LOS ANGELES_During the Pac-12 Conference coaches teleconference Tuesday morning, Clay Helton got his first chance to explain the shakeup to the USC offensive staff he announced Monday afternoon.
Helton clarified that the decisions to let go of offensive line coach Neil Callaway and to take over primary play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Tee Martin were his and not a result of nudging from athletic director Lynn Swann.
"I meet with Lynn every Monday," Helton said. "I sat down with Lynn and told him what I wanted to do. I wanted to have Sunday night to be able to think about it, to make sure that I was headed in the right direction because obviously you're dealing with livelihoods. ... He supported that direction as he has supported me all through the season. I'm very appreciative of that, but no, I felt no pressure at any point in time to make any change."
Helton said he has been "itching" to get back to calling plays, a role he handled for USC as offensive coordinator from 2013 to 2015. Up until this point, he said, he would chime in with a gut feeling on certain plays three to four times a game. With the Trojans offense struggling two-thirds of the way through the season, now was the time to take on more responsibility, he said.
"Being in Year 3 of being a head coach, I just feel so much more comfortable in the role and the job of being the head coach and the duties that come with it that I know the lay of the land now," Helton said. "I really wanted to get more involved and help the offense continue to grow and perform and felt like it was the right time.
"(Tee) was great. He totally understood that it was something that I wanted to do. He told me, he said, 'Coach, I'm here to help you. I love SC. I want to be at SC. It will give me the opportunity to be a better receivers coach and recruiter.' He's still helping me immensely in game planning and practice organization, being my eyes during the game from the box, still being coordinator. And I'm going to be calling the plays. But that help that he gave me, he's a major asset to me and always has been. But he was very supportive of the decision, and Tee's a pro _ he always has been."
Helton said that letting Callaway go was "probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Callaway coached under Helton's father, Kim, at Houston from 1993 to 1996.
"Once I knew I was going to make a change at the end of the season," Helton said, "I don't think it's respectful to allow him to work for the next four weeks with me knowing what I'm going to do."
Helton moved running backs coach Tim Drevno to offensive line coach in the hope of improving the Trojans' performance up front.
"I don't think it's going to be overnight," Helton said. "But what I'm hoping is that I see clarity in assignments, I see clarity and improvement in fundamentals and technique and I'd hope to see a line that is a dominating line. The thing that I know about this offense is, when I look at its skill, that it does have a mixture of youth and experience, but I believe there's talent on this offense. And over the next four weeks I'm going to do my best, along with our offensive staff, to try to groom that talent, improve that talent and win ballgames and move forward toward the future."
