Former Steelers WR Lynn Swann Resigns as USC Athletic Director

Former Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann has resigned as the athletic director at his alma mater USC.

“Lynn has been a leader on and off the field at USC for nearly five decades, and he will forever be a valued member of the Trojan family,” USC president Carol Folt said in a press release.

Swann, 67, had been the Trojans’ athletic director since 2016. The USC football team had a rocky 2018, with the school’s first five-win finish since 2000 coming on the heels of back-to-back New Year’s Day bowl game appearances under Clay Helton in 2016 and 2017.

Swann’s decision to stick with Helton for 2019 was unpopular in some circles. USC started its season 2-0 with wins over Fresno State and then-No. 23 Stanford at home in Los Angeles.
Swann was previously the co-owner of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League from 2011-14. He was the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 and was the chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport from 2002-05. Swann was a broadcaster for ABC sports from 1976-06.

He retired from the Steelers and the NFL at the end of the 1982 season. The team’s first-round pick in the 1974 NFL Draft, he amassed 5,462 yards and 51 touchdowns over nine seasons and won four Super Bowls.