The USC has fired head coach Clay Hilton.
The decision was made on Monday following the Trojans’ Saturday night home defeat at Stanford. At a loss, the Trojans trailed 42-13 in the fourth quarter and eventually lost 42-28.
Mike Bohan, director of USC Athletics Athletics, said he informed Hilton of the decision Monday afternoon. The team’s cornerback coach Donte Williams has been appointed interim head coach.
The USC has fired head coach Clay Hilton.
The decision was made on Monday following the Trojans’ Saturday night home defeat at Stanford. At a loss, the Trojans trailed 42-13 in the fourth quarter and eventually lost 42-28.
Mike Bohan, director of USC Athletics Athletics, said he informed Hilton of the decision Monday afternoon. The team’s cornerback coach Donte Williams has been appointed interim head coach.
Helton later released his own statement, thanking the Trojans for the opportunity as head coach and promising that he would be happy for the team.
Halton first became head coach of the Trojans in 2015 after the dismissal of Steve Sarkisian. Initially, Hilton was the interim head coach of the event. The following year, then-AD Pat Hayden picked up the interim tag and made Hilton head coach full-time.
The Trojans went 21-6 together in Helton’s first two seasons, winning the Rose Bowl in 2016 and the PAC-12 title in 2017. From there, things started to fall apart.
USC went 5-7 in 2018, the program’s first losing record since 2000. Still, Eddie Lynn Swann later decided to keep Hilton as head coach. In 2019, USC had another disappointing season, going 8-5 with an ugly defeat to Iowa in the Holiday Bowl. In the Epidemic-less 2020 season, the Trojans went 5-0 in the regular season but lost to Oregon in the Pack-12 title game.
Helton, who has a 46-24 record and 36-13 points in the PAC-12 game, could not regain the USC of national importance he gained under the leadership of PST Carroll.
Eventually Undoing Helton proved to be the case, as the recruitment program was reduced – especially at the local level. A.D., a second-year schoolboy, says he plans to take the event back to the national championship level.
Bohan said the university will conduct a national search for a new head coach in the next few months.
The USC has now made a significant start on the rest of the college football coaching carousel. Will it benefit?
Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel has looked at a number of potential candidates for the job, including several Power Five head coaches such as Penn State’s James Franklin, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Oregon’s Mario Cristobal. Another notable name is Luke Fickel of Cincinnati, who worked under Bohan when Bohan was the athletic director at Cincinnati.
