable was the offensive coordinator at Colorado at the time, and while his career would ultimately lead him greater heights in the future with a stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, he did not have success at Idaho. Cable went 11-35 in four seasons, winning 5 games his first year and just 6 over the next three seasons.
In 2001, Bohn hired men's basketball coach Leonard Perry, who would go 48-97 over five seasons, and women's basketball coach Mike Divilbiss, who would have just two winning seasons in seven years while bottoming out with 6-22 and 4-25 seasons his last two campaigns.
San Diego State (2003-05)
Bohn left for San Diego State in October of 2003 and inherited football coach Tom Craft, who was in the midst of a 6-6 season. Craft would remain the head coach during Bohn's time there, following with 4-7 and 5-7 seasons.
Bohn didn't have to make any hires with the men's basketball program either, as Steve Fisher was already in place would remain the head coach until 2017.
Colorado (2005-13)
This is perhaps the best gauge of Bohn's work as an athletic director given the substantial tenure and multiple hirings to evaluate.
After taking over as Colorado's AD in April of 2005, Bohn made a relatively quick decision to part ways with longtime football coach Gary Barnett after just one season together. The Buffaloes went 7-6 in that 2005 season and Bohn reached a $3 million settlement with Barnett, who had led the program for seven years. The amount of the buyout ruffled some in the Colorado Board of Regents, but it showed that Bohn was decisive when he determined a change was needed.
That said, none of the hirings that followed panned out.
Bohn hired Dan Hawkins, who was a trendy target nationally after his success at Boise State, but Hawkins went 19-39 in five seasons at Colorado while never producing a winning record.
Next was Jon Embree, a former Buffaloes player, who had been a well-traveled assistant coach in both the college and NFL ranks and was a bit of an off-the-radar hire after serving as a tight ends coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins in his most recent stops. Embree went 3-10 and 1-11 in his two seasons at Colorado -- the program's first two seasons in the Pac-12. He went out with a scathing press conference.
Again, Bohn showed no hesitation making a quick decision -- even if it was admitting his own mistake -- and he then hired Mike Macintyre, who would go 30-44 in six seasons at Colorado (including a 10-4 campaign in 2016 after Bohn had left for Cincinnati).
Meanwhile, with the men's basketball program, Bohn hired Jeff Bzdelik after the 2006-07 season. Bzdelik, a former NBA head coach, had won 50 games in two seasons at Air Force before joining Colorado, but he went just 36-58 with the Buffaloes while producing three losing seasons. He left on his own accord to become head coach at Wake Forest.
Bohn replaced Bzdelik with Tad Boyle, who was coming off a 25-8 season at nearby Northern Colorado. Boyle proved to be a good hire, winning at least 21 games in four of his first five seasons including four NCAA Tournament appearances. He is still the Buffs' head coach.
Bohn was let go by Colorado in May of 2013 and voiced his disagreement with the decision publicly. He would later be hired by Cincinnati in February of 2014.
Cincinnati (2014-present)
Bohn inherited football coach Tommy Tuberville, who had gone 9-4 in his first season and would repeat that record in the 2014 as well before following with seasons of 7-6 and 4-8. He resigned after that 2016 season.
Bohn then hired Luke Fickell, who had spent one season (2011) as the interim head coach at Ohio State and remained on staff with the Buckeyes under Urban Meyer. Fickell has proved to be a good hire for Cincinnati. After going 4-8 in 2017, he has led the Bearcats to an 11-2 record last year and a 6-1 mark so far this season.
Meanwhile, Bohn had inherited a good situation with the Cincinnati men's basketball program with Mick Cronin as head coach. Cronin would leave last April to take the UCLA job, and Bohn hired John Brannen as head coach. Brannen went 81-51 in four seasons at Northern Kentucky and was coming off a 26-9 season and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Verdict
It's tough to apply Bohn's track record of coaching hires to what he will be able to do at USC. Idaho and Colorado are tough places to win, and most celebrated Bohn's hiring of Hawkins at the time. Embree might have seemed a reach, but Bohn will have far more clout to make a football coaching hire at USC when that time comes, so there's really no direct comparison.
His hiring of Fickell has proved to be a strong one for Cincinnati, as was his hiring of Boyle for the Colorado basketball program.
Ultimately, USC football fans have their sights set on one name -- Urban Meyer. If the Trojans move on from Clay Helton after this season and don't end up with Meyer, there will be disappointment by many in the fan base regardless of whom Bohn hires.
The first decision, of course, is what Bohn decides to do regarding Helton. His track record shows he has not hesitated to make a quick determination to change course.
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