Earlier this week, the USC Trojans announced that they were firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following the team’s most recent loss to the Washington Huskies on Saturday, and now head coach Lincoln Riley is explaining that decision a little bit.
During his Monday press conference, Lincoln Riley explained the thought process behind firing Alex Grinch this week.
“Watched the game Saturday night, slept on it, and thought about it a lot throughout the night,” Lincoln Riley said. “Didn’t sleep much. Thought about it a little bit more Sunday morning and just felt like it was in the best interest of our program, both for this year — because we still have a lot to play for, we still have a really cool opportunity in front of us — and for the future that we needed to make the change.”
Under Grinch’s leadership, the USC Trojans rank 123rd out of 133 teams in total defense, allowing 436 yards per game on average. The team also ranks just 124th in scoring defense, giving up 34.5 points per game. This comes after the team’s defensive performance likely cost the Trojans a chance to make the College Football Playoff last season.
It seems like it was a necessary change. We’ll have to see how it changes the team’s defense.
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