USC coach Clay Helton reacts to AD Lynn Swann's departure

One could say that former USC athletic director Lynn Swann was among Clay Helton's biggest supporters. Swann gave Helton a contract extension after the 2017 season, extending him through 2023, and then went against fan sentiment by retaining his head coach following the 5-7 finish last fall.

Helton has always been effusive in his praise of Swann, talking about their Monday meetings and his appreciation for that support.

But everything changed this week with Swann's resignation Monday morning -- a move that new USC President Carol Folt indicated was ultimately her call while talking to the LA Times. Helton met with reporters Tuesday after practice for the first time since the news.

"We're really, really excited to have Dr. Folt here and what she's doing right now across campus. Any time that you have change in leadership, there's transition and there's change in other positions. It's just a natural occurrence," Helton said. "But we have utter faith in Dr. Folt that she's going to bring in a great AD, one that's going to be great for this university and great for this athletic program."

Helton said he was made aware of the news shortly before it was announced.

"Just a little bit before it hit, I had the honor of being able to talk to both Dr. Folt and to Lynn. And I'll leave both those conversations to be personal, but I appreciated the respect of reaching out," he said.

Helton did share his recollections from that conversation with Folt, though.

"I can't tell you how excited I was, I received a call from Dr. Folt -- she didn't have to do that, to take the time to reach out to me and say, 'Coach, love what you're doing, the staff, the players. It was so fun to watch last Saturday, and I just want to help you in any way so you and your team can be successful,'" Helton said. "And that meant a ton to me. It meant a ton for me that [interim AD] Dave Roberts walked out here yesterday at practice right off the bat and supported our team and what we're doing and was right there saying, 'Man, just want to help you in any way guys win a championship.' It's been really neat to feel that support."

This was already a pivotal season for Helton, though, with everyone wondering what he'd need to do to retain Swann's confidence and support. Now, the dynamic shifts -- likely with less room for error -- with whomever USC ultimately hires as its next athletic director.

Folt was hired in March and formally took over as university president in July. And just as she told the LA Times that Swann "felt this was the professional thing to do, to resign and allow me to build my team," the new AD -- as most new ADs do -- may eventually be looking to build their team as well while putting their stamp on the program.

The man who extended and retained Helton under tough circumstances is no longer in the position to influence any such future decisions.

But Helton can control his own fate to an extent with the performance of his team this fall, and the Trojans are off to an encouraging 2-0 start that bumped them back into the national rankings at No. 24.

In his long opening statement, which preempted most of the obvious questions, he seemed to acknowledge that.

"What can we do as a coach and a football team? Win," he said. "That's our job is to win and to have great success on and off the field and represent the tradition of excellence that is USC. That's our job and that's what we'll continue to do here."

That's all anyone could have expected Helton to say. There's no upside for him in discussing the matter any further than that.

Just a few weeks ago, Folt, Swann and Helton took turns speaking to supporters of the program at the unveiling of the newly-renovated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Now one has began making power moves, the other is consequently gone and the third will be looking to do everything he can to make all the talk about his job status moot.

"We have a job, and one of the things you've got to realize, this is USC, this is the USC football team and it is the greatest spectacle on Earth and it is Los Angeles, which is the second-largest media market in the world," Helton said. "And distractions and the lights always come, and it's our job to put it aside and be able to focus on the mission at hand."