After Lincoln Riley made the decision to fire former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following USC’s 52-42 loss to Washington on November 4, he had to rebuild his entire defensive staff. After the regular season ended, Donte Williams accepted the defensive backs coaching position at Georgia, while Roy Manning and Brian Odom were let go by USC. With four defensive vacancies to fill, Riley started with Grinch’s successor and looked for someone who had success in turning struggling defenses into units that could compete with college football’s best offenses.
On December 1, Riley hired D’Anton Lynn. In 2023, Lynn was UCLA’s defensive coordinator who turned the Bruins’ defense into the best in the Pac-12 and the 10th-best nationally in yards allowed per game. Lynn also helped develop senior defensive lineman Laiatu Latu, who had 49 total tackles and 13 sacks in 2023, into one of the best edge rushers in the country. Prior to his one-year stint at UCLA, Lynn worked in the NFL for nine years after getting his start coaching as an intern for the New York Jets in 2014.
Nine days later, Riley brought on former North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz as the linebackers coach; Entz was also named the assistant head coach for defense. During his time in charge of the Bison, Entz went 60-11 and won the FCS Championship in 2019 and 2021. In the two years that NDSU won national championships, the American Football Coaches Association voted Entz the FCS National Coach of the Year. He has seen eight former Bison drafted to the NFL and has coached 20 All-Americans.
Doug Belk, the former associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the University of Houston, will serve as the Trojans’ secondary coach after being hired on December 16. During his five years with the Cougars, Belk coached 13 All-American Athletic Conference players from 2019 to 2022. In 2023, he had eight players earn All-Big 12 honors in Houston’s first year as a member of the conference. He also saw five Cougars get selected in the NFL Draft.
Riley’s final defensive hire was Eric Henderson, who was named USC’s co-defensive coordinator, run game coordinator and defensive line coach on January 15. Henderson has spent the last five years working for the Los Angeles Rams, where he served as the teams’ defensive line coach and run game coordinator. During his time with the Rams, Henderson’s defenses have consistently been among the top units in the NFL, in part due to his ability to develop defensive tackle Aaron Donald into one of the league’s best defenders. Donald is now a three-time winner of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Rams’ defensive line was most notable during the 2021 season, as it ranked third in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss en route to winning Super Bowl LVI. After winning the Super Bowl, Henderson was also voted the John Teerlinck Defensive Line Coach of the Year by his NFL peers.
Shaun Nua, who served as an interim co-defensive coordinator following Grinch’s dismissal, was the lone defensive coach retained by USC and will serve as the defensive ends coach after previously coaching the defensive line. In 2022, his first year with the Trojans, Nua helped turn defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu into one of the best defensive players in college football. Under Nua’s guidance, Tuipulotu led the country with 13.5 sacks and was named the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the defensive Morris Trophy winner and a unanimous First Team All-American selection. Prior to USC, Nua worked at Michigan, Arizona State, Navy and BYU (his alma mater). Nua was also a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers team that won Super Bowl XL as a player.
With the new defensive staff finalized, USC will now look to solve all of the issues that have plagued its defense for the last two years as it prepares for its first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.