Trojan players started a hashtag and voiced their opinion on USC’s coaching search in nearly every post-game interview this season. Monday their efforts were rewarded as USC officially announced Clay Helton as the permanent head coach of the Trojans.
Under Helton, the Trojans stormed to the first official Pac-12 South division title in school history on the back of an undefeated record in the South.
Despite losses to Notre Dame and Oregon during that span, an emphatic victory over UCLA punched USC’s ticket to the Pac-12 title game in Santa Clara.
With preparations beginning for a rematch against Stanford, athletic director Pat Haden made the decision to back his head coach and the players who have supported him all along the way by taking the interim tag out of the equation.