USC Trojans fire Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch after miserable performance against the Washington Huskies in Week 10

The USC Trojans have officially fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch after their Week 10 game against the Washington Huskies. The Trojans allowed 52 points, making it the sixth consecutive game where the program allowed at least 30 points.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the dismissal of Grinch from the coaching staff. With the USC Trojans heading to the Big Ten Conference next season and falling out of the AP Poll Top 25 for the first time under Lincoln Riley, changes were needed for the program.

The Trojans currently are averaging 34.5 points per game given up, which is 124th in college football. With one of the most dominant offensive teams in college football, the defense has been unable to play at an average level and Grinch was the person to pay for it.

Grinch was in his second season with the USC Trojans after making the jump from the Oklahoma Sooners. He has been part of Lincoln Riley's coaching staff since 2019.

It will be interesting to see if Alex Grinch is hired as a defensive coordinator for another team during the offseason. Or whether it goes back to coaching the secondary, something he did before becoming a defensive coordinator.

Grinch played strong safety for Mount Union from 1998 to 2001 and became a coach after his collegiate career concluded. He has been part of Missouri, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Missouri, Washington State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma as part of their coaching staffs in his career.

Who will be replacing Alex Grinch as the defensive coordinator?

For the remainder of the 2023 college football season, the Trojans will have co-defensive coordinators. Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and inside linebackers coach Brian Odom will serve in the role for this season.

This could be a bit of an audition for the position going forward. But with the coaching cycle that happens after the college football season, there could be some interesting names that pop up.

The USC Trojans are going to need to improve on the defensive side of the field and looked impressive early in the season. However, they have allowed 44.2 points in their last six games.

With matchups against the Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins remaining on the schedule, this was something that Lincoln Riley felt was needed for the program moving forward.