USC in contact with Gary Patterson about open defensive coordinator job

USC and former TCU head coach Gary Patterson have been in contact regarding the Trojans’ open defensive coordinator role, sources tell On3’s Chris Low, Brett McMurphy and Pete Nakos. He was voted to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last week.

Patterson is TCU’s winningest coach in program history and was voted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. Lincoln Riley is in search of a new defensive coordinator following D’Anton Lynn’s departure for Penn State.

Patterson was a defensive coordinator before 21-year tenure as TCU’s head coach. Following his 2021 departure from TCU, he’s served in off-field roles with Texas and, most recently, Baylor. As the Horned Frogs’ head coach, he compiled a 181-79 career record, leading the program from Conference USA to the Mountain West and then to the Big 12.

Gary Patterson and Lincoln Riley have a relationship from their time as Big 12 head coaches and are good friends. A two-time AP Coach of the Year, Patterson combined for 11 final AP Top 25 rankings at TCU, including seven top 10 finishes, a No. 2 ranking in 2010 and a No. 3 ranking in 2014. 

Riley finished his fourth season at USC with a 9-4 mark. Lynn reinvented the Trojans’ defense in two seasons. In Lynn’s first season at USC, he led a massive one-season defensive turnaround. USC held opponents to an average of just 24.1 points per game, improving from 34.4 in 2023. The Trojans finished the 2024 season ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference in third-down conversion percentage defense (0.335), compared to ranking No. 106 (0.436) in 2023.