Breaking down defensive coordinator candidates for USC
With USC closing out the regular season on Saturday, it can now focus on its search for a new defensive coordinator. The Trojans fired Alex Grinch from the role with two games remaining and didn’t look much better as it suffered another pair of losses to finish the year 7-5.
USC began the year 6-0 but lost five of its final six games, giving up an average of 42.8 points per game over the back half of the season. The Trojans rank 120th in the country in total defense this season after finishing 106th last season.
It became clear it was time for a change, but now the question remains of who will replace Grinch. Erik McKinney of WeAreSC joined On3‘s Andy Staples on Sunday to talk potential candidates, highlighting former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett and current Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.
“It’s been really quiet from USC’s side,” McKinney said. “We had a report earlier on the site with Pete Kwiatkowski potentially being a name. Zach Arnett is a guy whose name kind of popped up before he got let go at Mississippi State and now he’s kind of out there. That’s a name I think makes a lot of sense.
“You don’t want a defensive guy from the Mike Leach coaching tree, but that’s not where he comes from. He comes from defensive stock where he learned it and then he got to operate a little bit across from that offense, which I think it’s important to have that kind of idea of how to run a defense opposite. Lincoln Riley’s offense is not Mike Leach’s offense, but there’s roots and familiarity.”
Arnett took over for Leach this season after the legendary coach passed away in December 2022. He led the Bulldogs to a 5-6 record, but managed only one SEC win as they took a major step back offensively. Mississippi State still ranked seventh in the conference in total defense under Arnett.
Arnett got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant under Rocky Long at San Diego State in 2011. He later moved his way up the ladder to become linebackers coach and eventually defensive coordinator, helping the Aztecs to rank second in points allowed (12.7) in 2019.
He’d certainly be an interesting fit, but McKinney also through out former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and current Illinois defensive analyst Jim Leonhard. Rams assistant head coach Jimmy Lake, who worked with USC athletic director Jen Cohen as the head coach at Washington from 2020-21, is also a possibility.
“If USC fans could pick, Jim Leonhard would be the guy,” McKinney said. “Certainly there’s enough, from what we’ve heard, money floating around maybe not inside USC, but outside to where it’s like, ‘hey, that’s a guy that we can talk to. Everything you hear about him is if not Los Angeles, then certainly the NFL is gonna have an eye on him.
“I don’t know if he’s a wild card because he’s affiliated with USC athletic director Jen Cohen from their time at Washington, (but) Jimmy Lake is with the Rams right now, so it’s not a big jump for him to just come across to USC. He’s a guy who, off-field, on-field questions, background check, all of that kind of stuff would need to clear. But he’s a guy who’s run a team and would recruit incredibly well for USC in Los Angeles. So he’s kind of an intriguing name for me at this point.”
Leonhard also brings some experience as a head coach, leading Wisconsin to a 4-3 record as interim head coach in 2022. In his five seasons as the Badgers defensive coordinator, they ranked among the top five in total defense and top 10 in scoring defense four times.
But now matter who USC chooses as its defensive coordinator, McKinney expects the search to remain relatively quiet. For now, we’ll simply have to wait on more news to emerge in the next few weeks.
“USC kept the Lincoln Riley search silent,” McKinney said. “These are different people running this one now, but there’s been a pretty concerted effort to keep this one quiet as well.”