A day after announcing the firing of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, USC football coach Lincoln Riley met with media after practice Monday to discuss the decision and timing.
Riley didn't want to delve deeply into why the defense under Grinch fell so short of expectations, nor did he want to get specific yet about what he's looking for in the next coordinator.
Ultimately, Riley said multiple times, the defense simply didn't perform as hoped and change was needed while USC (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) still has a chance to play its way into the conference championship game.
"Watched the game Saturday night, slept on it. Thought about it a lot throughout the night. Didn’t sleep much. Thought about it a little bit more Sunday morning. Just felt like it was in the best interest of our program, both for this year – because we still have a lot to play for, we still have a really cool opportunity in front of us – and for the future that we needed to make the change," Riley said. "Simply weren’t making the progress, I think, that we all expected to make."
Watch the full interview here and scroll down for a complete transcript of Riley's comments.
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TRANSCRIPT
What ultimately led to the decision coming now?
"Watched the game Saturday night, slept on it. Thought about it a lot throughout the night. Didn’t sleep much. Thought about it a little bit more Sunday morning. Just felt like it was in the best interest of our program, both for this year – because we still have a lot to play for, we still have a really cool opportunity in front of us – and for the future that we needed to make the change. Simply weren’t making the progress, I think, that we all expected to make.
"It’s tough because these decisions, when you make them, there’s no guarantees in this game. We’re two football snaps from being undefeated in this conference right now. You just never know exactly how these things are going to go. Alex is a great coach, a great person, he’s proven that a lot throughout his career. I’m disappointed it didn’t work here. I know he is as well. But we have to move on. We’re going to move on. Excited for Coach Nua and Coach Odom, their opportunity. Excited for Taylor Mays. Excited for our team. We’ve got a big-time challenge and a big-time opportunity right in front of us here with these last two games. Win these two, we can put ourselves in a pretty cool position.
"So that’s our focus. My focus going forward, if we were in situation where we didn’t have a whole lot left to play for in terms of a conference championship, having an opportunity there, might feel a little bit different. But we’re still – we’re very laser-focused on these opportunities ahead. Whatever comes next after that, we’ll deal with it at an appropriate time."
What explains the difference in the confidence and expectations you had for this defense and how it played out?
"It's a tough question. The bottom line is it didn't get to where he, I, any of our players, any of us expected, and we all take ownership in that. Listen, that's the nature of the beast here. I certainly am not and our players, the rest of our staff are certainly not laying all the blame at Alex. Because the reality is, I have a role in that, the other defensive assistants have a role in that, our players have a role in that, our other staff members. Everybody has a role in it, so if it goes well, that's great, and if it doesn't go up to the expectations then changes are going to be made, adjustments are going to be made and that's just part of the business. So I think, I have some thoughts of why -- don't know that this is the appropriate time to jump into all that when we're getting ready to go play a really important football game. But obviously, once the season wraps up and we look forward to preparing for next year and the future, those are questions that we'll have to answer to make sure that we're heading in the right direction obviously for the future of this program."
What are your overall thoughts of Grinch's tenure?
"Well first, SC Trojan fans should know he was one of the first people to say yes and get on the plane. He wanted to be here and saw the potential and believed in this place as much as I did. I think that ought to be appreciated. Second, he was a part of the greatest turnaround in this school's history, and that should be appreciated. I know things defensively through the end of last year and throughout this season, especially kind of from mid-season on have not been what either one of us wanted, and that's obviously why we're here today so I think that says enough."
Was there input from the athletic department on this or was it your decision?
“It was my decision.”
How does the start of the transfer portal window and the early signing period impact the urgency to make a hire?
“Ah, it’s something you’re aware of. You can’t avoid it, but I’m not gonna sacrifice anything for getting the right person. THat’s the most important thing, because these are decisions that have long-ranging impact on our program, and it’s a decision you don’t make lightly in the first place. And as we decide future course, we’re obviously not going to take that lightly either. And so we’ll, we’ll pay attention to obviously, the recruiting, and how that goes and communicating with our recruits, which we’ve had a chance to do a lot to this point and will do more. But nothing will trump getting the right person in here, because we’re gonna play great defense here. Like, period. It’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen soon. There’s no reason why it can’t, and obviously, the key is getting, getting that next person in here, but also the key is all of us, like I said, myself, players, other staff members, everyone that’s a part of this thing going forward has got to own their part in it as well.”
When you talk about making that hire, what are some of the factors you think will be important that you're looking for?
"I definitely get the question. Honestly just with the week ahead, I really the next couple of weeks ahead don't know that I want to just start laying out a bunch of specifics. I know obviously I will. Obviously in the last several hours I've spent a little bit of time thinking about it – the majority of my time is obviously getting ready to go play Oregon. I think very simply put though, what I said before, our goal here is to be an elite defense. One that is a huge part of this team is the strength of this program is one that leads us to championship opportunities year in and year out. And finding the right person to help get that done is certainly where we'll start."
How do you balance the next two weeks of coaching this team and looking at a list of candidates?
"99% coach of this team. Maybe when I get a few minutes here and there, spending a few minutes thinking about it, putting together a little bit of thought. But it'd be different if we were sitting here in a different position. But the reality is you win these two games, this thing, it's pretty interesting, pretty quick. Just look at the standings, and this team's capable of it. And I told him this morning, it's in the team meeting after gave him the news and I said, look guys, our feet are planted forward right now focused on these next two weeks. It'd be the very best that we can and rally for this. And so if I'm going to ask our team to do that, then I better be doing the same thing myself."
You touched on this just a little bit already, but obviously we're close with Alex and had a strong relationship with him and just to have to make that decision to as hard as it was, how hard was it on you?
"Sucks. 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. We won a lot of games, a lot of championships, did a lot of great things together. And it's not easy. He's a good friend, he's got a great family, our kids our close. You know? Like, there ain't -- there ain't nothing easy about it. You can't, as much as you wish you could, it's sometimes it's hard to separate professional from this I think basic human feelings about one another and our families. 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 and we're all that committed to playing great defense here. And whatever it takes to get that done, that's what we're gonna do."
What did you tell the other defensive assistants, whose future now is as little iffy?
"The same thing I'm telling myself and the same thing I'm telling our players. Stay focused on the present. It's easy for me to lay it out for them, because I got my first opportunity to call plays and probably a sequence of events I didn't know at the time, but that changed my life and honestly I'm probably not sitting her talking to you guys today without that happening when Mike got fired at Texas Tech and I got a chance to call it the first time. That totally changed my trajectory. And adversity like this can also bring about some of the best opportunities in somebody's life if you view it that way. I shared that with out defensive assistants, I shared that with Brian, I've shared that with Shaun, I shared that with Taylor. We got a great opportunity right here. The hell with everything else right now. Let's just go get in a bunker right now and just circle the wagons and go at it here for a couple weeks and see what happens and we'll figure out the rest of it (later)."
Have you decided who is going to call the defensive plays?
"We have, we have. I'm not gonna -- I understand why you'd ask the question. It's of no benefit for me or for the program to announce that. Obviously, the staff is having a lot of input and Shaun and Brian will take the lead."
How has this situation compelled you to grow?
"It always does. Football, this sport continuously challenges you. You never get to the point where I think you’ve seen it all. I think you’re constantly pushing yourself to grow and learn just like you want everybody else in the program to do as well. Yeah, I think these situations keep challenging me and I know I’ve gotta continue to get better, I’ve gotta continue to grow, I’ve gotta continue to learn to help put this program in the best position I can. That’s my job and that’s what I’m going to keep doing."
What have you learned through this about what it takes to have a good defense?
"Uh, yeah, it’s – I know what it looks like. I know what the change can look like. And ironically, Alex was a huge part of that. I watched a defense when we took over at OU that was not the strength of the program and then I watched in a matter of several months it become the strength of the program. And the chief reason why the last three years, the majority of those wins came on the heels of how well we played defensively. So yeah, great football is great football and it takes the same thing, whether it’s special team, whether it’s offense, whether it’s defense, it takes a system that fits the players, it takes a culture, it takes the right kind of players, it takes the coaches all on the same page. Any – if you have leaks, if you have weaknesses, you’re going to get exposed at some point, on any side of the ball and you’ve gotta do your best to plug those leaks, to not have weaknesses and make as many strengths as you possibly can, whether it be roster, weather it be culture, whether it be schematics, whether it be fundamentals, whether it be communication, it’s all gotta be right there, especially with the competition that we play, especially when you’re going through a stretch of games that we’re going through now.
"That’s just the nature of the beast, so I know well enough to know what we’re capable of here on all of those fronts and again, I have complete belief and conviction, we will play great defense here. It is going to happen. There’s not a reason in the world why it can’t. We’ll continue to take the steps we have to do to do it and we’re going to be very aggressive that way."
