USC Closing In On Former All-American To Boost Coaching Staff

As the USC Trojans are still finalizing its coaching staff for next season, they are expected to hire Louisiana Tech safety coach Sam Carter, who was an All-American safety under Patterson.

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

USC is still shaping its coaching staff for the 2026 season and are expected to hire Louisiana Tech’s safeties coach Sam Carter as a member of its defensive staff, CBS Sports reported on Friday, 

Carter saw action in 49 career games at TCU, including 39 starts from 2011-14, under new Trojans defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. In his senior season with the Horned Frogs, Carter was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and a second team All-American.

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

And what better person to have on the staff than someone that excelled in Patterson’s defense. Carter has prior stops coaching defensive backs at Purdue, Missouri, Arkansas and Ole Miss. 

Carter is expected to be the second coaching in the secondary this past week, with Patterson officially settling into his role as the defensive coordinator. USC is also hiring Baylor defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Paul Gonzales. 

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Gonzales was in his first season at Baylor, after previously working under under new Patterson at TCU from 2012-21. He started off as a graduate assistant, coaching linebackers and safeties. 

Gonzales was promoted to the full-time cornerbacks coach in 2015, where he remained for three seasons. He became the safeties coach in 2018 and stayed in that role for seven season, even after Patterson’s departure in 2021, until 2024.  

Oct 2, 2021; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson reacts during the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

According to 247Sports, Carter is expected to coach the safeties, Trovon Reed will continue to coach the cornerbacks and then Patterson and Gonzales will coach the entire secondary. 

The Trojans have made a significant investment in its secondary in recruiting. They signed six players alone in the 2026 class, in addition to grabbing Iowa State transfer Jontez Williams. It's a great blend of veteran and young talent on campus. And USC has made the same investment in its coaching staff to develop them. Defensive backs blossomed under Patterson and Gonzales at TCU and Carter is a great example.  

Finalizing Defensive Staff 

Sep 6, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers assistant coach Mike Ekeler crosses arms with linebacker Marques Watson-Trent (33) during warmups before the game against the Akron Zips at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

USC wanted to keep a majority of its defensive staff together when hiring its next defensive coordinator and Patterson spoke on Wednesday during his introductory press conference about inheriting staff members. 

“I don’t know if there’s any challenges. Those coaches have done a good job recruiting and they really improved the defense a year ago. For me it’s how do we add onto that,” Patterson said.

The staff isn’t completely the same. It was unrealistic to think of Patterson's pedigree wouldn't make his own additions to the staff. Secondary coach Doug Belk was not retained and in comes Carter and Gonzales. 

Mike Ekeler comes over from Nebraska to be the the special teams and linebackers coach. Rob Ryan, who was hired last season to be the linebackers coach, is expected to still have a role on the staff. 

As of right now, defensive ends Shaun Nua and defensive line coach Eric Henderson are still on the staff from a year ago. USC has not announced its finalized staff yet.