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--USC FOOTBALL HEAD COACH CLAY HELTON’S CONTRACT EXTENDED THROUGH 2023 SEASON
LOS ANGELES--Defending Pac-12 champion USC football’s head coach Clay Helton, who has won nearly 75% of his games and is the first Trojan coach in history to have 10-win seasons in each of his first two full seasons, has had his contract extended through the 2023 season, Trojan athletic director Lynn Swann announced today (Feb. 6). Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We have lofty goals at USC and Clay can get us to those goals,” said Swann. “He has shown that he can lead our team with integrity and stability and that he has the ability to win conference and national championships. I am happy with the job Clay has done so far. He has made good progress and is moving our program forward. Winning national championships is a process and Clay has built a championship foundation through consistently successful recruiting, hiring outstanding assistant coaches and providing a vision for our program.”
Said Helton, a 2-time Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year Award finalist: “Coaching at USC has been the most special opportunity of my life and I am so pleased to continue the journey toward championships here. I would like to thank President Max Nikias, Athletic Director Lynn Swann and the USC administration for the tremendous opportunity that they have given to me and my staff. All of us associated with the USC football program are extremely fortunate to have the level of support provided to us here.”
Helton, 45, has a 27-10 overall record (73.0%) at USC, with 9 victories over AP Top 25 teams, including 3 in the Top 5. He posted more wins (21) in his first 2 full seasons than any previous USC coach. He is 16-0 in the Coliseum, with his active 16-game home winning streak and 12-game Pac-12 home winning streak both being the longest at USC since 2001-04. He also led USC to a since-snapped 13-game overall winning streak, including 12-straight over Power 5 opponents. He is 20-5 (80.0%) against Pac-12 foes.
In 2017, his Trojans were 11-3 despite playing all 12 regular season games without a bye. It was USC’s most wins since 2008 and its first back-to-back 10-win seasons since 2007-08. He led USC to an 8-1 Pac-12 record and its first Pac-12 title since 2008 by winning the Pac-12 Championship Game (the first ever by a South Division team) en route to an appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic. He was the 2017 AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year. USC’s 484.1 yards of total offense in 2017 was its highest average since 2005 (and that was on the heels of 2016’s 477.1, the previous high since 2005). The Trojans had at least 600 yards of total offense 3 times in 2017 (the other Pac-12 teams combined had 6). USC’s defense tied for the national lead in sacks (46).
After his Trojans started off 1-3 in 2016 in his first full season as head coach (all 3 losses were to AP Top 25 teams away from home), USC went on a 9-game winning streak to rise to a No. 3 national AP final ranking (USC’s highest since 2008 and the highest ever of any 3-loss team) and earn a berth in the Rose Bowl while playing a schedule ranked among the 10 most difficult in the nation. Troy capped the season with an instant classic 52-49 at-the-gun victory over No. 5 Penn State in the Rose Bowl. He guided USC to wins over UCLA and Notre Dame and in the Rose Bowl in 2016, just the 13th season that has happened in Trojan history. USC was perfect (6-0) at home in 2016 for the first time since 2008. His Trojans beat both teams (No. 4 Washington and No. 21 Colorado) that played in the 2016 Pac-12 Championship Game. USC’s offense had at least 400 total yards in its last 10 games of 2016, while its defense held 7 opponents to season lows in points.
Helton twice served as USC’s interim head coach, first guiding the Trojans to a victory in the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl and then for USC’s final 7 regular season games in 2015 (winning 5 of them) before being named permanent head coach prior to USC’s 2 post-season games that year.
Helton came to USC in 2010 as the quarterbacks coach, then added the passing game coordinator duty in 2012 and the offensive coordinator role in 2013.
