And now it’s officially official.
Monday, reports surfaced that Western Kentucky would be turning to Tyson Helton as its next head football coach. Early Tuesday afternoon, the Conference USA program confirmed that the 41-year-old Helton has been hired to replace Mike Sanford as the Hilltoppers’ sideline boss.
Sanford spent the past two seasons at the school, compiling a 9-15 record in the process, before being fired Sunday.
“When determining our next head football coach, there were many qualities we felt this person must have. Certainly they needed to have an excellent football mind, but also be a tremendous person who was respected inside and outside of the locker room. We found that person in Tyson Helton,” WKU athletic director Todd Stewart said in a statement. “His background as an innovative offensive mind and a great motivator of his players fit our mission to find the next great leader for our football program. We are thrilled to bring Tyson and his wonderful family back to WKU.
🔴 IT’S OFFICIAL! 🔴
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) November 27, 2018
Tyson Helton (@Coach_Helton) is the 2️⃣1️⃣st head coach in WKU Football history! #GoTops pic.twitter.com/y8Y8GQTxr0
Helton, the younger brother of USC head coach Clay Helton, spent the 2018 season as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee. Prior to that, he was the quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator for his brother at USC.
A hiring, which is expected to be officially announced in the next day or two, would serve as a homecoming of sorts for Helton as he was the coordinator for the Hilltoppers from 2014-15 before moving on to the Trojans. The former Houston quarterback has also spent time on coaching staffs at Cincinnati, UAB and Memphis.