Coaches
Clay Helton
His career from Wikipedia, each job checked against the team-season pages (✓ = a second source agrees, ≠ = they disagree)
Clay Helton*
Head coach, Georgia Southern · Played at Auburn 1990-1992, Houston 1993-1994 · alma mater (CFBD): Houston
Source: Wikipedia, read 2026-10-26
| Years | Team | Role | Title | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Duke | GA | GA | not known |
| 1996 | Duke | Position | RB | not known |
| 1997-1999 | Houston | Other | Kim Helton | |
| 2000-2002 | Memphis | Position | RB | Rip Scherer (2000), Tommy West (2001-2002) |
| 2003-2006 | Memphis | Position | WR | Tommy West |
| 2007-2009 | Memphis | OC | OC/QB✓ | Tommy West |
| 2010-2011 | USC | Position | QB | Lane Kiffin*+ |
| 2012 | USC | Position | PGC/QB | Lane Kiffin*+ |
| 2013 | USC | OC | OC/QB✓ | Ed Orgeron |
| 2013 | USC | Head coachinterim | interim HC | Ed Orgeron |
| 2014 | USC | OC | OC/QB✓ | Steve Sarkisian*+ |
| 2015 | USC | Head coachinterim | OC/QB/interim HC | not known |
| 2015-2021 | USC | Head coach | Head coach✓ | himself |
| 2022- | Georgia Southern | Head coach | Head coach✓ | himself |
Record
Confirmed coordinator seasons since 2005. FBS rankings
| Season | Team | Job | EPA/play | Points/poss. | Success | Year before | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Memphis | Offensive coordinator | 49 | 22 | 62 | 62 | 119 |
| 2008 | Memphis | Offensive coordinator | 54 | 63 | 29 | 49 | 120 |
| 2009 | Memphis | Offensive coordinator | 99 | 77 | 36 | 54 | 120 |
| 2013 | USC | Offensive coordinator | 53 | 59 | 78 | 80 | 125 |
| 2014 | USC | Offensive coordinator | 27 | 29 | 49 | 53 | 128 |
| 2015 | USC | Co-offensive coordinator | 24 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 128 |
| Season | Head coach at | Record | AP before → after | Off EPA/play | Def EPA/play | SP+ | Team year before | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | USC | 1-0 (1 of 14) | 24 → 19 | 53 | 11 | 22.5 | 54% wins | 125 |
| 2015 | USC | 5-4 (9 of 14) | 8 → - | 24 | 45 | 16.8 | 69% wins | 128 |
| 2016 | USC | 10-3 | 20 → 3 | 24 | 54 | 23.6 | 57% wins | 128 |
| 2017 | USC | 11-3 | 4 → 12 | 27 | 58 | 17.9 | 77% wins | 130 |
| 2018 | USC | 5-7 | 15 → - | 76 | 62 | 9.7 | 79% wins | 130 |
| 2019 | USC | 8-5 | - → - | 22 | 90 | 13.1 | 42% wins | 130 |
| 2020 | USC | 5-1 | 17 → 21 | 76 | 61 | 12.4 | 62% wins | 127 |
| 2021 | USC | 1-1 (2 of 12) | 15 → - | 68 | 112 | -0.6 | 83% wins | 130 |
| 2022 | Georgia Southern | 6-7 | - → - | 27 | 117 | -6.4 | 25% wins | 131 |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | 6-7 | - → - | 67 | 103 | -5.2 | 46% wins | 133 |
| 2024 | Georgia Southern | 8-5 | - → - | 69 | 111 | -1.7 | 46% wins | 134 |
| 2025 | Georgia Southern | 7-6 | - → - | 45 | 130 | -9.4 | 62% wins | 136 |
| 2026 | Georgia Southern | 5-4 | - → - | 52 | 37 | 0.8 | 54% wins | 138 |
Worked under
- Rip Scherer · Memphis 2000 (Position)
- Tommy West · Memphis 2001-2009 (OC, Position)
- Lane Kiffin*+ · USC 2010-2012 (Other, Position)
- Ed Orgeron · USC 2013 (OC, Position)
- Steve Sarkisian*+ · USC 2014 (OC, Position)
His tree
Coaches who were on his staffs
On his staffs · 28
- Chris Wilson · USC 2015 (Position)
- Johnny Nansen · USC 2015-2019 (Other, Position, ST coord.)
- Justin Wilcox · USC 2015 (DC)
- Keith Heyward · USC 2015 (Other, Position)
- Marques Tuiasosopo · USC 2015 (Other, Position)
- Peter Sirmon · USC 2015 (Other, Position)
- Ricky Brown · USC 2015 (Analyst)
- Tee Martin · USC 2015-2018 (OC, Other, Position)
- Clancy Pendergast · USC 2016-2019 (DC)
- Neil Callaway · USC 2016-2018 (Position)
- Ronnie Bradford · USC 2016-2018 (Position)
- Tyson Helton* · USC 2016-2017 (Other, Position)
- Bryan Ellis · USC 2017-2018 (Analyst, Position)
- Dave Campo · USC 2018-2019 (Analyst)
- Michael Hutchings · USC 2018-2020 (Analyst, GA)
- Tim Drevno · USC 2018-2020 (Other, Position)
- Graham Harrell · USC 2019-2020 (OC, Position)
- John David Baker · USC 2019-2020 (Analyst, Position)
- Mike Jinks · USC 2019-2020 (Position)
- Seth Doege · USC 2019-2020 (Analyst)
- Donte Williams · USC 2020 (Other, Position)
- Todd Orlando · USC 2020 (DC, Position)
- Kevin Whitley · Georgia Southern 2022-2023 (Other, Position)
- Ryan Aplin · Georgia Southern 2022-2026 (OC, Position)
- Will Harris · Georgia Southern 2022 (DC)
- Brandon Bailey · Georgia Southern 2023-2025 (DC, Position)
- Clint Trickett · Georgia Southern 2024 (Other, Position)
- Mike Mutz · Georgia Southern 2026 (DC)
Level 2: on their staffs · 31
- Beau Baldwin · California 2017-2019 (OC, Other, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Charlie Ragle · California 2017-2021 (Position, ST coord.) · under Justin Wilcox
- Erik Meyer · California 2017-2019 (Analyst) · under Justin Wilcox
- Jerry Azzinaro · California 2017 (Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Tim DeRuyter · California 2017-2020 (DC, Other, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Clayton White · Western Kentucky 2019-2020 (DC, Position) · under Tyson Helton
- Kim Helton · Western Kentucky 2019 (Analyst) · under Tyson Helton
- Maurice Crum Jr. · Western Kentucky 2019-2021 (DC, Position) · under Tyson Helton
- Bill Musgrave · California 2020-2022 (OC, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Ben Arbuckle · Western Kentucky 2021-2022 (Analyst, OC, Position) · under Tyson Helton
- C. J. Ah You · USC 2021 (Analyst) · under Donte Williams
- Zach Kittley* · Western Kentucky 2021 (OC, Position) · under Tyson Helton
- Josh Crawford · Western Kentucky 2022 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
- Kenny Hill · California 2022 (Analyst) · under Justin Wilcox
- Tyson Summers · Western Kentucky 2022-2024 (DC, Position) · under Tyson Helton
- Vic So'oto · California 2022-2025 (DC, Position, ST coord.) · under Justin Wilcox
- Drew Hollingshead · Western Kentucky 2023-2024 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
- Jake Spavital · California 2023 (OC, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Tim Plough · California 2023 (Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Mike Bloesch · California 2024 (OC) · under Justin Wilcox
- Sterlin Gilbert · California 2024 (Other, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Will Friend · Western Kentucky 2024 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
- Bob Gregory · California 2025 (Analyst, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Bryan Harsin · California 2025 (OC, Position) · under Justin Wilcox
- Da'Von Brown · Western Kentucky 2025 (DC) · under Tyson Helton
- Davis Merritt · Western Kentucky 2025-2026 (DC) · under Tyson Helton
- Nick Rolovich · California 2025 (Analyst) · under Justin Wilcox
- Rick Bowie · Western Kentucky 2025 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
- Terrence Brown · California 2025 (DC) · under Justin Wilcox
- Bodie Reeder · Western Kentucky 2026 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
- Joe Bernardi · Western Kentucky 2026 (OC) · under Tyson Helton
Level 3: on their staffs · 1
- Brett Dewhurst · Florida Atlantic 2025-2026 (DC) · under Zach Kittley
Coached together
- Bob Trott · Duke 1996 · him Position, them DC, Position
- Russ Huesman · Memphis 2000-2003 · him Position, them Position
- Tim Walton · Memphis 2000-2008 · him OC, Position, them DC, Position
- Tommy West · Memphis 2000-2009 · him OC, Position, them DC, Head coach, Position
- Randy Fichtner · Memphis 2001-2006 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Tim Banks · Memphis 2001-2002 · him Position, them Position
- Chris Rumph · Memphis 2003-2005 · him Position, them Position
- Joe Lee Dunn · Memphis 2003-2006 · him Position, them DC
- Tyson Helton* · Memphis 2004-2006 · him Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Brent Pry · Memphis 2007-2009 · him OC, Position, them Position
- Darin Hinshaw · Memphis 2007-2009 · him OC, Position, them Analyst, Position
- Derek Jones · Memphis 2007 · him OC, Position, them Position
- Rick Kravitz · Memphis 2007 · him OC, Position, them DC
- Walt Bell · Memphis 2007-2008 · him OC, Position, them GA
- Kenny Ingram · Memphis 2009 · him OC, Position, them DC
- Ed Orgeron · USC 2010-2013 · him Head coach, OC, Other, Position, them DC, Head coach, Other, Position
- John Morton · USC 2010 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Kennedy Polamalu · USC 2010-2012 · him Other, Position, them OC, Position
- Lane Kiffin*+ · USC 2010-2013 · him Head coach, OC, Other, Position, them Head coach
- Monte Kiffin · USC 2010-2012 · him Other, Position, them Other
- Marvin Sanders · USC 2012 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Scottie Hazelton · USC 2012 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Clancy Pendergast · USC 2013-2019 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them DC, Position
- Mike Ekeler · USC 2013 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Position
- Tee Martin · USC 2013-2018 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them OC, Other, Position
- Chris Wilson · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Position
- Johnny Nansen · USC 2014-2019 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Other, Position, ST coord.
- Justin Wilcox · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them DC
- Keith Heyward · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Other, Position
- Marques Tuiasosopo · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Other, Position
- Peter Sirmon · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Other, Position
- Ricky Brown · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Analyst
- Steve Sarkisian*+ · USC 2014-2015 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Head coach
- Tim Drevno · USC 2014-2020 · him Head coach, OC, Position, them Other, Position
- Neil Callaway · USC 2016-2018 · him Head coach, them Position
- Ronnie Bradford · USC 2016-2018 · him Head coach, them Position
- Tyson Helton* · USC 2016-2017 · him Head coach, them Other, Position
- Bryan Ellis · USC 2017-2018 · him Head coach, them Analyst, Position
- Dave Campo · USC 2018-2019 · him Head coach, them Analyst
- Michael Hutchings · USC 2018-2020 · him Head coach, them Analyst, GA
- Graham Harrell · USC 2019-2021 · him Head coach, them OC, Position
- John David Baker · USC 2019-2020 · him Head coach, them Analyst, Position
- Mike Jinks · USC 2019-2021 · him Head coach, them Position
- Seth Doege · USC 2019-2021 · him Head coach, them Analyst, Position
- Donte Williams · USC 2020-2021 · him Head coach, them Head coach, Other, Position
- Todd Orlando · USC 2020-2021 · him Head coach, them DC, Position
- C. J. Ah You · USC 2021 · him Head coach, them Analyst
- Bryan Ellis · Georgia Southern 2022-2023 · him Head coach, them OC, Position
- Kevin Whitley · Georgia Southern 2022-2023 · him Head coach, them Other, Position
- Ryan Aplin · Georgia Southern 2022-2026 · him Head coach, them OC, Position
- Will Harris · Georgia Southern 2022 · him Head coach, them DC
- Brandon Bailey · Georgia Southern 2023-2025 · him Head coach, them DC, Position
- Clint Trickett · Georgia Southern 2024 · him Head coach, them Other, Position
- Mike Mutz · Georgia Southern 2026 · him Head coach, them DC
Played together
- Jess Simpson · Auburn 1990-1991
- Dell McGee* · Auburn 1992
- Patrick Nix · Auburn 1992