After USC firing, Clay Helton should follow Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian to Alabama

With Clay Helton out as the USC football coach, his next job is a totally obvious one.

As the USC football program looks for a new head coach, Clay Helton could already be eyeing his next job. It’s an obvious one.

Yes, there is no better way to rehabilitate one’s image in the college game than to get the Nick Saban treatment. Former USC head coaches Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian were fired at USC only to have their careers rehabilitated while working under Saban.

Kiffin isn’t at Ole Miss and Sarkisian at Texas without resurrecting their careers under the guidance of the greatest coach of all time.

If Helton wants to be a head coach again, spending a few seasons learning and watching Saban is the pathway to his next head coaching job.

Clay Helton should join Nick Saban’s Alabama football staff as a consultant

What led to Helton’s downfall at USC was multi-pronged. He was an average recruiter, which allowed many of the talented players in-state to leave California and play elsewhere. And while it did not help that the university had him operating with one hand tied behind his back the whole time, it was not like players who came to play for him at USC got better.

Ultimately, Helton either needs to go to Alabama and learn from Saban for a few years and rehabilitate his image or stay on the sidelines and collect his buyout money. What is important for him to understand is that whatever did not work at USC will not cut it at his next job. However, he has plenty of time to learn from his mistakes and be the head coach we all thought he could be.

If the Saban treatment can work for Kiffin, Sarkisian and even Butch Jones, it can work for Helton.

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