Lincoln Riley on What Greg Brown Brings to the USC Defense

Analysts on both sides of the ball continue to be a major part of college football coaching staffs. USC head coach Lincoln Riley officially announced the arrival of Senior Defensive Analyst Greg Brown earlier this spring. Last week, Riley spoke about what went into the decision to bring Brown in and what he’ll bring to the defense.

Brown is one of four defensive analysts listed on the roster now for USC. Taylor Mays and Bookie Radley-Hiles were named analysts this offseason. And Parker Henry returns for his second season as a defensive analyst. Henry served as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma for Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch the previous three years.

The 65-year old Brown is obviously a much different addition to that position than the other three, who are much younger with much less experience. Brown was the defensive coordinator at Colorado from 2011-12 and at Charlotte in 2022. He served as the co-coordinator at Arizona in 2010. And he’s worked as the defensive backs coach in the NFL and college since 1987. He’s worked at the college level since 2005, including stops at Auburn and Alabama. That experience was a big reason he was brought into USC.

“It can be really valuable to have a guy like that, that’s extremely experienced, that’s been responsible for the whole thing, that comes in can offer some fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes, that’s not solely responsible for one position group.”

What Brown Brings to the USC Defense

In his analyst role, Brown can’t do any on-field coaching with the players. Instead, he works with the coaches and can provide a fresh set of eyes. Riley referred to Brown as “an overall advisor for our defensive staff.”

“He’s somebody our defensive coaches can sit in there and bounce ideas back and forth off of,” Riley said. “And he can give them just an open, honest opinion.”

Another benefit is that Brown isn’t looking out for any one position group, which can be a challenge when coaches discuss plans.

“It’s just how we’re all wired,” Riley said. “Coaches are biased like we all are with our kids. The linebacker coach is always going to see it through the eyes of a linebacker. The d-line coach, when he makes a suggestion, he’s probably not thinking about the corner…He’s thinking about his dudes up front.”

Riley said it will be “invaluable” to have Brown as someone who can take a bird’s-eye-view of the defense and offer different ideas.

Brown was one of several candidates for this Senior Analyst position Riley and the Trojans interviewed this offseason. Riley said it can be a difficult position to fill. But Brown was the obvious choice.

“It’s hard to find somebody that’s good enough and experienced enough, that has the right demeanor to come in and do this,” Riley said. “Because you’ve got to fit well with the staff. You’ve got to fit well within our culture of what we’re going to build here, too. Greg really. wanted to be here and just blew us away with his experience and his attitude and he’s been a great fit. I think he’s going to help us a ton.”

USC’s 2022 Defense

Brown is now part of a defensive coaching staff charged with completely turning things around on that side of the ball.

USC finished No. 106 in the nation in total defense last season, allowing 423.9 yards per game. The Trojans were No. 80 in rushing defense, giving up 159.8 yards per game. And USC finished No. 112 in passing defense, allowing 264.1 yards per game through the air.

Brown arrives with a number of new on-field additions for USC in terms of players.

Defensive linemen Anthony Lucas, Kyon Barrs and Jack Sullivan were all big gets via the transfer portal. Jamil Muhammad and Mason Cobb could wind up as starters at rush end and linebacker. And cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace is a key addition for the secondary.