USC hires lauded assistants Sean Snyder, Donte Williams

LOS ANGELES (AP) Southern California has hired Sean Snyder as its special teams coordinator and Donte Williams as its cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator.

Clay Helton announced the additions to his coaching staff Wednesday night.

The 50-year-old Snyder has spent the past 26 years working in several jobs at Kansas State, where his father, Bill, was the longtime head coach. Bill Snyder's first coaching job was at USC as a graduate assistant in 1966.

Sean Snyder coached the Wildcats' special teams from 2011-18 while also serving as his father's associate head coach. He spent last season as Kansas State's senior special teams analyst after Chris Klieman succeeded Bill Snyder.

Snyder replaces John Baxter, who was fired along with defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast last December after the Trojans finished their 8-5 season by losing the Holiday Bowl to Iowa.

Williams spent the last two seasons as the cornerbacks coach at Oregon, where he earned a reputation as one of the West Coast's top recruiters, particularly in his native Los Angeles area. His Ducks also finished second in the nation with 20 interceptions.

In a post on his Twitter account this week, Williams said he needed to move back home to Los Angeles to be near his father, who is in failing health.

Williams is a cousin of former USC defensive backs Kris Richard and Darnell Lacy.

Helton has made several apparently positive moves on his coaching staff since he kept his job last fall despite a 13-12 record over the last two seasons.

USC hired former Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando to replace Pendergast on Jan. 24. Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell also rebuffed attention from other schools and the NFL, agreeing to a multi-year contract extension after a successful debut season running his version of the Air Raid offense at USC.

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