Everyone wonders if Alex Grinch will be fired in the next 48 hours after loss to Washington

Grinch Watch is on, folks! Alex Grinch, the embattled USC defensive coordinator whose lack of competence has been evident throughout his USC tenure, has run out of runway. He has run out of any cushion, any buffer, any protection, any benefit of the doubt.

Grinch has met the end of the line as Lincoln Riley’s main assistant coach. It’s only a matter of when — not if — he will be fired by USC.

The Trojans’ 52-42 loss makes it a near certainty they will not play in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas. This means the Nov. 18 game versus UCLA will be USC’s last game before the bowl season. Grinch will certainly be fired by Nov. 19. That’s not a fact, but it’s a highly informed opinion. The situation is simply too untenable if Grinch is retained. In no logical universe can he stay.

Now we need to ask: Should Grinch be fired in the next 48 hours? Let’s talk about that.

WASTING CALEB WILLIAMS

The emotional impact on Caleb Williams is a powerful message unto itself. This might create enough leverage to get Grinch out in the next 48 hours.

IT CAN'T BE WORSE THAN THIS, RIGHT?

RECRUITING

The effect on USC defensive recruiting has to be considered here. Some prospects are certainly not coming to USC as long as Grinch is employed. Firing Grinch sooner could be a statement to 2024 recruits who have not yet made a choice and are considering USC.

BEGINNING THE SEARCH

NOVEMBER 18

Nov. 18 will be USC’s last game before the bowls. This is because USC will not play on Thanksgiving weekend due to a quirk in the schedule. USC will have a chance to interview candidates earlier than other national programs with coordinator and head coaching openings.

REMINDER: USC HAS TO FIRE STRENGTH COACH BENNIE WYLIE, TOO

LINCOLN RILEY WILL NOT RETAIN GRINCH

Some people think Riley will never let Grinch go, as though the two are married for life. They’ve worked together for only five years, not 10 or 15. Relationships come to a natural end. This is it.

When a politician is exposed in a huge scandal, he can’t stay in office. When a CEO is caught defrauding stockholders, he gets pushed out. It’s not as though people are guaranteed to have permanent lifelong positions. These things end. No one should be thinking Riley will continue to cling to Grinch here. It’s just not a realistic view anymore. Maybe one month ago, but not now.

SERIOUSNESS AND CREDIBILITY

This tweet really gets to the heart of things. Lincoln Riley would be unserious on an unprecedented scale if he kept Grinch. Jen Cohen would be unserious if she allowed Riley to keep Grinch. These are grown adults. There really is no possible chance they will stand by Grinch at this point. It’s all about whether they fire him in the next 48 hours or by Nov. 19. Either way, Grinch will not be on the job more than two more weeks. That’s it. Not anything longer.

BOTTOM LINE

If Alex Grinch is on the job for two more weeks, it will not be a disaster or an outrage. USC is just playing out the string in these last two weeks before going to a dumpy, third-tier bowl game in a failed season. If Grinch coaches on Nov. 11 and 18, no one will be happy, but it doesn’t matter all that much in the larger scheme of things. He will be gone Nov. 19 at the latest. USC will search for a defensive coordinator. It’s impossible to imagine otherwise.

However, for what it’s worth, how can USC go to Oregon and then play UCLA knowing how bad its defense has been under Alex Grinch? How can Grinch and the players look each other in the eye on the practice field and have any trust in what’s being said or taught?

USC might as well get this over with now, not in two weeks. It’s not absolutely essential that the Trojans fire Grinch now, but they probably should. Why let this bitter taste linger?

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire