Alex Grinch Canned...

Interestingly, I assumed and had heard initially, that the decision to fire Grinch now came from the AD. However, apparently it was Riley's decision.

Maybe he's finally cluing in that you need at least an average defense if you want to win titles?

But again, not holding my breath. lol
 
Defenses under the Lincoln Riley system are always going to be at a disadvantage.
I have always contended that USC would get better due to the fact of more talent available out there.
I still think this will be the case.

But Lincoln doesn't give enough scholarships to the defensive side of the ball to build much depth.
So, no matter how good they are, they have little help.
 
outofyourmind said:
Of course they say it was Lincoln.
But it wasn't
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Probably correct. At the least, it may have been that she told Lincoln to do it.

Hopefully she makes the DC hire too. Even if she chooses to give him the credit.
 
trojanfan12 said:
Probably correct. At the least, it may have been that she told Lincoln to do it.

Hopefully she makes the DC hire too. Even if she chooses to give him the credit.
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Grinch has been with Riley for 7 years.
It didn't just fall apart last weekend.

And Riley doesn't like to be told no.
 
trojanfan12 said:
Probably correct. At the least, it may have been that she told Lincoln to do it.

Hopefully she makes the DC hire too. Even if she chooses to give him the credit.
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did they announce who will call for the rest of the season?
 
OlyDuck said:
did they announce who will call for the rest of the season?
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Yeah, DL coach Shaun Tua and inside LB's/defensive head coach Brian Odom will be co-DC's. I haven't heard who will call the defense. They also elevated Taylor Mays from defensive analyst to on field assistant to work with the safeties.
 
trojanfan12 said:
Yeah, DL coach Shaun Tua and inside LB's/defensive head coach Brian Odom will be co-DC's. I haven't heard who will call the defense. They also elevated Taylor Mays from defensive analyst to on field assistant to work with the safeties.
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lot of coaching history and experience between them but no notes of calling the coverages.
 
As far as the defense for the Trojans, I feel it honestly couldn't get much worse. These two guys have to have something to improve it. The amount of points given up in the last 4-5 games is crazy.
 
Collegefbfan said:
As far as the defense for the Trojans, I feel it honestly couldn't get much worse. These two guys have to have something to improve it. The amount of points given up in the last 4-5 games is crazy.
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id say 6 games not to mention 28 vs Arizona State, their season high
 
Collegefbfan said:
As far as the defense for the Trojans, I feel it honestly couldn't get much worse. These two guys have to have something to improve it. The amount of points given up in the last 4-5 games is crazy.
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Honestly, if they pick a defensive philosophy and stick to it...that alone would help.
 
This whole thing feels like Cohen sat Riley down and had a Come To Jesus meeting with him. She made him tell her if he was going to leave or stay at USC......no bullshit.......an honest answer because she would be sending the message with those eyes that "If you lie to me I'll slit your bag and run your leg through it". And Riley said he was going to stay which made the Grinch execution actually mean something for the longer term. Power move on her part but it's a win for USC. Riley's not going anywhere now for at least a year or two.
 
MarkOU said:
Won't matter. The defense has two issues. These are the same issues that plagued OU.

1. Strength and conditioning. Wylie is an aerobic S&C coach. He focuses on building lean players who have stamina and endurance. Strength and muscle mass take a back seat. It will make for lighter lineman that can't get push.

2. Riley will focus the majority of recruiting resources on offense. A good 70/30 mix.

As long as Wiley remains and Lincoln continues to be OC/HC, the defense will always be subpar.
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Wish Romeo was around here (ou fan poster).. we used to have some fun debates about Grinch and his fetish for 280lb DL.. We also had a debate about Wylie.. went through his shitastic regime at UT to the excitements of pulled hamstrings galore and shoulder issues that would plague the program.

I think Wiley sucks but I don't think that would hinder Lincoln... if he can let the AD hire his DC. Should be a short list for that position starting with what happens to Dave Aranda.. after that I would see if Jimmy Lake has interests in coming back to coach defense in CFB.

Lincoln issue has always been his love for the offense, he legit got Drew Sanders to flip from ou to Bama because he wanted him to play TE not DE/LB.. guy was an all american at Arkansas at LB..
 
trojanfan12 said:
It depends, imo.

Their front 7 isn't going to get any bigger in the next week and there probably isn't a lot that can be done about the tackling issues this late either.

But if they just settle on what type of defense they want to play, simplify it and stick to it, that should help some. One of the DB's, Calen Bullock, was asked about the big plays and he said that the biggest issue on almost all of those plays was guys being out of position/not knowing where they're supposed to be.

The game vs Washington basically came down to Washington's defense was able to force USC to punt twice and USC's defense was only able to make Washington punt once.

Assuming the game vs. your Ducks is a shootout, can they improve enough to be the defense that gets that 1 extra stop? Maybe. But considering the game is at Autzen, I'm not putting any money on it. lol
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Simplifying things is a double edged sword IMO. Yes, it makes it easier for defenders to be in the right spot but it also makes it easier for the offense to identify what you're doing. And considering they're playing a 5th year QB who's leading the #2 total offense in the country, simplifying may not necessarily help USC out. If USC wants to win the game on Saturday, it's gonna come down to winning or at least breaking even at the LOS.

Can USC stop Oregon from running the ball down their throat? Can they protect Caleb Williams? If the answer is yes, they can definitely win this game. However, I think it's a bad matchup for USC in both of those aspects. Oregon is very efficient when it comes to running the ball and USC hasn't really stopped anyone from running the ball on them. USC has struggled with pass protection at times and Oregon is very deep along the defensive line.
 
duckboy33 said:
Simplifying things is a double edged sword IMO. Yes, it makes it easier for defenders to be in the right spot but it also makes it easier for the offense to identify what you're doing. And considering they're playing a 5th year QB who's leading the #2 total offense in the country, simplifying may not necessarily help USC out. If USC wants to win the game on Saturday, it's gonna come down to winning or at least breaking even at the LOS.

Can USC stop Oregon from running the ball down their throat? Can they protect Caleb Williams? If the answer is yes, they can definitely win this game. However, I think it's a bad matchup for USC in both of those aspects. Oregon is very efficient when it comes to running the ball and USC hasn't really stopped anyone from running the ball on them. USC has struggled with pass protection at times and Oregon is very deep along the defensive line.
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Have to start somewhere and simplifying schemes so guys are at least in the right spot is a good place to start. Also, simplifying the defense doesn't mean you don't disguise coverages or make changes to adjust to how the offense lines up.

There have been many times this year where USC defenders have been waving their arms looking at the sidelines like they're not sure what to do as the play starts. In virtually every game they've had to burn 2-3 timeouts because they couldn't get lined up properly. Especially in the last several games. Based on some of what has come out, I think Grinch lost his players.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next 2 games. I think the defense will come out inspired and play better than they have been. I just don't know if it will be enough to actually win the game. Also, to be seen is, what happens if/when Oregon breaks off a few chunk plays or a real strong couple of drives...will they fight back or say "here we go again"?
 
Goldbug said:
This whole thing feels like Cohen sat Riley down and had a Come To Jesus meeting with him. She made him tell her if he was going to leave or stay at USC......no bullshit.......an honest answer because she would be sending the message with those eyes that "If you lie to me I'll slit your bag and run your leg through it". And Riley said he was going to stay which made the Grinch execution actually mean something for the longer term. Power move on her part but it's a win for USC. Riley's not going anywhere now for at least a year or two.
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That's what I'm thinking happened. I've heard nothing but good things about Cohen and an advantage that I think she has compared to OU's AD is that she didn't hire Riley, so she has no loyalty to him. Pretty sure Riley is smart enough to know that, just like GM's in pro sports, AD's like to bring in their own hires.
 
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