USC’s Clay Helton Assessment Plan That Led To His Firing

The criteria for the most important decision of Mike Bohn’s career were set ahead of the football season, weeks before the disastrous loss that hastened the end of Clay Helton’s disappointing tenure as USC coach.

By the end of the summer, it was agreed between Bohn, USC President Carol Folt and Rick Caruso, USC Board Chairman, that the athletic director would provide an update on his football coach in difficulty at specific times in the 2021 season. At each preset benchmark, Bohn would assess the criteria they agreed to, from the team’s energy and culture to its performance and competitiveness on the pitch, to recruiting momentum and fan sentiment, among other variables. How would the dismissal – or retention – of Helton affect each of these variables in the future?

Bohn ultimately only needed one assessment. The first of four planned benchmarks, according to someone familiar with the decision to fire Helton, arrived last Saturday night.

As USC fell in a humiliating fashion, 42-28 to Stanford, every noticeable flaw of the Helton era was laid bare in front of a half-empty Colosseum. There were botched errors and untimely penalties, a stagnant offense and a defense that lacked discipline. The stands emptied before the fourth quarter, USC trailing four points. The sideline was lifeless, sending an ominous message to academic decision makers watching from above.

That night Helton spoke like a coach who assumed he had the time. “We didn’t do our best tonight, but I know, at the end of the season I’ll see where we are,” he said. “See where we are. “

But that time was up on Helton after six full seasons, the last three of which were clouded by close scrutiny on the pitch. Had he passed that first benchmark, Helton would likely have lasted until the week off on October 16, which was scheduled as the next benchmark.

Bohn said on Tuesday he didn’t want to make a major decision on Saturday night, “in the heat of the emotions associated with a game,” but the next step was clear at the time for program makers.

This seemingly sudden choice would call into question why Bohn bothered to keep Helton beyond the 2020 season and what has changed since the USC athletic director told The Times in January that he ” can’t think of an area we haven’t improved [in 2020]”.

“I don’t think we have the same feeling that with all the resources and commitment that we’ve put together, we could really aspire to those national championship aspirations that we talk about all the time,” Bohn said on Tuesday. “It was just the right time. There’s a feeling of knowing when to play things a certain way and just having that gut feeling. I think we’ve got the right one.

His calculation is as follows: with 10 games remaining, USC can still save their season.

But that first required navigating a potentially delicate transition. Bohn didn’t want to call a team meeting and alarm the players and staff. So he sat on the news until Sunday before he and his chief of staff, Brandon Sosna, met Helton at 1:30 p.m. on Monday. They took Donte Williams aside just before a team reunion and informed him that he would be the interim coach in place of Helton.

Helton himself was first hired after an interim stint, stepping up to the role of permanent coach before the end of the 2015 season. However, a similar lead is unlikely for Williams.

Williams said on Tuesday he had “full confidence” that USC would make the right decision by hiring his coach. According to someone familiar with the matter, however, it has been made clear to Williams that USC will conduct a full national search if the Trojans win or lose the next 10 games under Williams’ watch. Either way, someone told The Times, USC is expected to work diligently to retain Williams even if, as planned, he leaves the program for a permanent replacement.

Before moving forward, however, Bohn felt it was important to allow Helton to say goodbye to him. The coach therefore broke the news to his team during his 2:10 team meeting. Big star player Drake London called the moment “heartbreaking”.

“It meant a lot to a lot of players to have that kind of moment after hearing the news,” said USC captain and punter Ben Griffiths. “Neither of us was really ready for this.”

Meanwhile, at 2:11, Bohn posted a statement on social media that he was making a change.

In the wake of Bohn’s decision, the urgency within the department to recruit the next coach well – and to avoid the fate of so many other FBS bluebloods who have lost relevance due to bad hires – is extremely high. For Bohn, who has previously hired soccer coaches in Colorado and Cincinnati, the pressure has never been greater.

“We are doing everything we can to show our next head coach, wherever he is, that we are fully committed to winning a national championship,” said Bohn.

USC will conduct a deliberate search, hoping it can last until December, assuming one of the college’s top contenders is still leading the playoffs.

What this ideal candidate looks like remains to be seen, but Bohn offered a glimpse of the qualities he covets on Tuesday.

“Leadership, great integrity, character, the ability to connect with young men,” Bohn said. “As you all know, our vision is to be the most student-athlete-centric program in the country, so we want someone who understands the connectivity with the young men who are a part of this program and the ability to to recruit and bring high performance. quality, people of character at USC and again to pursue championships.

When asked if the ideal coach would have run their own program yet, Bohn said, “There is no substitute for the experience of being a head coach.”

With Helton just two games away from the season and the search for his replacement is just beginning, time will be sure to paint a more complete picture of what this ideal coach looks like.