USC HC Lincoln Riley backtracks on comments about defense from last month, as team fires Alex Grinch

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley has backtracked on his comments about his team's defense. Last month, Riley was asked about his defense and the job defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is doing. The coach was pleased at the time and said there were a lot of great things happening.

“There’s a lot of great things happening here,” Lincoln Riley said to reporters in October about his defense. “I like the job we are doing there...

"People need to make sure they’re seeing the other side of it as well. That’s what we have been trying to say for a long time. I think we are set up to play really well in the second half of the season.”

However, not even a full month after making those comments, Riley and USC announced on Sunday that Grinch had been fired.

In the past two games, the Trojans defense allowed 101 points. Although Grinch has been fired, Riley says he knows the blame also falls on him:

"I know as a head coach, it all falls under my responsibility, ultimately," Riley said. "I don't shy away from that and never have, but there are times and places for those discussions, and those will happen at the appropriate time."

Grinch's led USC defense was in the bottom 30 in nearly every statistical category.

Who is Lincoln Riley replacing Alex Grinch with?

After the USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, the school announced that D-line coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Brian Odom as co-defensive coordinators for the rest of the season.

The Trojans are set to go on the road to play the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 10:30 p.m. ET. USC ends their season at home on Nov. 18 against UCLA.

USC is currently 7-3 and will be playing in a bowl game this season. But, their defense has been a letdown and whether or not Nua and Odom will help improve that remains to be seen.