Auburn assistant coach joining Clay Helton's staff at Georgia Southern
As Clay Helton gets settled at Georgia Southern, he’s starting to round out his staff. And he’s turning to the SEC to do it.
Auburn director of player personnel Ryan Smith is moving on to become Georgia Southern’s general manager, according to AL.com’s Tom Green.
Smith graduated from Baylor in 2015 and was an offensive quality control coach at D-II Angelo State University after graduation. From there, he joined Auburn’s recruiting department in 2018 before moving on to North Carolina the last two years. He returned to Auburn as director of player personnel this season under Bryan Harsin.
Helton was hired at Georgia Southern earlier this month after he was fired from USC in September two games into the season. He was the Trojans’ head coach for six years and amassed a 46-24 record. But USC hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2019.
Auburn is getting ready to take on Alabama in the Iron Bowl Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Georgia Southern, meanwhile, is taking on Appalachian State Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Dallas Cowboys assistant becomes name of interest at USC to replace Clay Helton
According to Jon Wilner of Pac-12 Hotline, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a “speculated potential candidate.” He lists out a few reasons as to why it would work, including having some experience on the west coast with the San Fransisco 49ers.
Quinn was last in the college coaching ranks in 2000 with Hofstra. He made stops at William & Mary and VMI before. Since then, he’s been in the NFL for two decades, spanning from a position coach to the Atlanta Falcons head coach.
Another factor to consider is Quinn’s experience working with current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. The two were together during a few Super Bowl runs, with Quinn running the famous Legion of Boom secondary.
Carroll, the former national championship-winning coach with the Trojans, was the last head coach to have USC clicking on all cylinders. Hiring somebody from his coaching tree could bring back the feel of the early 2000s.
USC is one of the few elite head coaching jobs open at the moment after firing Clay Helton early in the season. A few names had been thrown around, including Penn State’s James Franklin and Baylor’s Dave Aranda, but both are signing extensions to stay their respective schools.
Quinn is just the latest to be added to an already stacked list.