A slow start to the 2021 football season, including an embarrassing 42-28 loss to Pac-12 opponent Stanford on Saturday night, has spelled the end of the seven-year tenure for Clay Helton as the head coach of the Southern California Trojans. Helton won 46 of 70 games at USC, including 5-1 in last season’s COVID-19 pandemic affected season, when the Trojans lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game. However, in the loss to Stanford, not only was the performance of USC poor, but the atmosphere at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum appeared dead throughout, likely a key factor in the quick firing of Helton, as USC looks to find traction in the L.A. sports market. Across town in Westwood, the rival UCLA Bruins are receiving the limelight, with Coach Chip Kelly off to an unbeaten start this season, including a victory at the Rose Bowl against SEC power LSU.
Cornerbacks coach Donte Williams will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season, starting with Saturday’s Pac 12 game at Washington State.
The decision to fire Helton so early in the season, at one of the premiere jobs in the country, had media nation-wide in a flurry to predict who would be the next coach at USC. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, by mid-week, was reiterating that he would stay in the NFL, and pass on any interest shown by the Trojans in his direction. Luke Fickell, the coach of the #8 ranked Cincinnati Bearcats, was another name mentioned in a potential search, however, questions about his willingness to move his large family to the west coast, and his strong Midwestern ties as a a former Ohio State player, made the possibility of a Fickell move to Los Angeles somewhat questionable.