In hindsight, Rob Ryan says maybe he should have asked his wife before taking the job at USC and deciding to move to Los Angeles, but then again his mind was made up on it.

"To hear about the way D'Anton [Lynn] spoke about this place, about Lincoln [Riley], about these players on this team. ... I came up, I brought my son up, I went and talked to Lincoln and Dave Emerick and I'm like, these people are legit. I can't say no -- this is going to be great," Ryan recalled Wednesday as he met the media for the first time since signing on as USC's linebackers coach.

"So, I mean, I'd like to say I asked my wife's opinion, but I'm like, man, I'm going to USC. So now she's packing what she now says is for the last time and she is not happy with me."

Ryan, the colorful longtime NFL defensive coordinator who last coached college football back in 1999 at Oklahoma State, was every bit as entertaining as expected.

Before starting his 19-minute press conference Wednesday, Ryan gave the assembled media a heads up of what was to follow ...

"You'll see this, I'm going to be me, I'm comfortable in my own skin, so I hope you are," he said.

Sure enough, by the end he was in full storyteller mode, pacing back and forth, waving his arms and recounting a story of how USC QB Jayden Maiava's uncle, former Trojans linebacker Kaluka Maiava, once helped him secure a rental car in Maui even though the place had told him they were sold out.

In between all the candor and color, Ryan also shared why he's here, back in college football after decades in the NFL, including stints as the defensive coordinator for the Raiders, Browns, Cowboys and Saints among other jobs in the league -- most recently as a senior defensive assistant for the Raiders the last three years.

It started after the season with a call from USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.

Ryan and Lynn had coached together with the Buffalo Bills (under Ryan's brother, then-head coach Rex Ryan) and the Baltimore Ravens. Lynn's father, Anthony Lynn, is especially close with Rex Ryan, so the two families have known each other well for many years.

That first call from D'Anton Lynn suggesting Rob Ryan come coach at USC didn't exactly seal the deal, but it did plant the idea ...

"He brought it up to me and I'm like, 'You're out of your mind.' But I got to thinking about it, and he kept selling it and he sold some of the players here and things like that," Ryan said. "This is a young Mike Tomlin the way I look at him. D'Anton is sharp as he can be. He's a wonderful person. He's a great teacher. ...

"He brought it up earlier and I was thinking about it, and then AP (Antonio Pierce) gets fired (as Raiders head coach). People don't know, me and (Raiders owner) Mark Davis are really close. I was comfortable in my own skin, I know I could have stayed and all that. That wasn't the deal. What I wanted to do was, I'm 62 years old, I've been taking care of myself for a long time, but I wanted to give my son a chance to be around a great program, so that enticed me ... We're excited about it. It's a great choice for me. I'm already pretty comfortable being here. I'm still working a little bit on the recruiting thing, but I'm happy to be here. Great, great defensive staff that we're around and really enjoying it already."

Ryan noted that his son would be part of the USC staff, though he's not yet listed on the staff directory and it's not clear what role he would have.

But coincidentally, that's exactly how Ryan came to meet D'Anton Lynn years back with the Bills -- same kind of deal.

"Rex and Anthony Lynn ... they go way back. The only way Rex could get Anthony -- 'Hey, you're assistant head coach' he's giving all those titles ... but Anthony was still kind of balking at him," Ryan says, telling the story. "The Jets never had a quarterback until 'Sanchize,' so [Rex is] like, 'Oh, by the way, I'm going to hire your son, so you can tell your wife you turned [me] down and your son.' So that's where D'Anton got his first start was under Rex, so that made A-Lynn come with him. The rest is kind of history."

USC had a spot to fill on its defensive staff when former linebackers coach Matt Entz left after the season to become the head coach at Fresno State. In addition to LBs coach, Ryan will also have the title of assistant head coach for defense.

It's been two and a half decades since he coached in college football, and while working with the Trojans linebackers should be natural for him, Ryan admitted the recruiting side of things will take some getting used to for him.

He was already out on the road with the staff doing in-home visits with 2026 prospects before the recruiting dead period started this week, but as Ryan noted, Riley and Lynn knew better than to send him out on his own.

"Well, I was with Henny (defensive line coach Eric Henderson), who is like, I mean, that's Pete Carroll. He's got energy, he's unbelievable. Everybody loves him, he walks in the building, like, 'Oh, Henny!' He's the man. So it was pretty easy," Ryan said. "No, they did not trust me going out by myself. I would probably have broke every rule -- no I wouldn't have, maybe a few of them -- but it was awesome to be around him.

"And then, you know, I think I'm kind of used to seeing a player and knowing what he looks like, and when you see a face that you're used to looking at, 'Oh, I want that kid.' I saw a couple of those on the road like, 'All right, this will be pretty cool.' Then I get back here and they've got you looking at these young kids, 'He's 170 pounds, can you project?' Oh, this is where it's going to be a little different. I'm still kind of getting used to that, but it's a people business. Back when I was coaching at Tennessee State 110 years ago I used to sign a lot of kids, so I'll be OK. I'll be good at it for sure."

A couple USC recruits who have interacted with Ryan so far shared their takeaways with TrojanSports.com ...

"Coach Ryan is awesome, he's just going to give it to you straight, a lot of high energy, and definitely knows the game!" said USC four-star linebacker commit Xavier Griffin, from Gainesville, Georgia. "It plays a huge factor because NFL is my next stop after college so I was already going to be prepared with the coaching staff we had at USC, but now you add him and there is definitely no reason why I won’t be three and out!"

Said four-star linebacker target Talanoa Ili, from Orange: "It was great seeing and being in meetings with him. I spent about an hour with him. Very knowledgeable!"

Meanwhile, Ryan shared his excitement to work with the current USC linebacker group, led by redshirt senior Eric Gentry and sophomore Desman Stephens II.

"The guy's been fantastic. And he does the unnatural natural. I love this kid," Ryan said of Gentry. "This kid makes more plays, my God. This guy's going to be fun to work with. He's got these vines for arms. I do great with guys with the long arms -- [Mike] Vrabel, [Willie] McGinest. This guy's going to be hitting people. ...

"And really excited about Des -- Des plays the way I like. He plays violently. I know that's maybe not a great word, I'm not allowed to say he'll dent a helmet, but he's going to hit people and I enjoy players like that. ... We're going to make these guys great and greater than they want to be, and obviously I've got some really good talent there to work with."

Ryan may have surprised many in returning to college football at 62 years old after an accomplished career in the NFL, but he couldn't seem more excited about it. After the press conference Wednesday, he said he was headed home (presumably to Las Vegas) to fill up a dumpster and UHaul and make the formal move to Los Angeles, eager to get back to work.

"This is a people business and I had my first taste, we were in a team meeting yesterday, and I see the young faces looking back, it was refreshing and it was exciting," he said. "Obviously here I'm joining the best coaching staff in the country. Lincoln Riley is right there with (LA Rams coach Sean) McVay -- they're the best offensive coaches, best guys in the country, I don't care what league it is or whatever it is. That's just the truth, and I've been around some pretty good ones. ...

"If I'm going to leave pro football and come to a college, I want to win a national championship, so I made sure I chose USC. It's the right place to be."