Helton, in relief, can stir belief
Clay Helton coached USC for only one game in his first go-round as interim coach.
In the next two months, he will have at least seven opportunities to prove he is worthy of removing the interim tag.
The first comes Saturday at Notre Dame.
Helton, the fired Steve Sarkisian’s replacement for the rest of the season, got off to an energized start Tuesday, overseeing practice and then delivering confident answers from the podium of an auditorium full of reporters and athletic department personnel.
If the Trojans perform well under Helton, will he have a chance for the Trojans’ full-time job? Helton said
all the right things with Athletic Director Pat Haden looking on.
“I want to be the head coach,” he said. “I also know the reality of it as well. In college football at this level you have to prove yourself. That’s reality. You go out and win games, then you talk about it.”
Haden put Sarkisian on indefinite leave Sunday afternoon and then told players during a team meeting that Helton, the Trojans’ offensive coordinator, was the interim coach.
“I’ve been in this profession 21 years,” Helton said. “I’ve forgotten a lot of games, a lot of plays. I will never forget, as long as I live, Pat Haden introducing me to this team and the ovation they gave me.”
Haden fired Sarkisian on Monday, saying his conduct did not meet the standards and expectations of a head coach.
“We love coach Sark,” Helton said. “He’s a very, very good man and good football coach. We look forward to him getting healthy and doing what he loves to do, which is coach football.
“We wish him the best of luck.”
Helton’s first stint as interim coach came during USC’s tumultuous 2013 season. Haden fired Lane Kiffin near midseason and Ed Orgeron became interim coach for eight games. When Haden hired Sarkisian, Orgeron left the program and Helton guided the team to a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Fresno State.
“I have done this job before,” Helton said. “I am confident in my ability to do it.”
Helton said he has learned from all the head coaches he worked under. That list includes his father, Kim, who was a college head coach and NFL assistant.
“He understands the passion of football,” Kim Helton said in a phone interview Tuesday. “He understands the kids are the most important part.”
Clay Helton said he learned a valuable lesson from Orgeron, who rallied Trojans players into a group that appeared to genuinely enjoy playing the game.
“One of the things I learned from Coach O is how you bring everybody together as a family,” Helton said. “It’s not just all the time about Xs and O’s and ball coaching. It’s about going into that locker room and putting your arm around ’em. It’s about . . . sitting down with them at dinner.”
Helton’s main challenge could be molding remaining assistants who are anxious about their futures into an effective staff. Five assistants came with Sarkisian from Washington when he was hired at USC.
“That staff that was together [in 2013] did exactly what we’re doing right now,” he said. “We bonded together.”
Helton will remain the offensive coordinator and play-caller, but he will give up his responsibilities as quarterbacks coach.
“I understand that I can’t do it all,” he said. “I’m not Superman.”
Marques Tuiasosopo, a former college and NFL quarterback who has been coaching tight ends, will coach quarterbacks. Lenny Vandermade, an offensive administrative assistant, was promoted to coach tight ends.
Helton also made a small but welcome change Tuesday: He allowed parents back to practice. Sarkisian had banned parents from attending practices after training camp.
Like Orgeron did, Helton repeatedly said he wants the players to have fun.
“Kids can smell falseness in a heartbeat,” he said. “You have to be yourself and you have to coach them your own way.”
Haden, speaking after Helton at the press conference, expressed confidence in the coach.
“Coach Helton has been through this before with USC,” Haden said. “Clay and his staff are very, very capable. I’m an old guy. I’ve been around football a long time. Been around a lot of football staffs. This is a very, very capable football staff and it’s a great opportunity for them.”
One that starts Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
“This team knows there’s still a lot in front of them,” Haden said.
“They’ve seen what we’ve done in the past under adversity when we come together.”
‘ ... You have to prove yourself. That’s reality. You go out and win games, then you talk about it.’
CLAY HELTON,
on the possibility of becoming USC’s permanent coach