Texas Football: Former Texas Assistant Coach Headed to USC

The USC Trojans continued their recent run on departed Texas coaches today by hiring Craig Naivar as the team's safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator.

The news was first reported by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman Thursday.

SOURCE: #USC is hiring former #Texas Co-DC/safeties coach/special teams coordinator Craig Naivar to the Trojans staff. He is expected to coach safeties.. Naivar was UT’s DC for the Alamo Bowl win when the Horns held Utah to 254 yards and 11 points.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 30, 2020

Naivar was the Longhorns' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach under Orlando last year and served as the team's special teams' coordinator for two seasons before that.

Naivar helped develop DeShon Elliot into a Thorpe Award finalist and NFL draft pick and was instrumental in helping Caden Sterns become a Freshman All American two years ago.

Other prospects who have flourished under Naivar's tutelage include B.J. Foster, Brandon Jones, Chris Brown and DeMarvion Overshown.

Most recently Naivar served as the Longhorns' interim defensive coordinator when Orlando was let go two days after the end of the season. He ran the defense through bowl prep and developed a stellar game plan that shut down a strong Utah offense and helped the Longhorns pull away for a 38-10 victory in the Alamo Bowl.

"I thought our third-and-long package was at its best tonight that I’ve seen in a long time," head coach Tom Herman said after the Alamo Bowl. "You know, I thought Coach Naivar called a great game and had a great game plan. These guys they bought into it and they flew around and they played really physical."

Much like Texas, USC is overhauling its defensive staff after an 8-5 season that included a blowout bowl loss to Iowa. The Trojans hired Orlando earlier this month after the former Texas defensive coordinator had already accepted a position coach job at Texas Tech.