USC Fires Head Coach Clay Helton
USC's time (and patience) with head coach Clay Helton has finally reached the end of its course, as the prominent program has decided to part ways with Helton after initially being hired in 2015. Helton departs the Trojans with a 46-24 record over that time.
The final straw was a 42-28 home loss to rival Stanford over the weekend. The Trojans, highly expected to win the Pac-12 South division entering the preseason, fell completely out of the AP top 25 rankings released yesterday.
USC athletics director Mike Bohn announced Helton's departure in a statement Monday.
"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," said Bohn. "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."
Donte Williams has been named as an interim head coach while USC will start the search for a new head coach. It's difficult to imagine the Trojans rescuing their season after a start no fan had hoped for. Matchups with ranked teams such as Notre Dame, Arizona State, UCLA and BYU still await the Trojans.
Donnie Druin is a Deputy Editor with AllSunDevils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSunDevils @AllSunDevils. Like and follow AllSunDevils on Facebook, and for more ASU news visit https://www.si.com/college/arizonastate/