Instant Reaction: USC hires Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator

Peristyle Podcast - USC Trojan Football Discussion

USCFootball.com - Ryan Abraham, 247Sports, USC, USC Trojans, USC football, College Football

Sports, Football

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

USC's defensive coordinator search came to an official close on Friday with the hiring of Gary Patterson, the former TCU head coach. Patterson was seen as the clear leader for the job over the course of the last several days.

Above you catch watch the Instant Reaction from USCFootball.com analyst Chris Trevino and Shotgun Spratling.

Patterson went 181-79 as head coach of TCU, and he was the Horned Frogs' defensive coordinator for three years before taking over as head coach. Additionally, Patterson has coached defensive backs and linebackers in his career.

"We are excited to welcome Gary and his family to USC," said head coach Lincoln Riley via a statement from USC. "As a Hall of Fame coach, who is one of the game's most highly regarded defensive minds, he brings a wealth of success and experience to our program. His impact will be immediate, elevating our defense and strengthening the culture we've built. We're proud to welcome him to the Trojan Family."

Patterson was the defensive play caller as TCU's head coach, and he ran a unique 4-2-5 defensive scheme that used a versatile nickelback.

Transcript

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1:42.0	Welcome to the Parasal podcast.
1:43.7	This is an instant reaction podcast with the Helium Boys. I'm Chris Trevino. And as always, in this moment, joined by Shotgun Spratling. We are here to talk about USC officially hiring a defensive coordinator. It's long-weighted DC for 2026. It is going to be Gary Patterson,
2:03.7	the fame TCU head coach, the defensive savant, will be leading USC's defense in 2026.
2:10.7	Again, I'm here with shotgun spraddling. We are going to do some quick reactions to this hiring.
2:16.3	Even though shotgun, it felt like this has been coming down
2:19.0	the pike for several weeks. Many people have been talking about this. We've been talking about
	...

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