USC TEs coach John David Baker talks Graham Harrell connection, new job

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Well before USC tight ends coach John David Baker and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell were coaching colleagues, they had formed a friendship during the football offseason in Abilene, Texas.

Baker was a quarterback at Abilene Christian from 2010-13, overlapping that first year with Clark Harrell, whose older brother Graham was on the roster with the Green Bay Packers and would retreat to Abilene after his season.

"He and I just started hanging out, to be honest with you. We'd hang out in Abilene, Texas, there wasn't much to do. We'd drive around town, and that's about it. That's about the extent of how it got started," Baker said this week.

Harrell's father and grandfather had been high school football coaches in Texas, so coaching was a logical path for him once his playing career was over, and Baker always knew the profession was in his future eventually too.

They just didn't know back then how their paths would unfold together.

"We’re about as close to brothers as you can get without actually being brothers," Baker said of his connection with Harrell. "We’ve known each other for a long time. The cool thing about us is our relationship was forged as a friendship before it was colleagues. So we have a lot of trust in each other. We’re pretty close."

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Harrell and his brothers used to have a passing camp in Texas, and Baker started working with them there, forming the origin of what would become a trusted coaching connection.

Harrell jumped into college coaching as a wide receivers coach at Washington State under his former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach in 2014 and 2015, while Baker spent those seasons as a graduate transfer at his alma mater.

Then Harrell got the North Texas offensive coordinator job in 2016 and brought on Baker as a quality control coach. Three years later when Harrell accepted the USC OC job, he brought Baker with him, also as a quality control offensive analyst.

Again, though, they were friends before colleagues and Baker was involved in that process from the start as Harrell evaluated the Trojans offer.

"Really, when the whole thing got started, he asked me what I thought about it and had me kind of look at it," Baker said. "I was like, 'Man, I don't know what happened the year before, but I know they're really talented. I think they would fit what we do really well. You've turned down a lot of situations, I think this might be the one you might want to really consider.' And once he came here and got a feel for Coach Helton and for this place, I think it was a no-brainer."

The same goes for this past offseason as Harrell garnered interest from other colleges and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles while deciding each time to remain at USC and continue building on what he had established last fall.

"We consult quite a bit about that kind of stuff. Like I said, we were friends before we were ever colleagues," Baker said. "He has a close-knit circle of people that he trusts. So when he goes through that stuff, he’s very analytical in how he thinks about things. He tries to see things from every angle. He was blessed with a lot of different offers. When he sat down and looked at it, he thought this was the best one."

While Baker's job title last season wasn't necessarily prominent, he was nonetheless plenty involved in USC's offensive preparations because of that trust he shares with Harrell. And as the Trojans' staff shakeup unfolded this winter, a spot opened up to make him a full-fledged assistant.

He was back home in Texas when head coach Clay Helton called him to make it official.

"I was fired up. It’s what you work for," Baker said. "Long hours, there’s a lot of time when you sit and wonder, is this really happening, is it going to happen? Then it finally does. I couldn’t be more grateful to Coach Helton and Coach Harrell for their belief in me."

Baker replaces John Baxter, USC's former special teams coordinator who took on tight end responsibilities last season as well. Baker said his approach doesn't change now that's he's an official assistant coach. He says ultimately the job is about building relationships and that's why he chose this career in the first place.

And through that relationship he's formed with Harrell, he's been immersed in all facets of the offense enough to feel comfortable taking on coaching the tight ends as a former quarterback.

"To be honest with you, working closely with Graham, you don’t necessarily prepare yourself as a quarterback coach. You prepare as an offensive coordinator," Baker said. "Kind of like the quarterback of the offense, you better know everybody’s job. So working close with him, I’m honestly prepared to be an offensive coordinator. I’ve known the job of everybody on the field, so to me, it’s an easy transition."