USC Linked To Hall of Fame Coach for Defensive Coordinator Vacancy

The USC Trojans have been in contact with former TCU coach Gary Patterson about its defensive coordinator vacancy, On3 reported on Sunday.

Patterson was recently named to the College Football Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2026.

Gary Patterson USC Trojans D'Anton Lynn Lincoln Riley Recruit Defensive Coordinator Alex Graham Luke Wafle Big Ten — Sep 4, 2021; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson and his team before the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Duquesne Dukes at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

D’Anton Lynn served as the Trojans defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, before he took the same role with his alma mater, Penn State, last month.

Patterson was the head coach at TCU from 2000-2021 and is the winningest coach in program history. He had a ton of success in the 2000s, leading them to seven, 11-win seasons in a nine-year span, which included a perfect 13-0 season in 2010 and Rose Bowl victory. In total, he had 10, 11-win seasons during his tenure.

Prior to that he was the TCU defensive coordinator for three seasons, which is the last time he held that role. Patterson specialized in the 4-2-5 defense and matches the personnel USC has on its current roster.

The 65-year-old coach was a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian at Texas in 2022. He was away from the sport in 2023, served as a consultant at Baylor in 2024 and then away from the sport again in 2025.

The Most Important Hire of Lincoln Riley’s Career

USC showed growth defensively under Lynn, but that bar was pretty low, considering they ranked at bottom of every statistical category under Alex Grinch during the first couple seasons of Lincoln Riley’s tenure in Los Angeles.

With defensive problems at Oklahoma and USC, this is undoubtedly the biggest hire of Riley’s coaching career and will ultimately determine his future at Southern Cal. He can’t afford to miss on this hire.

And because of that the Trojans have been strategic and are taking their time with the next hire. As USC wants to usher in this new era of the program, getting the defensive side of the ball to play at a higher caliber is priority No. 1.

Former Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was the first name that was brought up after his departure from the Longhorns in December. Kwiatkowski has since been crossed off.

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Defensive line coach Eric Henderson’s name has been tossed around. He served as the defensive coordinator in the bowl game and was USC's co-defensive coordinator during the season. Players such as defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart and Floyd Boucard have advocated on social media for their position coach to get the job.

Secondary coach Doug Belk was a co-defensive coordinator for two seasons at Houston and then the Cougars sole defensive coordinator for three seasons, before joining the USC staff in 2024.

Player development needs to be much better on the defensive side of the ball. It’s one thing to sign blue-chip recruits, it’s another for them to develop into high quality starters and NFL Draft prospects.

Gap discipline and overall physicality in the trenches have to be improve greatly. And the cornerbacks have to be able to challenge receivers at the line of scrimmage at a much higher rate.

Offense will never be a problem under Riley. The problem for the Trojans coach is having a defense that can make them legitimate contenders.

Outlook of USC Defense

The Trojans will see some change to its defense in 2026. They return five full-time starters from last season. Safety Kennedy Urlacher and nickel Alex Graham became starters the last month of the season with multiple injuries in the secondary.

They signed Iowa State transfer Jontez Williams, the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the 247Sports Rankings and Oklahoma State transfer Carrington Pierce.

Cornerback will be an intriguing battle with Marcelles Williams, who started 11 games last season and pair of highly touted prospects in 2025 recruit RJ Sermons and 2026 five-star recruit Elbert Hill vying for playing time.

Nickel Prophet Brown and cornerback Chasen Johnson will both return from significant lower body injuries.

Jadyn Walker was the starting Will linebacker when USC went with its 4-3 defense, instead of their traditional 4-2-5 defense. He also got the start next to Desman Stephens in the bowl game with Eric Gentry opting out.

The Trojans added Washington transfer Deven Bryant and four-star Talanoa Ili, the No. 5 rated linebacker, per the 247Sports Rankings, to the room.

On the defensive front, USC signed a pair of Big Ten players in former Michigan State defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren and former Penn State edge rusher Zuriah Fisher.

Improvement in the trenches is vital for the Trojans success last season. Kameryn Crawford and Braylan Shelby split starting duties at defensive end the past two seasons. They should project as the two starters for 2026. On the interior, Jide Abasiri became a starter in his sophomore year. Stewart, Boucard and Jamaal Jarrett return from last season.

USC signed multiple recruits in the 2026 class that will be immediate contributors in five-star edge Luke Wafle and four-star defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield and Tomuhini Topui.

The Most Important Hire of Lincoln Riley’s Career

Outlook of USC Defense

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