USC Football: Lincoln Riley Reportedly Wanted to Clean House on Trojans Defensive Staff

The 2023 season for the USC Trojans was one that they would rather forget. The team completely underperformed from their preseason expectations, and it was a frustrating year all around for everyone involved.

It led to defensive coordinator Alex Grinch being fired after the Trojans' defense was once again awful. USC brought in former UCLA defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn to replace Grinch, but that hasn't stopped head coach Lincoln Riley from cleaning house. 

“Anybody connected to Grinch,” the source wrote in a text, “is now gone.”

Per The Orange County Register

Riley wanted to remove any connection to Grinch, and the team is looking forward to the next era of USC football. It makes complete sense after the last few seasons on the defensive end of the ball, especially with Lynn coming into the mix as well. 

"A source with knowledge of the situation told the Southern California News Group that Manning and inside linebackers coach Brian Odom were let go by USC, confirming it was largely in relation to Lynn’s desire to bring in a new defensive staff. It’s a change in regime and a fresh start from the collapse under former coordinator Alex Grinch."

Per Luca Evans of The Orange County Register

Bringing in a new staff signals that the Trojans are looking to make a major philosophical change to how they run things. It's for the better, and Lynn was very effective during his time with the Bruins this past season.

He helped UCLA turn into a powerhouse defensively, and he will be tasked with doing the same with USC. Under Riley, USC has been great on offense, but the defensive problems have held them back. 

The program is hoping that this shift changes everything for them and that the team can get back to competing for championships once again. After all, this was the purpose of bringing Riley into the program in the first place.