Clay Helton’s firing on Monday ended the 49-year-old’s decade-plus association with USC’s football team. Initially brought on board by Lane Kiffin in 2010 as the Trojans’ quarterbacks coach, Helton served as interim head coach on 2 occasions: in 2013 and 2o15, eventually being named the permanent head coach in the latter stages of the 2015 season.

After a 1-1 start to the 2021 season, which featured a season-opening win over San José State and a loss to Stanford, Helton was fired by the university after a 46-24 record and a 36-13 mark in Pac-12 play. Despite back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2016 and 2017, he was never able to build on that momentum.

Now the discussion surrounds who will replace Helton in Los Angeles. Not only that, but the University of Southern California is on the hook for a massive amount it will have to pay Helton following his dismissal.

According to the Los Angeles Times, that number was thought to be around $20 million after the 2019 season. That specific amount isn’t known specifically because USC doesn’t publish those numbers. By firing Helton now, USC has seen the buyout drop significantly.