LOS ANGELES — We can say this: Lincoln Riley seems like a good and loyal friend. We should all be so lucky.
Seriously. It warmed my heart to see, in this cold, cutthroat world of big-time college sports, Riley stick his neck out and retain embattled defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, despite a chorus of calls for his ouster after USC’s dubious defense to close last season.
It said something that he’d stick by his guy – both had been assistants to Mike Leach – until Sunday, when Riley couldn’t possibly hold that position for Grinch anymore.
Grinch was fired after USC lost to fifth-ranked Washington, 52-42, the third loss in four games for a team that entered the season with reasonable national championship aspirations.
Now USC (7-3 overall, 5-2 Pac-12) goes into Saturday’s game on the road against No. 6 Oregon unranked in the polls for the first time since 2021 – and rated 118th in the FBS in run defense and 119th in total defense. The Trojans have given up 40 or more points in five of their past six games after allowing more points to the Huskies than ever before in 86 meetings between the schools.
Washington’s 572 total yards included 316 on the ground (so many of them before contact), triple its average this season – which has been one of the worst defensively in USC history.
Still, at the start of the year, I thought, you know what? As much as sports comes down to winning and losing, the relationships forged in the fire of competition are paramount. I thought, big picture, Riley was sending a noble message to his players.
But there’s a better, bitter lesson here: When people say you should separate business and personal, they’re not talking just about bank accounts.
Football, the sport that “continuously challenges you,” as Riley put it Monday, has reinforced that.
“As much as you wish you could, it’s sometimes, it’s hard to separate professional from this basic human feelings about one another and our families,” Riley said. “(But) I knew it was a decision that was the right decision at this time and point, and it certainly didn’t make it easy, but I am that committed.”
The right decision, yes. But at the wrong time and point: Too obvious, too late.
The time to make the change was before the season – which will be, in all likelihood, the Trojans’ last with generational talent Caleb Williams at quarterback.
But Riley couldn’t do it. Even after USC gave up 533 yards and got outscored 44-7 to end the game in a 47-24 loss in the Pac-12 championship game, he couldn’t.
Even after USC melted down in Texas, giving up 16 points in the final 4:07 of the season to lose to Tulane, 46-45, in the Cotton Bowl, he couldn’t.
He said he wanted to add talent, size and depth to the defense, but he didn’t want to introduce a new scheme or another voice, not when Grinch, who followed him from Oklahoma, was part of the turnaround from 4-8 to 11-3 in their first season together in L.A.
“I don’t even feel like 50-50 at all conflicted about it,” Riley told the team’s beat writers in January. “I feel I have a clear vision of what we’re gonna be defensively.”
His vision, we all realize now, was clouded.
If it seemed then as though Riley was doing the hard thing by standing up to critics and staying the course, the harder thing – the right thing – would have been to excuse his friend.
“Sucks,” Riley said Monday. “Yep, it sucks. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve had great staff members in the time I’ve been a head coach that have supported me, Alex being one of those. … He’s a good friend, he’s got a great family, our kids are close. You know? Like, there ain’t – there ain’t nothing easy about it.”
But as deep as a coaching tree’s roots go, the wider the net cast, the better. It’s the same way that efforts at diversifying candidate pools matter so much; if you’re prioritizing your product, you welcome new ideas and fresh perspectives. If you’re prioritizing winning, it should be less about who you know, but what you know.
Something Chip Kelly got right at UCLA this season: Hiring defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who’d spent nine seasons coaching in the NFL and none in college. The Bruins might be struggling offensively, but on defense, they’re putting their foot down, allowing just 294.3 yards per game – the 13th fewest in FBS.
USC’s opponents, meanwhile, are averaging 436 yards per game.
And now, with defensive line coach Shaun Nua and inside linebackers coach Brian Odom serving as interim co-defensive coordinators, and with games against the Ducks and Bruins looming, Riley said Monday he’s spent just 1% of his time thinking about who will replace Grinch next season.
But he knows now, probably, that he’ll have to look farther and wider for the right person. Someone, we’ll assume, who is proven, respected and someone top recruits will want to play for.
Whose professional relationship with Riley might – or might not – be formed yet.
“Nothing will trump getting the right person in here,” Riley said. “Because we’re gonna play great defense here. Like, period. It’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen soon.”
Asked Lincoln Riley about the difficulty of firing Alex Grinch given his close relationship with him. Talked about their kids being close.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to separate professional from basic human feelings about one another and our families.” pic.twitter.com/dGXX4YG6r4
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) November 7, 2023
