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USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was candid and open Tuesday as he discussed his new contract extension with the Trojans and the factors that led him to stay put amidst interest from other schools.

Ultimately, he summarized it with one point that he reiterated multiple times.

"At the end of the day, I want to win a national championship. Of all the opportunities I had to do that, this is the best opportunity," he said a day after signing an extension that was reported by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman to be worth $1.2 million annually for three years.

Harrell acknowledged that he had discussions about "some head coaching opportunities," and he was also reported to be strongly pursued by Texas for the offensive coordinator position there -- in the state where he grew up, starred as a quarterback at Texas Tech and then later developed as a first-time coordinator at North Texas.

In the end, he felt comfortable enough after a year at USC to settle in and try to build on his strong start -- and it was indeed a strong start.

Harrell took a Trojans offense that ranked 84th nationally (382.6 yards per game) last season and turned it into a top-20 unit this fall. USC presently ranks 18th nationally at 462.2 yards per game heading into its Holiday Bowl matchup with Iowa.

Over the final six games, once the Trojans were done with their injury-induced quarterback roulette, Harrell's offense averaged 37.3 points and 495.5 yards per game as true freshman QB Kedon Slovis emerged into budding star. If -- and it is an if -- that total had reflected the full season, the Trojans would rank 13th nationally in scoring and 10th in total offense.

"When you have something really special, you know it. That’s a hard thing to leave," Harrell said. "With the offensive staff I get to work with, the young men I get to work with everyday, our players, it’s a great place and a great group of guys. That’s not something you really want to leave."

USC returns the bulk of its offensive starters, led by Slovis. The Trojans' top four running backs -- Markese Stepp, Stephen Carr, Vavae Malepeai and Kenan Christon -- are all eligible to return. The receiving corps should again be stocked even with Biletnikoff Award finalist Michael Pittman heading to the NFL and fellow starter Tyler Vaughns left to make a decision on whether to enter the draft or return -- either way, Amon-Ra St. Brown will be primed for an even larger role as a junior, Drake London will be back to build off a breakout second half of his freshman season and highly-touted prospects Bru McCoy and Kyle Ford will be ready to contribute as redshirt freshmen.

The offensive line situation will be interesting depending on what left tackle Austin Jackson decides regarding the NFL draft, as the Trojans are already losing right tackle Drew Richmond from a unit that is lacking proven depth, but regardless the USC offense is loaded for 2020.

"The most important thing ... is the guys you’re around, the people you’re around in the office and players you have, and I think here -- I've said it a million times since I've been here -- we have a really special group of not only young men in the locker room, but a great group of guys that I get to work with every day," Harrell said.

"... I talked to some people about some head coaching opportunities. Again, this is just too good of a place. It’s a special situation. It’s a good situation. It’s a great group of people that we’re around. Again, at the end of the day, I want to win a national championship. And I think, to be honest with you, of all the opportunities I had to do that this is your best opportunity. ... It's too good of a spot to leave right now."

What Harrell did have to weigh, though, was the potential opportunity to return home if Texas had followed through with an offer.

He acknowledged that was something he had to at least consider.

"Texas will always be home at the end of the day, so for sure, that's tough. That side of it was probably the most appealing part of some of the opportunities, especially down that direction, is getting back home," Harrell said. "But my wife, she's starting to think this is home. ... This is a special place and it's a special city, and there's something for everyone here. Even some Texans, there's still something for us out here. It's a good place, it really is.

"Like I said, my wife thinks she lives in paradise and my son, he lives with Mickey Mouse and the beach. So they're happy, and if they're happy, that helps the cause. ... Texas will always be home, and at some point I'll probably live there again -- probably when I'm retired. But when you look at jobs and when you look at opportunities and when you look at, again, a chance to win a national championship and work with great people and do that with great people, this just leads me back [to this being] the best spot."

In addition to consulting with his wife, his father, his agents -- "They probably don’t always agree with the moves I make," he said -- Harrell also confided in and consulted with his Texas support staff. He brought in fellow former Texas Tech QB Seth Doege and former Abilene Christian QB John David Baker as offensive quality control analysts after he arrived last winter. They carpool to work and run laps together after practice -- routines that won't have to be disrupted thanks to this new contract extension.

Meanwhile, head coach Clay Helton discussed the importance of keeping Harrell in the program.

“With Graham, I thought that we needed to be proactive [rather] than reactive. I’m thankful to Mr. Bohn to be able to provide those resources. I’m thankful to Graham. He sees what’s going on here," Helton said. "Anytime that you have success and you’re one of the better coaches in the country, in my opinion, people are going to come after you. But these kids have fallen in love with him. He’s doing a tremendous job here. He knows the future that we have and he can see it with the kids that are on this field, a very young freshman and sophomore team. And he wants to be part of something special.

"So it wasn’t a really hard sell. He enjoys this place, he enjoys our kids and he’s doing a great job. So I’m really, really happy that he’s here."