Nov 30, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clay Helton addresses the media at press conference to announce his hiring as the Southern California Trojans permanent head coach at John McKay Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
USC hired Clay Helton as permanent head coach after he guided the Trojans to a 5-2 record and a berth into the Pac-12 championship game as the interim coach, athletic director Pat Haden announced Monday.
The Trojans beat UCLA 40-21 on Saturday to win the Pac-12 South and clinch a spot in the conference title game against Stanford this Saturday.
Helton signed a multiyear contract, the school said. According to ESPN, Helton received a three-year deal and the contract includes incentives for a two-year option if he attains certain goals.
Helton, 43, replaced a fired Steve Sarkisian on Oct. 12 after serving as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
–Head coach Tom Herman, a coveted candidate for multiple Power 5 conference jobs, is close to a contract extension to remain at Houston.
Herman is expected to receive a pay raise that bumps his annual salary to $3 million per season.
The former Ohio State offensive coordinator has Houston at 11-1 this season with a chance to win the American Athletic Conference championship Saturday against Temple.
Herman’s contract pays him $1.35 million and was for five years. He said on a conference call Monday that the deal was not finalized, but could be soon.
–Mark Richt plans to take the next couple of weeks to decide what he wants to do in the future after his dismissal Sunday as the head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Accompanied by Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity for a Monday morning press conference, Richt said he is ready to move on, including possibly to another coaching position.
“Oh yeah, no doubt,” Richt said when asked if he would coach again.
–Nick Rolovich was introduced as Hawaii’s new head football coach on Monday.
Athletic director David Matlin announced the hiring of Rolovich, a former Hawaii quarterback, on Friday. He replaces Norm Chow, who was fired.
