Tag: Alex Grinch Lincoln Riley

Alex Grinch’s reputation as a defensive coordinator didn’t change in 2022, and that’s the problem

What is the most important central truth to convey about Alex Grinch at #USC (and frankly throughout his whole career, including Oklahoma)? We answer that question.

You are reading this story, which means you have just seen the title for the story: “Alex Grinch’s reputation as a defensive coordinator didn’t change in 2022.”

This leads us into an obvious, central question: Just what exactly was Alex Grinch’s reputation as a defensive coordinator?

Answering that question requires digging into his past, especially at Oklahoma, where he spent three full seasons alongside Lincoln Riley and produced seasons which were not that different from this one at USC.

You have to understand Alex Grinch’s history in order to understand his 2022 season. The real question is whether all of this means he deserves to coach this defense in 2023.

Let’s dive into this complicated conversation:

The inconvenient truth about Alex Grinch at USC

If you think Alex Grinch is coaching poorly, you’re right … but even if #USC gets smoked by UCLA, Lincoln Riley won’t fire him, because he shouldn’t.

USC fans are understandably frustrated and upset. They have seen the USC defense regress in a big way over the past three games. Yes, a lot of this has to do with Eric Gentry being out. There’s no question that Gentry is a very important player — more precisely, a central player — on this 2022 Trojan defense. Without him, this defense was going to be worse.

But this much worse? This bad?

Allowing over 400 passing yards to Cal?

The Golden Bears scored 13 points against Colorado. Cal has a terrible offensive line. The general consensus among Pac-12 commentators is that Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will be fired by Justin Wilcox at the end of the season.

USC made Cal’s offense look good. Even without Gentry, that should not happen.

Does this mean Alex Grinch had a lucky first half of the season and that this is the “real” Alex Grinch? Let’s explore that, along with the notion that Lincoln Riley needs to fire him: