The USC football program is reportedly set to fill one of its three remaining assistant coach vacancies, hiring longtime Kansas State assistant coach Sean Snyder as special teams coordinator.
Ryan Black of The Mercury in Manhattan, Kan., broke the news, and the Los Angeles Times' Ryan Kartje confirmed it.
Snyder was an All-American punter at Kansas State in the early 1990s under his father, legendary Wildcats coach Bill Snyder, and then joined the staff there as a part-time assistant coach in 1994. He then served as director of football operations (1994-96), assistant athletic director (1999-01), associate athletic director (2001-08), senior associate athletic director (2009-10) and then coached the special teams there from 2011-18. Snyder spent last season as a senior special teams analyst at Kansas State.
He replaces John Baxter, who was let go by USC in late December.
According to The Mercury, during Snyder's time overseeing Kansas State's special teams, the Wildcats set or tied eight school records and from 2013-17 the Wildcats had a first-team All-Big 12 kick returner every season.
Morgan Burns led the country in kickoff-return touchdowns (4) and ranked third nationally in kickoff-return average in 2015.
Snyder was recognized as the special teams coordinator of the year in 2015 and 2017 by Phil Steele.
His father Bill Snyder had made it clear he hoped his son would be named his successor when he retired after (again) after the 2018 season, but Kansas State instead hired North Dakota State's Chris Klieman.
The younger Snyder now takes over a USC special teams unit that ranked last among 130 FBS teams in kickoff coverage, allowing an average 29.78 yards per return (including 2 touchdowns). The Trojans ranked 33rd in punt coverage, allowing just 10 returns for 57 yards.
Meanwhile, USC was 57th in kickoff returns, averaging 21.1 yards per return with 1 touchdown, and 95th in punt returns at 5.6 yards per return.
It will be especially interesting to see what Snyder is able to do with redshirt sophomore Australian punter Ben Griffiths, who had an inconsistent season after arriving with considerable expectations as an older player who had spent eight seasons in the Australian Football League. USC ranked 82nd in averaging 41.17 yards per punt.
The website Football Outsiders tracks a stat it calls its SFEI Special Teams Rating, which represents the per possession scoring advantage a team's combined special teams units would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent.
Here's where Snyder's K-State units ranked nationally during his time coordinating the special teams:
2011: 31st
2012: 6th
2013: 38th
2014: 3rd
2015: 12th
2016: 25th
2017: 1st
2018: 39th
(For perspective, USC ranked 95th last season in that category.)
Snyder's addition leaves two vacancies on the coaching staff. Head coach Clay Helton had said during an appearances on the Trojans Live radio show Wednesday night that USC was close to finalizing the hiring of a cornerbacks coach, which would leave defensive line coach as the final spot to fill.
In addition to the change at special teams coordinator, USC has completely overturned its defensive staff. New defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is expected to serve as his own linebackers coach, while his first hire was safeties coach Craig Naivar, who worked with him at both Houston and Texas.
USC also promoted offensive analyst John David Baker to the role of tight ends coach, which was another responsibility held by Baxter last season.
Overall, USC has replaced eight of its 10 assistant coaches in the last 14 months with wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and offensive line coach Tim Drevno the only ones remaining from Helton's 2018 staff at this point.
