Ex-USC head coach Clay Helton ‘came running’ when offered position at Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga. (BVM) — The road to redemption lasted just two short months for Clay Helton as he was hired as Georgia Southern’s head football coach weeks after he was pushed out of USC. Helton was fired as the Trojans’ head coach on Sept. 13 after the team failed to beat Stanford in its second game of the season. Fast-forward to Nov. 2 and Helton once again sits in the driver’s seat. He replaces Chad Lunsford who was fired on Sept. 26 after he led the Eagles to a 1-3 start.
Helton plans to take no time off and will begin his duties immediately in Statesboro. His initial focus will be on recruiting and solidifying his coaching staff for the 2022 season. His immediate motivation comes after he signed a five-year, $4 million contract with Georgia Southern. When Helton left USC, he had two years left on his contract and was owed more than $10 million, according to sources.
“When I got the opportunity, I came running,” Helton told the Savannah Morning News. “I’ve experienced the civilian world. I don’t like it. I like the football world. I started [coaching] when I was 22 years old. Now I’m 49. I’ve never had to sit out a year.”
Helton started at USC in 2012 as a quarterbacks coach under Lane Kiffin. Three years later, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and in 2015 was finally given the head coach title. Through five full seasons as head coach, Helton led the Trojans to a 39-19 record overall (31-10 Sun Belt) and took home the Rose Bowl trophy in 2016 while USC finished the season ranked No. 3 in the AP poll.
Prior to his career in Los Angeles, Helton spent time on the sidelines at Duke, Houston and Memphis. He enrolled at Duke in 1995 and became a graduate assistant for the Blue Devils. He later joined his father, Kim Helton, at Houston and coached the running backs through from 1996-99. When his father retired in 1999, Helton took his talents to Memphis and coached running backs and wide receivers until 2006. He was named offensive coordinator in 2007 and served under then-head coach Tommy West for three seasons.
A Gainesville, Florida native, Helton grew up around football as his father was on the coaching staff for multiple NCAA, NFL and CFL teams. After Helton graduated high school in 1990, he became quarterback at Auburn from 1990-92 and Houston from 1993-94 to play under his father’s direction.
As Georgia Southern puts its hope in Helton to lead the Eagles into a solid postseason performance, the new head coach has the chance to restore his coaching career into its former glory. With a plethora of football talent in his new home state, the recruiting possibilities are endless, making Georgia Southern’s future — and Helton’s — one with ample upside.
