USC has its new head coach after a two-and-a-half-month search, delivering a resounding kaboom to a process that had been impressively quiet with no leaks coming from the school before the news broke Sunday that the Trojans had hired Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley.
But it shouldn't take long to learn what assistant coaches will be joining Riley in Los Angeles.
In fact, we already know a couple.
Riley formally announced during his introductory press conference that WRs coach Dennis Simmons, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, director of football operations Clarke Stroud and head strength coach Bennie Wylie would be part of his new team at USC.
"These guys got on the plane with me this morning without a contract, without anything. I called them and said, 'Do you want to come?' And they said, 'Yep.' I said, 'All right, plane leaves at 6 a.m.' They were there at 5:40. They have been instrumental in our success at Oklahoma and I think it says a lot that they want to be here with you, with all of us and I can't imagine doing it with any other guys," Riley said. "Cannot wait to get the rest of this staff here and I can promise you it will be one you're very proud of."
There had been a report Sunday from On3.com's Matt Zenitz that Oklahoma offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh would also be joining Riley at USC, but that remains unconfirmed.
However, Riley did say this ...
"The three guys that I knew I was going to bring are here today. There will be a few more coming in the next few days," he said.
Grinch has been with the Sooners the last three seasons after getting his first chance as a coordinator at Washington State from 2015-17 before spending the 2018 season as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State and moving on to Oklahoma after that. He also coaches the safeties.
He has been a four-time nominee for the prestigious Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football, and was a semifinalist for the award in 2017 and 2019.
Here's a look at how his defenses have performed during his career:
From previous articles written about Grinch's defensive scheme, like this from LandGrantGauntlet.com in 2019 when he took over, he operates from a similar base personnel alignment as the Trojans have used the last two seasons under Todd Orlando with a 3-4 front, along with a hybrid rush outside linebacker, two linebackers behind the line and a nickel, along with a field-boundary system for the cornerbacks.
We'll dive much deeper into Grinch's defense later in the week, but for now let's take a look at how the rest of Riley's USC staff could look.
We'll use the position coach arrangements he utilized at Oklahoma as a template.
Also, bear in mind, there's usually an off-the-radar hire in filling out coaching staffs, one that wouldn't seem obvious to anyone at this point, so we don't expect to have all the answers here -- just some exhaustive research and analysis.
Offensive coordinator(s)
At Oklahoma, Riley used co-offensive coordinators in Cale Gundy, who also coaches the inside receivers, and Bedenbaugh, who is a highly-regard offensive line coach.
We'll talk more about Bedenbaugh in a minute, but Gundy is an Oklahoma lifer -- played for the Sooners in the 1990s and has been on staff since 1999 -- so he's not going anywhere.
Those two have also shared the OC position for as long as Riley has been head coach, so there are no other obvious names to mention here.
Ultimately, this is Riley's offense and he calls the plays himself, so this is not a paramount concern in filling the staff.
Reports are that Bedenbaugh is coming with Riley, so we’ll pencil him in here and if there is a need for a second co-coordinator, we’ll find out soon enough.
Offensive line
This is the big one ...
Bedenbaugh is respected as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, and he has consistently recruited top-end talent at the position. His 2022 recruiting class includes three four-star offensive linemen, including top-150 national prospect Jake Taylor (Las Vegas, Nev.), whom USC had high on its list.
There's a reason recruits want to play for him, as he's produced the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year each of the last five seasons (Orlando Brown in 2016 and 2017, Dru Samia in 2018 and Creed Humphrey in 2019 and 2020) while developing eight NFL draft picks from 2015-21.
With reports that Riley will bring Bedenbaugh with him — if that proves to be the case — this hire just gets better and better.