After USC surrendered 101 total points in the past two games, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was relieved of his duties, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley announced Sunday.
Grinch, who was Oklahoma's defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021 before leaving for USC alongside Riley, led a unit that allowed an average of 34.5 points per game this season and was in the bottom 30 in the country in nearly every statistical category, including 120th in rushing defense and 107th against the pass.
In a statement sent via a USC spokesperson, Riley named D-line coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Brian Odom as co-defensive coordinators for the rest of the season.
Grinch had done very well in his prior stop in the Pac-12 as Mike Leach’s defensive coordinator at Washington State before being hired by Riley at Oklahoma to fix what had been an atrocious Sooners defense. Grinch got OU to make some strides, but it was far from an elite group. Being an Air Raid defensive coordinator brings some challenges, as we detailed this summer. Several old defensive coordinators who have worked in Air Raid programs say it’s not a coincidence that many of the top statistical defenses in the country happen to be at Big Ten programs with underwhelming offenses, most notably Iowa.
Grinch came to USC when Riley was hired after the 2021 season, but the defensive coordinator's firing has long been desired by the Trojans fan base, and even former USC players.
On Saturday, USC gave up 52 points in a loss to the Huskies, including giving up 313 rushing yards to a team that ranked in the bottom half of FBS in running the ball. The 572 yards given up was the most allowed since Riley became coach.
After suffering its second conference loss of the year, USC now needs to win out and get much help to have a shot at the Pac-12 title. The Trojans will travel to Oregon next week to face a Ducks team that, like Washington, features one of the best offenses in the nation with plenty to play for.
And while Grinch was certainly the face of USC's defensive issues, Riley and the rest of his staff have their work cut out for them as the program heads to the Big Ten next season hoping to not waste a top-five offense in the country like they have the past two seasons.
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