Alex Grinch’s first 22 games at USC — 14 in the 2022 season, eight in 2023 — have had enough bad games to last a full career. Grinch had a lot on his plate in 2022 in the first year of an attempted makeover, so it was reasonable (albeit debatable) to give him another season in 2023. This prove-it season, however, has not gone according to plan, which leaves Grinch without any leverage.
He is rapidly running out of time to make one more convincing argument — to Lincoln Riley, to the USC fan base, and most of all, to himself — that he deserves to be the defensive coordinator for the Trojans in 2024 when the school moves to the Big Ten.
His tenure isn’t officially over, but it seems the walls are closing in on him. Here are Alex Grinch’s worst moments as USC defensive coordinator. There are certainly a lot to choose from. We’ll rank these moments in addition to listing them.
The envelope, please: