Clay Helton trying to save his job at USC by shaking things up

Clay Helton surely knows he’s on shaky ground at USC, so he’s making some changes to try and save his job.

Down to their third-string quarterback last Saturday against Arizona State, the USC Trojans suffered their first loss in 19 home games and their second straight loss in conference play to drop to 4-4 on the season. Head coach Clay Helton had back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2016 and 2017, his first two full seasons as USC’s head coach, but he is firmly on the hot seat right now.

The Trojans have notably struggled to get any semblance of a ground game going this year, as they are 116th in the country in rush offense (120.9 yards per game) while averaging 3.7 yards per attempt (tied for 102nd in the country). Offensive coordinator Tee Martin has come under fire for USC’s lack of offensive proficiency this season, as they are 103rd in the country in yards per game (364) and tied for 82nd in scoring (27.1 points per game).

Via a press release by the school, Helton announced he will take over play-calling duties and that offensive line coach Neil Callaway has been relieved of his duties.

“I felt it was an appropriate time to become more involved in the offense as we continue to develop our team for the future,” Helton said in a release from the school.  “Tee and I have had conversations about this decision and he was supportive.  He has done a tremendous job here.  He will stay involved with the offense as he remains the offensive coordinator, helps put together our practice and game plans and serves as my offensive eyes during games.

“I want to thank Neil for all his hard work at USC.  He is an outstanding coach and a great friend.  I wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

Martin will keep his title as offensive coordinator while continuing to coach wide receivers and being involved with things other than the play-calling. Running backs coach Tim Drevno will add offensive line coaching duties to his plate.

Helton was USC’s offensive coordinator from 2013-2015, so he’s got some experience calling plays. Things can’t get a whole lot worse on that side of the ball, so maybe he can spark something with a different mix of plays.

Oregon State (2-6) is coming off the high of a comeback win over Colorado last week, but USC definitely has a get-right opportunity on Saturday. Cal (5-3), UCLA (2-6) and Notre Dame (8-0) then round out the regular season schedule for the Trojans, so a loss to the Beavers would start to put six wins and bowl eligibility into doubt.

Getting some injured players back would surely start to bring better results, but Helton can’t wait for that as the heat on him increases and the calendar gets set to flip to November. He is putting himself a little more in the crosshairs if USC’s offense continues to be generally feeble, and this effort to shake things up will go a long way toward determining whether he survives past the end of the season.