Former USC football coach Clay Helton has been hired at Georgia Southern, the school announced Tuesday.
Helton, who was fired by USC in September, takes over an Eagles program that fired Chad Lunsford later that same month. The 49-year-old Helton grew up in Florida, and was a back-up quarterback at Auburn from 1990-92 before finishing his career at Houston.
“I am very humbled to be named the head football coach at Georgia Southern University,” Helton said. “... This football program represents a tradition of excellence spread over the past 40 years but has won six national championships and three bowl games in that short amount of time. The passion and love its alumni and fans have for the University are second to none.
“Georgia Southern has always prided itself on the highest levels of success, and I welcome those expectations. We will have a staff and a team representing the toughness, discipline and GATA mentality on which this program was founded. I cannot wait to get started to build a football program that is consistently winning championships and is the platinum standard of college football on a national scale.”
Helton, also a former assistant at Duke, Houston and Memphis before joining Lane Kiffin’s staff at USC in 2010, went 46-24 in six-plus seasons with the Trojans. He would take over a Georgia Southern program that has long operated a triple-option offense, but would likely change to a pro-style attack under Helton.
“What a great day for Eagle Nation with the announcement of Clay Helton as the new head coach of Georgia Southern football,” athletics director Jared Benko said. “Clay is renowned for not only his coaching abilities but for the person that he is. He’s an elite offensive mind who has produced record-setting offenses and high NFL Draft picks everywhere he’s coached.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know Clay throughout this process, and I know he’s committed like I am to the holistic development athletically, academically and socially of all of our student-athletes. He also takes great pride in producing men of character and future leaders. During this interview process, Clay demonstrated a thorough understanding of what it takes to be not only to be a head coach but to win at an elite level and he is the best choice to lead our football program here at Georgia Southern.”
Georgia Southern, a long-time FCS power that moved up to the FBS level and joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, had three consecutive winning seasons under Lunsford before firing him following a 1-3 start this year. The Eagles are also 1-3 under interim coach Kevin Whitley heading into Saturday’s home game with Coastal Carolina.