It’s that time again! USC has to find a coach — not a head coach, but a coordinator. It’s a hugely important search and a defining moment for Lincoln Riley. Alex Grinch got fired, which is undeniably good, but this matters only if Riley and athletic director Jennifer Cohen find an elite replacement for Grinch. Jim Leonhard is the guy most USC fans want. He is also our preferred No. 1 choice as well. However, this is where we have to remind you that a school’s top choice might not want to coach at that school. The interest and desire have to be mutual. If not, USC has to pivot to a second choice, and then a third choice, if the next few candidates say no.
USC needs to be ready and able to have rock-star quality in its fourth, fifth and sixth choices. Cohen and Riley need to have a list in which their various options are all good, and they don’t have a weak choice too high on their menu.
Here is our guide to the ins and outs of this USC defensive coordinator search. It’s a lot more than just having a top target. That’s the easy part. The hard part is when the top target says no and the adjustments have to be made on the fly.
If Jim Leonhard says yes, this is very easy for USC … but we don’t expect Leonhard to say yes. We’ll explain that and a lot more below in this coaching carousel primer: