USC OLBs coach Joe DeForest comes full circle with Clay Helton

When Joe DeForest was announced as USC's new outside linebackers coach in late December, most saw the move as the Trojans simply promoting from within after DeForest had served as a defensive analyst last year.

But there was more to it than that. Head coach Clay Helton had actually pursued DeForest a year earlier. He just didn't have a full-time staff position to give him at the time, but he knew he wanted him on board if possible.

"I've been coaching for 30 years. I've been a defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, I've coached the secondary, coached the linebackers. Clay asked me if I'd come out here last year in that role and he's been asking me for a while," DeForest said. "Because Clay was my GA at Duke in 1996. So we go way back."

It's a pretty interesting story, actually.

DeForest had gotten his start in college coaching at Rice, first as a graduate assistant in 1990. Mike Heimerdinger, who would go on to have multiple stints as an NFL offensive coordinator, was the OC at Rice at the time and took a special interest in DeForest.

That generosity stuck with DeForest as he moved on to Duke from 1994-2000 to be the Blue Devils' special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. And a year into his time there, a young Clay Helton joined the Duke staff as a GA.

"[Heimerdinger] took my wife and I under his wing, took care of us, fed us, clothed us," DeForest recalled. "So when [Clay] came in, we hit it off so I took him and his wife in and took care of them and I said, 'Pay it forward.'"

They went their separate ways, but always remained in touch and close after that.

Helton, of course, rose up through stops at Houston and Memphis before joining USC as quarterbacks coach in 2010, launching his climb within the program.

Meanwhile, DeForest left Duke in 2000 and spent the next 11 seasons at Oklahoma State as special teams coordinator and safeties coach, followed by a season as the defensive coordinator at West Virginia and a few subsequent seasons on the staff there, and then two years as the special teams coordinator during some lean times at Kansas.

That's when Helton's suggestion that he come out west really started to resonate.

"I wasn't sure about coming out to the west coast because I'm from Florida, been coaching in the Big 12 for 20 years, but it was a great opportunity for me and I love it," DeForest said last week. "I just felt like it was a time in my career that I had to get out of the situation I was in and get to a better situation, and I felt like this is a good situation. And it's USC -- I mean, name five programs better."

It was still an adjustment, though. For the first time in decades, DeForest didn't have a full-time assistant coach position. As a defensive analyst, his role involved spending a lot of time studying film and learning the nuances of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast's scheme.

There was no promise of what was to come next, but either way DeForest felt coming out to USC was a valuable reset for his career.

Then Helton underwent a reset of his own, shaking up his staff after a 5-7 season, and as the pieces fell into place there was one spot left to be filled on the defensive staff.

"I told [Helton], 'Don't think you're hiring me to be full-time next year. I don't expect that.' I could probably get a job from here a lot easier than the last place I was at, but it worked out. I'm happy and I know he's happy, and I think it's a good fit," DeForest said.

During that staff changeover, he said he was presented with some options to consider and was close to having to make a decision when Helton offered him the outside linebackers job.

"It was getting close until he said, 'I think I'm going to be able to do something.' So I said, 'I'll tell them no,' but yeah, it was nice to have options. This was the best option," DeForest said.

DeForest brings some familiarity to coaching the unit, not just from his time as an analyst last fall but from being pressed into expanded duties last spring.

"It's funny because last spring when coach [Johnny] Nansen went out with a knee injury, I was actually coaching. So I coached last spring and I recruited last spring so it worked out. I had been with those kids before so they understood how I coach," he said.

Speaking of recruiting, DeForest became a notable presence on the recruiting trail for USC in the final stretch of the 2019 cycle. As recruits were posting photos from their in-home visits with the Trojans staff after last season, DeForest was often part of the traveling party sent to help close with the 2019 prospects.

His recruiting background is also an interesting fit now with the addition of new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and running backs coach Mike Jinks, who have deep ties throughout Texas. USC has been noticeable aggressive in the Dallas and Houston areas so far in the 2020 cycle.

"I've been recruiting Houston for 25 years so I know that area, and I know Florida because I'm from Florida," DeForest said. "I'm learning California, but when he put me on the road I found about four or five guys and it was a good situation."

As for his long-term future, DeForest isn't focused on what comes next. He jokes that now that he's enjoyed the weather in Los Angeles, he isn't eager to leave.

In the meantime, he's enjoying having come full circle with Helton, seeing the GA he once helped out at the start of his career now his boss at one of the most historic programs in college football.

"He's organized, he's got a great presence, the kids love him, he's a great recruiter, great people person. And I just think he's got the whole package -- I'm proud as hell of him," DeForest said.

We've now taken a closer look at each of the newcomers to the USC coaching staff. Here were the previous stories about the new hires:

-Graham Harrell explains why he couldn't pass up the USC OC job

-Graham Harrell explains his own touch on the Air Raid

-DBs coach Greg Burns looking to create more 'glory days' in return to USC

-RBs coach Mike Jinks recounts 'interesting couple of days' after Kliff Kingsbury left

-Chad Kauha'aha'a taking USC DL 'loaded with talent' back to the basics