USC Hires Interim Head Coach Clay Helton as Trojans New Head Coach

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The search for a new head coach at USC did not take long and athletic director Pat Haden did not have to go far hiring interim head coach Clay Helton as the Trojans new head coach on Monday.

Helton has twice been named interim head coach of the Trojans but had more time to prove his worth on the second time around taking over for Steve Sarkisian after a 3-2 start to the 2015 season. Under Helton, the Trojans posted a 5-2 record, were undefeated at home, and trounced UCLA 40-21 over the weekend winning the Pac-12 South Division for the right to play Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Rumors had been floating that former Oregon Ducks head coach, current Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Chip Kelly was a top target for USC. Whether backroom dealings stalled or all the talk was just talk, USC now has a direction going forward able to focus on recruiting and righting the ship going forward.

Haden released a statement regarding Helton’s hiring reading, “After weeks of searching the collegiate and pro ranks, interviewing candidates, and speaking with head coaches, athletic directors, NFL executives, and very knowledgeable football people, and after observing Clay in action the past seven weeks, it became abundantly clear that what we were searching for in a coach was right here in front of us. Choosing a coach is an inexact science. In Clay’s case, there is exactness. We have a man with unquestioned integrity. He is a fantastic person and he is real. Clay is a leader of young men. He is a terrific communicator. He brings high character, stability, continuity, consistency, toughness and resiliency to our program.

“We have known Clay well for the past six years. He earned this opportunity. He has been positive and upbeat handling adversity. He was built to be a head coach. Football is his family business. He is a coach on the rise and he will be coaching a team on the rise. As our interim head coach, Clay brought back USC’s style of physical football. I have been impressed with how hard and how inspired our team has played for him, as well as the support they have shown for him.

“Clay was not hired because his team defeated UCLA Saturday. He was not hired because many current and former players voiced their support for him. And he was not hired because he is a Trojan. He is our choice because we believe he can win Pac-12 and national championships here. Clay Helton is the right man at the right time for the USC football program.”

Haden gave himself a little bit of a reprieve in his opening statement perhaps feeling sheepish for the Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian hires. The hiring of Helton makes sense on paper but churning out USC retreads has been a disaster for the Trojans, see Kiffin and Sarkisian.

Helton, 43, has been with the USC program over the last six years after spending 10 years with the Memphis Tigers, first as a running backs coach and then four seasons as offensive coordinator and three seasons as quarterbacks coach. After being hired onto the Trojans staff in 2010, Helton became the team’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2013 working with Matt Barkley and Cody Kessler. Also in 2013, after Ed Orgeron replaced Kiffin as interim coach, Orgeron left the team before the Las Vegas Bowl after being denied the head coaching position, eventually going to Sarkisian. Helton guided USC to a win over Fresno State in his lone one-game stint as the Trojans interim head coach the first time around.

USC kicks off against Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET, with ESPN providing the coverage.

Photo credit: ktla.com; Clay Helton on the USC sidelines.