Why was Alex Grinch fired by USC? Taking a closer look at DC's contract and future in the CFB arena

Alex Grinch’s tenure as the defensive coordinator of USC ended on Sunday after coach Lincoln Riley announced his dismissal on Sunday. That came after the Trojans' 52-42 loss to Washington on Saturday, marking the program's third defeat in four games.

Grinch joined USC in 2022 after serving as Oklahoma's defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021. He was among the group of Lincoln Riley's assistants at the Sooners that followed him to Los Angeles. However, he now has to take the next step in his coaching career.

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Why was Alex Grinch fired?

Alex Grinch lost his job due to the evident defensive woes of USC this season. The Trojans' defense has had a challenging year in 2023, ranking as one of the poorest in the country. They’ve allowed 436 yards per game and conceded an average of 34.5 points per game.

In context, the defense ranks 119th in yards allowed and 121st in points allowed this season despite the amount of defensive talents. They surrendered a total of 101 points in the last two games against Cal and UCLA and also allowed 40-plus points in five of their last six outings.

Notably, USC allowed 47 points in the Pac-12 Championship game loss against Utah in 2022 and 46 in the Cotton Bowl defeat to Tulane. Alex Grinch couldn't help but admit the defensive struggles of the Trojans this season since he took over in 2022:

"As a coach, you don't deflect," Grinch said at practice last week. "I couldn't be more disappointed in myself and the inability to get the guys to be more sound."

For the first time in the tenure of Lincoln Riley, the Trojans fell out of the AP Poll. That prompted the program to take necessary actions, which led to Grinch's eventual dismissal. USC now aims for internal restructuring as they make their way to the Big Ten next season.

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Alex Grinch's route to USC

Alex Grinch started his college football coaching career at Missouri as a graduate assistant in 2002 before moving on to work in defensive roles at various other programs.

He got his first job as a defensive coordinator at Washington State in 2015. He spent the 2018 season as Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator before joining Lincoln Riley in Oklahoma in 2019.

USC paid $1.08 million to the Sooners to buy Grinch out of his contract in 2021. His tenure with the Trojans, though, lasted two seasons.