LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California has fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch with two games left in the Trojans’ disappointing regular season.
Coach Lincoln Riley dumped his longtime top assistant a day after USC (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) gave up 572 yards and 52 points to No. 5 Washington in the Trojans’ third loss in four games.
USC’s defense has played poorly in its last six games and the Trojans have lost three of their last four games and are out of the College Football Playoff race after a 6-0 start. USC was not ranked in the AP Top 25 on Sunday for the first time in Riley’s two-year tenure at the school.
Editor favorites
2 relatives
Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and interior linebacker coach Brian Odom will serve as USC’s co-defensive coordinators for the remainder of the season, which includes games against Oregon and UCLA before a bowl game. Taylor Mays, the former USC safety who served as a defensive analyst this season, has been promoted to an on-field role working with the Trojans’ safeties.
Grinch became Riley’s defensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2019 and followed Riley to Los Angeles in late 2021. But Grinch’s defenses have repeatedly underperformed Riley’s prolific offenses at both schools, and the unit at USC has been woefully ineffective this season despite an influx of talent coming out of the transfer portal.
USC has allowed 42.0 points and 483.7 yards per game over the last six contests. The Trojans are ranked 119th out of 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season with 436.9 yards per game and are 121st with 34.5 points allowed per game.
Grinch’s first USC defense also struggled, particularly in the final period when the Trojans lost their last two games. Riley defiantly stuck by Grinch’s side in the offseason despite calling for his ouster, but the Trojans only got worse this season.