USC’s last regular-season game of 2023 is this Saturday against UCLA. As soon as that game ends in the late afternoon versus the Bruins, Lincoln Riley’s full attention will shift to a very important task, arguably the most central one in his USC career: Replacing Alex Grinch with a new defensive coordinator.
This week, Riley has to figure out how to beat UCLA and salvage something from this failed season. When game week ends, USC won’t be worried about the Las Vegas or Sun Bowls. Riley won’t have a Heisman Trophy ceremony to worry about, either. The transfer portal window opens on December 4. USC, in order to attract the best possible defensive players in the portal, needs a home-run hire at defensive coordinator.
With Texas A&M firing Jimbo Fisher, Boise State firing coach Andy Avalos, Mississippi State firing coach Zach Arnett, the head coaching part of the coaching carousel is already spinning wildly. Penn State also fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, as Nittany Lions Wire noted. Jobs are opening up, which means USC has a lot more to consider in the carousel as it searches for its next defensive coordinator.
We will walk you through the various newsworthy developments from the past weekend and update you on the possibilities which need to be studied by Jen Cohen and Lincoln Riley: