Steve Sarkisian has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the USC Trojans football program, the university announced Monday.
"After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately," USC athletic director Pat Haden wrote in a statement announcing the move.
"I want to thank Clay Helton for stepping into the interim head coach role, and I want to add how proud I am of our coaching staff and players and the way they are responding to this difficult situation.
"Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well being."
Sarkisian joined the Trojans in 2014 after five seasons at the helm of the Washington University program. Sarkisian's Huskies teams were tough, but he never finished a season in the upper northwest better than 8-4. After Lane Kiffin's departure from southern California and as previous NCAA sanctions were finally ending, Sarkisian was hired to lead the Trojans.
Sarkisian's first season with USC resulted in a 9-4 record and a Holiday Bowl victory, leading some to believe that he had the program back on the right track. Unfortunately, the same issues that followed Sarkisian at Washington, including excessive drinking, reportedly followed him to USC.
After the Trojans dropped a difficult game against Sarkisian's former team this past Thursday, dropping USC's record to 3-2, reports began to emerge that something was amiss in So Cal. On Sunday, it was announced that Sarkisian would take a leave of absence in order to entre a rehab facility after reportedly attending USC's practice while inebriated - something he'd allegedly done prior.
But it seems that a leave of absence was not enough for Haden, as Sarkisian is now out on the street and Helton will take the reins of the Trojans team for the remainder of the season.
