San Diego— Clay Helton has navigated a meandering course in his sixth season at USC.
Helton opened the season as the Trojans' offensive coordinator under head coach Steve Sarkisian, and the Trojans began the season No. 8 in The Associated Press poll and No. 10 in the coaches' poll.
Before the Trojans played their sixth game they were 1-2 in the Pacific-12 Conference, 3-2 overall, and out of both top 25 polls, and Sarkisian was fired.
The firing came in the wake of mounting reports of erratic behavior by Sarkisian, who was going through a divorce.