Clay Helton Named LA Sports Coach of the Year

Clay Helton was named the 2015 Coach of the Year by the LA Sports Council for guiding the Trojans to the Pac-12 South division title.

Helton will receive his award on February 25 during the LA Sports Awards banquet.

The interim-turned-permanent head coach took control of USC’s football team in October after Steve Sarkisian was removed from his post. Though the Trojans lost their first game under Helton in South Bend against Notre Dame, they won four contests in a row, including a home upset of then-No. 4 Utah.

A blowout loss to Oregon in Eugene set USC back on their quest for an unlikely conference title, but they bounced back to beat UCLA 40-21 on the final weekend of the regular season to secure the school’s first ever Pac-12 South title.

Helton was hired on as the full-time head coach shortly after USC’s victory over the Bruins.

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Unfortunately for Helton and the Trojans, the successes that saw him win the South, earn the permanent position and this particular award from the LA Sports Council weren’t continued through the final two games of the season. USC was downed by Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship game and then came up wanting against Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl.

Even though Helton’s tenure as USC’s coach in 2015 was not always the brightest, he makes sense as the Coach of the Year in LA if you consider the general level of sports in Los Angeles at the moment.

UCLA’s Jim Mora failed to get his team over the hump once again. The Lakers are in turmoil under Byron Scott. Doc Rivers has led an inconsistent Clipper team which collapsed in the playoffs. The Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs last season and the Galaxy did not bring home a trophy of any kind despite high profile signings.

For all the skepticism a coach with a 5-4 record might receive in claiming the award, Helton’s accomplishments do stand out among the field.