Georgia Southern is in negotiations with Clay Helton to make him the school’s next football coach, sources told ESPN.
Helton, whom USC fired Sept. 13, could finalize an agreement in the next 24 hours. Georgia Southern fired Chad Lunsford as coach on Sept. 26, following a 1-3 start to the season. Helton was 1-1 this season when USC fired him. He went 46-24 overall at USC, where he became permanent head coach in late 2015 after a six-year run as a Trojans assistant. Helton had two years left on his USC contract and was owed more than $10 million at the time of his firing, according to sources.
Helton, 49, would be the first coach to be hired in a cycle that already has featured high-profile changes at USC, LSU and TCU. He guided USC to a Pac-12 title in 2017, three division titles and a Rose Bowl championship after the 2016 season.
On3 Sports first reported that Helton and Georgia Southern were closing in on an agreement.