USC Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen will watch her current employer face her former employer this Saturday when the Trojans play the Washington Huskies. That forms the remarkable backdrop to this weekend’s prime-time game in the Los Angeles Coliseum. It also forms the basis for a hugely important conversation surrounding USC football and the health of the program.
Jennifer Cohen did not hire Lincoln Riley. She did not interview him. She inherited him. Moreover, she inherited Riley likely thinking USC would do really well this season. Instead, USC appears to be in need of significant changes on the coaching staff.
The obvious plot complication: What if Lincoln Riley doesn’t want to fire those staffers? Cohen would be in a tough spot.
However: We don’t ultimately know what anyone privately thinks. We don’t know what the internal temperature is inside the corridors of power of USC athletics. For better or worse, we really need to know: Has a decision already been made about Alex Grinch?
We firmly think he should be fired. We also think strength coach Bennie Wylie should be fired. That’s our view.
We currently think Grinch will be fired. We don’t necessarily think Wylie will be fired, but that Wylie could be on the hot seat if the next month goes horribly wrong.
Let’s put predictions aside. Let’s discuss scenarios and plot points to underscore why it is so important what USC’s internal process is in relationship to Grinch. It’s very essential to know where the power brokers stand, so that we can then measure how impactful these next few games will be in reshaping the program for its Big Ten future: