Keep your enemies closer: USC replaces Mike Bohn with rival AD

USC is hiring former Washington athletic director Jen Cohen to replace Mike Bohn.

The USC Trojans have made a splashy hire in replacing Mike Bohn with Jen Cohen as their new athletic director.

Cohen held her previous post at Washington from May 24, 2016 until Monday. She replaces the highly controversial Bohn, who famously brought Lincoln Riley to Los Angeles, but infamously resigned under less-than-stellar circumstances. Cohen had been at U-Dub for a quarter of a century, serving in all sorts of roles within the Huskies’ athletic department. This is a shocker!

Even more interesting, Washington will be joining USC and UCLA in the Big Ten in 2024 alongside major rival Oregon. Cohen will be competing against her former employer in new-look Big Ten.

Let’s discuss what this major move could potentially mean for both West Coast football powers.

USC Trojans hire former Washington Huskies athletic director Jen Cohen

I hate to say it, but Washington always seemed like a stepping stone job for an athletic director. No doubt about it, Washington is a fantastic school with a rich tradition in athletics, but this is USC we are talking about! Cohen had long been one of the most respected athletic directors in the Power Five, which makes this a perfect hire for the Trojans who can never to get out of their own way…

For USC, this is a fantastic hire. Cohen brought stability to Washington athletics. Most importantly, she is not from the Trojan Family. Although Bohn wasn’t either, we all had a feeling that USC could potentially resort back to its old ways and hire some former football player who played for the Trojans in the 1970s or 1980s to run the operation. Simply, Cohen is more than qualified for this.

Cohen may not get to hire her choice of head football coach, but going from Kalen DeBoer to Riley is a sizable upgrade. Frankly, should she need to hire a new coach at some point, the DeBoer hiring away from Fresno State shows us she has a great eye for coaching talent. Frankly, anything was going to be better than the unmitigated disaster that was Jimmy Lake. What is Washington to do?

Because it is a flagship university in a major state, Washington should be able to land someone excellent to replace Cohen. In all honesty, it may serve them to hire someone who is well-versed with the Big Ten to help hasten the transition from the Pac-12 even faster. Conversely, it may be a good opportunity to hire an athletic director at the Group of Five level, looking to prove their worth.

For now, USC fans have to be ecstatic in the university’s ability to pry Cohen out from Washington.