USC football coach Clay Helton is in a tough position. His new boss is arriving on the heels of the Trojans' worst loss of the season, which seemed in many ways to underscore the reality that the program is 10-11 since the start of 2018.

New athletic director Mike Bohn was asked during his introductory news conference Thursday about Helton's future and whether he expects to make a change.

"It would be premature to be talking about coaches or any situation when I just arrived," Bohn said.

Helton, meanwhile, has remained outwardly unfazed through this stretch, and Thursday was no different.

"To bring Mike Bohn in, who has experience over 30 years, three decades worth of experience, four different universities and to see his energy and his positivity hitting the ground running today was awesome -- was absolutely awesome," Helton said.

The embattled coach explained how Bohn met with him one-on-one Thursday and also addressed the football team.

Say this for Helton separate from the Trojans' on-field struggles -- he referred to himself as a proud "servant" of the university in response to questions about his job status after that 56-24 loss to Oregon last Saturday, and well, he has never relented in that regard and being a positive-minded representative.

If there was awkwardness meeting with a new AD who most expect will make a coaching change after the season, Helton wasn't going to reveal even a hint of it.

"To be able to sit down with him one-on-one and get to visit with him and him be so positive and say, 'Coach, we're cheering for you. Go get 'em, man, we're right behind you' is awesome," Helton said. "And then to address our team, to come in and address our football team and bring that energy and that positivity, I thought was really good today. So we're really excited to have Mike, and I know he's going to do a great job just like he's done everywhere else. You look at the things that he's done at Cincinnati and what he created there -- it's an exciting time for the university and I can't be any prouder for our university."

Helton said he "respect[s] the heck" out of Bohn making the rounds to meet with the many head coaches and teams on campus on his first day.

"It was getting to know each other. I hadn't had a chance to meet Mike. I had heard great things about him. He said the same thing, 'I've heard a lot about you, Clay.' So we got to know each other a little bit," Helton said. "He said, 'Man, I'm rooting for you, I'm cheering for you, I'm cheering for this team. I've been watching you all and what you all have done through injuries and things like that' … He said, 'I thought you put it best on Saturday -- just keep fighting and keep trying to go out there and get wins for these kids.' And that's what you do as a coach. ...

"I've been thoroughly impressed and I'm really excited for our university and the future that it holds with him at the helm."