Georgia Southern hasn’t been too bad since Clay Helton became the Eagles’ head coach.
The Eagles went 6-6 during each of his first two regular seasons there and reached a bowl game in both of those years. They were close to reaching the Sun Belt Championship in 2024, Helton’s third season, as the Eagles went 8-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play. They ended the season with a loss to Sam Houston in the New Orleans Bowl.
In 2025, Georgia Southern went 7-6 overall with a win in the Birmingham Bowl. But the Eagles hope to be better than that, and be in the mix for a conference title again, this season.
Here’s more info about Helton:
What’s Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton’s Salary?
Helton made $900,000 in total pay in 2025, according to USA Today.
Clay Helton’s Coaching History
| Years | Team | Position |
| 2022-present | Georgia Southern | HC |
| 2016-21 | USC | HC |
| 2013-15 | USC | OC/QBs/Interim HC |
| 2012 | USC | QBs/Pass Game Coordinator |
| 2010-11 | USC | QBs |
| 2007-09 | Memphis | OC/QBs |
| 2003-06 | Memphis | WRs |
| 2000-02 | Memphis | RBs |
| 1997-99 | Houston | RBs |
| 1996 | Duke | RBs |
| 1995 | Duke | GA |
What’s Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton’s Record?
Helton is 73-49 in the FBS as a head coach. He’s 27-25 at Georgia Southern in the past four seasons with four bowl appearances.
As the head coach at USC, Helton went 46-24. Helton is 3-6 overall in bowl games.
How Old Is Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton?
Helton is 54 years old.
Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton’s Background
Helton has a good amount of experience coaching on the offensive side of the ball.
He began his career as a graduate assistant at Duke in 1995 before coaching running backs there the following year. He kept working with RBs at Houston (1997-99) and Memphis (2000-02). He then coached wide receivers at Memphis from 2003-06 before becoming the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2007-09.
He then moved on to USC, where he coached quarterbacks from 2010-12 and became the team’s passing game coordinator in 2012. He was the team’s OC and QBs coach from 2013-15 and served as an interim head coach twice during that stretch.
He was USC’s head coach from 2016-21. The beginning of his tenure there was fairly successful, as he led the team to a Rose Bowl win in 2016 and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl in 2017. While with the Trojans, he also coached standout players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alijah-Vera Tucker, Sam Darnold, and Adoreé Jackson.
