Georgia Southern announced the hiring of Clay Helton as its next head coach on Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Yahoo Sports and The Athletic reported it was a five-year deal worth $800,000 per year.
Southern California fired Helton, 49, on Sept. 13 after the Trojans got off to a 1-1 start. He had a 46-24 record as the interim and head coach over parts of eight seasons in Los Angeles.
Georgia Southern, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, fired Chad Lunsford on Sept. 26 four games into the season. The Eagles were 1-3 at the time.
Yahoo reported that Helton would start immediately performing behind-the-scenes duties, such as recruiting and building a staff for 2022. Interim coach Kevin Whitley would remain as the on-field coach for the rest of the season.
The Eagles (2-6, 1-4 Sun Belt) have lost three straight games.
Georgia Southern is in its eighth season as an FBS school and has a 52-44 record in that span. As a Division I-AA (FCS) school, it won six national titles, most recently in 2000.
At USC, Helton’s teams posted records of 10-3 in 2016 and 11-3 in 2017. However, the Trojans were just 19-14 since the end of the 2017 season at the time Helton was replaced.
“I’m so excited to be a part of the tradition of excellence that is Georgia Southern University,” Helton said as part of an announcement video on social media. “We look forward, as a team, to showing you our grit, toughness, discipline and that GATA mentality that has produced championships right here in Statesboro.”
Eagle Nation,
Introducing your new Head Football Coach, @GSCoachHelton!#HailSouthern | #GATA pic.twitter.com/DjVTKVpuiR— Georgia Southern Football (@GSAthletics_FB) November 2, 2021
–Field Level Media
