Posted on 09/13/2021 2:47:45 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
USC athletic director Mike Bohn announced Monday that Clay Helton is out as head coach of the Trojans.
Cornerbacks coach Donte Williams will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Bohn and Helton addressed the team and delivered the news during a regular Monday meeting.
“Clay is one of the finest human beings I have met in this industry, and he has been a tremendous role model and mentor to our young men,” Bohn said in a statement released by the USC Athletics department. “We appreciate his many years of service to our university and wish him nothing but the very best. Consistent with our values as an institution, he deserves the utmost respect from the Trojan Family during this transition.”
Helton took over as the permanent USC head coach in late-2015 after serving as interim for much of that season. He posted a 46-24 record and went 2-3 in bowl games (one win as an interim head coach). USC is coming off a blowout loss to Stanford, dropping its 2021 record to 1-1 and falling out of the national polls.
“Our university and its leadership are committed to winning national championships and restoring USC football to glory,” Bohn said in the statement. “I accept the enormous responsibility I have to our current and former players and the entire Trojan Family to live up to our incredible heritage.”
The firing comes just two games into the 2021 season, but this has been building. Helton helped the Trojans to a Rose Bowl win and a Pac-12 title in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but USC went just 5-7 in 2018 and lost five games in 2019.
“As I committed to upon my arrival at USC, during the past two off-seasons we provided every resource necessary for our football program to compete for championships,” Bohn said in his message announcing the change. “The added resources carried significantly increased expectations for our team’s performance, and it is already evident that, despite the enhancements, those expectations would not be met without a change in leadership.”
Bohn said USC will begin a national search for its next permanent head coach.
Are there any all-u-can-eat buffets around the USC campus? Asking for a friend.
There is a balancing act between acting rashly and waiting too long so long-term damage can occur. A proven coach is going to get much more slack than an unproven one. If Lake can turn it around before the end of the season, then this putrid play can be chalked up as a learning curve but if he can't, I'm in favor of bringing someone else in.
...and their team mascot was George Tirebiter...a stray mutt lovingly adopted by the team and school. And the school was a methodist school...the football team in early years were called the Methodists or fighting methodists or the wesleyans....when they were financially and athletically struggling in early 1900’s...they were struggling against tough tough odds so the moniker “trojans” was given and stuck due to their resilience against all odds. Ain’t the same now.
Southern Calif. has some of the best young players in the nation.
Too many go to Oregon, Washington or elsewhere.
USC and UCLA recruit poorly.
Simple deal.
Haven’t you all heard the saying, “Third time’s the charm”. And everybody knows it’s 3 strikes before you are really out.
University of South Carolina. At least they play in a major conference. And they had a few good games under Spurrier.
Wasn't he 0-11 in his first season at USC, and his parting gift was 3 years of NCAA probation for the program. 5 major violations, but he never paid a player at USC.
In college ball, it’s all about recruiting.
Sweet Lou is 83 now. I don’t think he wants the headache of turning another program around.
Saw his Notre Dame team play dirty. Not so great. Hits in the backfield when play at other end of field etc.
Easy to recruit If you have loads of games on national tv.
The best players in college want exposure so as to get drafted high in to the NFL.
Hard to get major exposure playing for say Florida International as opposed to Alabama.
And Pac-12 teams usually play late at night, not as many people watching those games on the East Coast.
The Rev. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, still watches over the campus from atop Bovard Tower. Over the past several years, he has surely been disgusted as he watched political correctness and wokeness take hold at USC as the football team went into decline. But what happened yesterday undoubtedly cheered him up.
Oh please. I saw him more than once run onto the field to reprimand players who had been flagged for misbehavior. Holt did not tolerate it.
Larry Scott, the former Pac 12 boss who was heartily hated by Pac 12 football fans (who booed him when he appeared at games), was a big believer in 7:45 PM kickoffs (meaning that most fans would arrive home after midnight if they stayed for the entire game). He also loved weekday games. At USC, which is next to the stadium, these games interfered with the school's academic mission as students had to compete with fans to find parking and crowds of fans disrupted classes. Weekday games also tie up commuter traffic. Yet he insisted that we play at least one weekday game each season.
With Scott gone, here's hoping we can get better scheduling.
I was also at that game in Cowboy Stadium. I wasn't happy about the result, but I always enjoy visiting Texas.
Like mattress-burning warm.
George Tirebiter with a stack of tires.
Saw his team’s dirty play right in front of me. Be that as it may, maybe we shouldn’t blame coaches for what others do. Paterno for Sandusky, Carroll for the actions of a players step father, or for Holtz’s dirty players.
See and believe whatever you are predisposed to do. I will stick with the finest, and cleanest, football program among all major colleges. And it ain’t USC.
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