The Trojans lost their first two conference games of the 2013 season against Washington State and Arizona State, making Kiffin's record 4–7 in his last eleven games. On September 28, 2013, after the 62–41 loss to Arizona State, USC Athletics Director Pat Haden fired Kiffin hours after the game, when the team arrived back in Los Angeles at 3 a.m. Kiffin was called off the team bus that was preparing to head back to campus from Los Angeles International Airport and taken to a small room inside the terminal where Haden told Kiffin he was being dismissed. Haden supposedly met with USC president Max Nikias in the third quarter and they decided Kiffin should be terminated. Haden formally announced the decision to dismiss Kiffin the next day. Assistant coach Ed Orgeron took over for Kiffin and led the team to a 6–2 finish, including an upset win against Stanford at the Coliseum. USC won the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl under interim head coach Clay Helton against Fresno State. Former USC associate head coach and Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian was hired by Haden following the season.