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USC coach Clay Helton may have lost the fan base during a disappointing 5-7 campaign, but he did not lose the faith of athletic director Lynn Swann.

USC head coach Clay Helton leads the Trojans out of the tunnel for a game against Colorado. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
USC head coach Clay Helton leads the Trojans out of the tunnel for a game against Colorado. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Swann announced Sunday that Helton will be back for a fourth season, ignoring the desperate pleas of USC fans and alumni for change at the top of the football program.

“Let me be clear to everyone, our players, our recruits and our fans. Clay Helton is our head coach and he will continue to be our head coach,” Swann said in a statement released on USC’s official Twitter account. “I am a strong advocate of consistency within a program, sticking by a leader, supporting them and helping them and their team improve.”

This will not be a popular decision, leading to an off-season of discontent. Helton’s fourth year will be his true hot-seat season. The burners will be on from the start as USC opens its renovated Coliseum on Aug. 31, 2019, against Fresno State, and they won’t turn off until the Trojans resemble a championship-caliber outfit.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.