USC Football: Reporter Changes Projected Timeline For New DC Hire

The 2023 season didn't go as planned for the USC Trojans football team, and they will head into the offseason with a sour taste in their mouth. They entered the season with plans to make the College Football Playoff after almost reaching it last season, but USC completely fell off this year.

They will finish the regular season with a record of 7-5, and it was a frustrating year all around for them. One of their biggest issues was once again the defense, and it hurt them all year long.

The team waited too long to fire former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, and they suffered because of it. But now they are looking into bringing a significant hire to town to fix their issues.

There was some thought that it could materialize quickly, but it seems that the search may go longer than expected.

A lot of rumors flying around USC’s pursuit of a defensive coordinator. Don’t be surprised if the search extends into next week. It’s a holiday week, plus plenty of DC options are still coaching for their respective teams this weekend.
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) November 21, 2023

USC wants to be very careful with this hire, as they want to get it correct. They have no interest in being in the same place as they are right now next year.

There have been reports of the team looking into some coordinators who are currently hired by a program, so they may have to wait until their seasons are over. But whoever they hire could also directly impact the job status of head coach Lincoln Riley, so he probably wants to be patient with the hire.

Riley will be entering his third season with the Trojans next year, and they are no closer to winning a national title than when he arrived. The Trojans brought him in to win, and this season he took a major step back.

The pressure is really on this program, otherwise, changes will have to be made. The leash is very short for Riley going forward and he likely knows it.

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