Lincoln Riley addresses what he is looking for in a new defensive coordinator

Lincoln Riley arguably has the most important hire of his coaching career coming up. USC decided to move on from Alex Grinch and will now be searching for a defensive coordinator. Years of poor defense have hampered Riley’s teams from winning national championships, specifically in Los Angeles with Caleb Williams.

During a recent press conference, Riley was asked exactly what he was looking for in a defensive coordinator. He did not give traits specific to a coach but talked about how his eyes are a bit more open to what USC needs to be successful. Riley feels like after two years inside the program, he will be better conditioned to make a hire.

“I think the advantage now, being here for almost two full years now, is getting a feel for what we have,” Riley said. “What the have been able to accomplish, the progress we have made. And then certainly taking a look at the areas where we all got to be better and finding the right fit in terms of that position. I think there is a lot more clarity right now.”

Of course, the entire coaching carousel needs to occur before USC can get a full list of candidates. Maybe the attempt to poach someone or take a recently fired head coach. Options should be good and Riley needs to make sure it’s the right one.

Riley went on to state all of his focus is on the UCLA game this season. USC is finishing their season up sooner than most teams around the country. Playing in Week 0 gave the Trojans Week 13 off, one they had hoped would be used as a bye before playing in the Pac-12 Championship game.

Depending on when USC’s bowl game is, they may not take the field again for well over a month. Sure, the main focus will be on getting some practice in and trying to get a postseason win. But Riley knows he will have a lot of time to figure out who his defensive coordinator will be then.

“Not that we’re going to drag our feet but we’ve got a little time after this to work with,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make that our advantage and it will be an advantage.”

Take care of business on Saturday against UCLA and then all hands will be on deck to find a defensive coordinator, with Riley hoping he gets USC back to a level they expect to be at.