Ex-Linebacker Greats Chris Claiborne, Hayes Pullard Named USC Quality Control Analysts
May 28, 2020 | Football, Features
They were effectively hired prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic but agreed to delay their starts until June 1.
Claiborne was the head coach at Calabasas (Calif.) High School the past 2 years (2018-19), going 17-6 overall. Calabasas won the Marmonte League title in 2019 and advanced to the CIF Division 1 playoffs. He was the defensive coordinator at Calabasas in 2014 and 2015. He also served as an assistant at Corona (Calif.) High, Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village (Calif.) and Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High. In 2012, he started a 7-on-7 team, Frat Boyz. He also privately trained players in the Southern California area and ran youth football camps. While coaching in high school, he returned to USC to finish his bachelor's degree, which he received in 2019.
Claiborne, a 3-year (1996-98) starter and Trojan captain in 1998, was USC's first winner of the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker. In 1998, when he won that award, he also was a unanimous All-American and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as he notched 120 tackles, 16 pass deflections and 6 interceptions (all team highs). He made Freshman All-American first team in 1996 and was on the All-Pac-10 first team as a 1997 sophomore. In his Trojan career, he had 312 tackles, including 27 for losses. He was selected by the Detroit Lions as the ninth pick of the 1999 NFL draft (as a junior) and played 8 seasons with the Lions (1999-2002), Minnesota Vikings (2003-04), St. Louis Rams (2005) and New York Giants (2006). He had 395 tackles, 15 sacks, 18 deflections and 8 interceptions in his pro career. He was a prep All-American and All-State pick at J.W. North High in Riverside (Calif.). He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame in 2011.
Pullard started 4 seasons (2011-14) at USC, notching 377 tackles (sixth most in Trojan history), 17 deflections and 3 interceptions. He was the first Trojan since Dennis Johnson in 1977-79 to lead USC in tackles in 3 seasons. He was a Freshman All-American first teamer in 2011. He captained the Trojans in 2013 and 2014. He came to USC from Crenshaw High in Los Angeles (Calif.), where he was a prep All-American. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns in 2015 and played with the Browns (2015), Jacksonville Jaguars (2016) and Los Angeles Chargers (2017-18). He received his bachelor's degree in public policy and development (real estate) from USC in 2014.
