USC football’s last regular-season game of 2023 takes place on Saturday against UCLA. As soon as that game ends against the Bruins, Lincoln Riley’s attention will shift to a critical task, arguably the most important one so far in his USC career – Replacing Alex Grinch with a new defensive coordinator.

Riley said the first step after Saturday's game is the defensive coordinator hire and then they will start building out the rest of the staff. He said continuity has its benefits, but how people work together as a combination is even more important, according to Shotgun Spratling of USCfootball.com

Riley fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following their 52-42 loss to Washington. Grinch came into the season on the hot seat and was unable to improve the defense which inevitably resulted in his firing.

USC football's defense has given up 40 points five different times this season and at least 30 points in each of their past six games. Not only have they made average offenses look elite, but they've wasted their own star quarterback in Caleb Williams who's leading an offense that averages 45.5 points per game.

In January, Riley confirmed that Grinch would be retained as the team's defensive coordinator. He told reporters he “never wavered” in his decision with Grinch. The USC football head coach added that given all he's been through with Grinch, who was his defensive coordinator during their time together at Oklahoma, he knows not to “bet against him.”

But now Riley looks to fill the vacancy after the team's regular season finale. One that puts a cap on a disappointing season for USC football fans.