If Lincoln Riley does fire Alex Grinch, here are his top choices for a replacement
No, Lincoln Riley hasn’t yet fired Alex Grinch, but the writing is on the wall. Riley likes Grinch and wanted to succeed at USC with Grinch at his side. However, you don’t always get what you want in life. Things don’t always go according to plan. Riley might have no choice in the matter. He might have to fire Grinch just because this season has been a disaster.
Lincoln Riley does not get paid a lot of money to go 8-4 and go to the Las Vegas Bowl or the Sun Bowl. In this business, coaches get fired. Head coaches have to fire underperforming assistants, including people they like.
Lincoln Riley, if he wants to win championships, will have to fire his friends. So, while Riley hasn’t yet fired Grinch, we have a list of candidates for a new defensive coordinator. He can think about this during the week of practice for Cal, the weakest team left on USC’s schedule.
Let’s see what you think, too:
DAVE ARANDA
This list has some candidates who are not likely to leave their jobs for USC and Lincoln Riley. Those unlikely candidates should still get a call, or at least, their agents should get a call. Aranda is one of them.
His tenure at Baylor isn’t going the way he hoped it would. Aranda probably will stay on at Baylor for 2024, but maybe a return to the life of a coordinator is something he would welcome, especially if he will get paid handsomely and have a chance to help Lincoln Riley turn things around. That would be a feather in his cap if he did it. One of these candidates might revel in the chance to become the savior of USC.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt USC to call Aranda’s agent.
JON HEACOCK
If you listened to our 12-episode “Riley Files” podcast series, first published and released in the summer of 2022, you know that Jon Heacock, the defensive coordinator at Iowa State, had success against Riley’s Oklahoma offenses. Heacock would not only bring considerable X-and-O acumen to the job; he would also have the value of being able to self-scout Riley’s offenses and offer advice on how Lincoln could make his offenses better.
Aranda could offer the same advice to Lincoln. A few other candidates on this list could do the same. They all merit consideration as a result.
JIM LEONHARD
Here’s the really big fish, the ideal candidate for Riley and USC. Few men know the Big Ten better than Leonhard, who was a superb defensive coordinator at Wisconsin for several years.
There is an expectation in the coaching industry that Leonhard wants a head coaching job. He’s tired of being a coordinator. That might be true. However, if USC gives him a pile of money and full control of the defense, Leonhard might certainly rethink that position. If he comes to USC and turns into the man who saves Lincoln Riley, he would get head coaching offers pretty quickly. It would be worth it for Leonhard to spend two years elevating USC into an elite team if it leads to a Power Five head coaching job in 2026.
USC should make its first call to Leonhard and make him an offer he can’t refuse.
GARY PATTERSON
Patterson and Riley locked horns in the Big 12 for years when Patterson coached TCU. Patterson consulted Steve Sarkisian and Texas for a year but then tired of the grind and stepped away from coaching. After some time off, Patterson, who is 63 years old, could certainly give it a go. He’s not too old.
Would he likely accept? No … but USC and Riley should try if Leonhard and a few other top candidates turn down the Trojans.
TOM ALLEN
This might be the candidate who makes the most sense and is most likely to say yes.
Allen is probably about to be fired by Indiana. His time with the Hoosiers has seemingly run its course. Allen was a really good defensive coordinator at Indiana before becoming head coach. As an interesting side note, Michael Penix and Kalen DeBoer both coached at IU when Allen was there.
The big point about Allen is he would bring a great Big Ten knowledge base to USC. He knows how to frustrate Michigan’s and Ohio State’s offenses, much as Jim Leonhard does.
Whereas Leonhard might want a head coaching job, Allen might be fine with being a defensive coordinator again. This could be the most realistic top-tier candidate — not better than Leonhard, but better than any other candidate who might currently be inclined to accept a USC offer.
TYLER SANTUCCI
Tyler Santucci is the defensive coordinator at Duke, part of head coach Mike Elko’s quick transformation of the Blue Devils into a high-quality program. If you saw Duke play Florida State, you know the Blue Devils look the part of a good team. They outplayed FSU in the first half before the Riley Leonard injury limited the Blue Devils in the final 20 minutes. This would be a high-quality hire for Lincoln Riley if the opportunity presented itself.
TONY GIBSON
Gibson has done a great job as North Carolina State’s defensive coordinator. He previously was West Virginia’s defensive coordinator, so he is one of those candidates who — as mentioned above — could help Riley self-scout his offenses for the Big Ten in addition to coaching the USC defense.
TRENT BRAY
Bray has helped Jonathan Smith develop Oregon State’s defense, but maybe he wants to get out of Corvallis and go to the Big Ten, since Oregon State will be stuck with Mountain West competition the next few years. It’s a natural possibility for Bray to leave Oregon State after 2023. Riley and USC could swoop in.
WILL MUSCHAMP
Muschamp is co-defensive coordinator at Georgia. Obviously, Kirby Smart could plug in a replacement if he wanted, or Smart could simply stick with his other co-coordinator and remove the “co” tag. Muschamp could become sole defensive coordinator at USC.
JOE KLANDERMAN
Klanderman is another defensive coordinator at a Big 12 school, Kansas State, who could self-scout Riley in addition to coaching really good defense. He is a strong coordinator. He stopped Max Duggan and TCU in last year’s Big 12 Championship win for Kansas State. He would be a perfectly good choice.
THE OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CANDIDATES
Ron Rivera might be fired by the Washington Commanders. He played at Cal and is a former defensive coordinator. He could be one of several outside-the-box candidates USC could consider.
NOVEMBER 19
USC’s regular season ends on Nov. 18 against UCLA. On Nov. 19, Lincoln Riley can fire Grinch and go after his preferred candidate, with help from USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen. Circle that date — Nov. 19 — as the date when USC begins to get serious about winning championships again.
