There has been a lot of movement on USC football’s defensive coaching staff this week, most notably the hire of new Trojan defensive coordinator Gary Patterson.
Brining Patterson to town wasn’t the only move USC made however. The Trojans also parted ways with Doug Belk, hired Mike Ekeler to coach both special teams and linebackers and will likely demote linebackers coach Rob Ryan to an analyst role.
This gives USC a coaching refresh at basically every level of the defense. But is the Trojans’ revamped defensive hierarchy the one that will bring excellence on that side of the football to USC?
Let’s explore the possibilities.
Doug Belk: USC loses a great recruiter, but the secondary wasn’t great
USC will definitely miss Doug Belk on the recruiting trail, and he did help develop Bishop Fitzgerald into an elite safety this season. But, it’s not as though USC’s secondary was elite, especially other than Fitzgerald. The Trojans were prone to giving up big pass plays at times, and when they didn’t, they were often playing soft coverage and getting shredded by underneath throws.
There were flashes of excellence in games like Nebraska, but the secondary wasn’t consistently good and faltered against top opponents.
Whether letting Belk go was a good move or not depends largely on how USC replaces him. Is Patterson planning on coaching the secondary himself, or will he hire a new safeties coach to the staff?
Rob Ryan: USC’s linebackers struggled
Having Mike Ekeler coach linebackers instead of Rob Ryan seems like the right move for USC. USC’s linebacker play regressed massively in 2025 under Ryan compared to 2024 under Matt Entz. Some of that can be attributed to growing pains of young players, but even star linebacker Eric Gentry struggled with consistency this season.
USC seemed to agree with what a lot of fans thought: another season of this kind of linebacker play was not acceptable, and USC needed to improve its personnel.
At the same time, I hate calling for anyone’s job, so it’s good that Ryan can stay on staff despite the hire of Ekeler. Hopefully he can succeed with less pressure and responsibility. He is still a talented and experienced defensive coach.
Gary Patterson: brings Defensive Culture
There are plenty of questions about Gary Patterson’s ability to adapt to the modern game in this new role. After all, he hasn’t been a head coach since 2021 and he hasn’t been a defensive coordinator since 2000.
But one thing that Patterson will naturally bring to this coaching staff if USC lets him is an elite culture. Patterson is a Hall of Famer who completely transformed the TCU football program.
USC’s defense struggled with accountability and discipline a lot in 2025. That is the clear No. 1 reason to be excited about the Patterson hire. He knows what it takes to get the most out of his players and elevate a program.
Let’s just hope Lincoln Riley gets out of his way on the defensive side of the ball.
Mike Ekeler: brings the right attitude to special teams, hopefully he’s not spread too thin
Hiring Mike Ekeler is clearly a great move for USC on special teams because it will help bring a needed defensive culture to that phase of the USC football team. The Trojans need to have much more of an edge on special teams than they did in 2025 in kick coverage and return blocking.
The only concern is that coaching special teams and linebackers will be a lot for Ekeler to handle. But, Ekeler did a great job coaching both outside linebackers and special teams at Tennessee from 2021-24, so perhaps that concern is unwarranted.
Ryan Dougherty: helps kicking
The hire of Ekeler means that Ryan Dougherty is no longer USC’s special teams coordinator, but Ryan Dougherty is staying on staff as an analyst/assistant special teams coach.
Dougherty, who has a punting and offensive background, helped develop Eddie Czaplicki in 2024 and Ryon Sayeri in 2025 into stars. USC was smart to retain him despite his demotion, because he could still be a big help in the kicking phase of special teams while Mike Ekeler focuses on everything else.
Overall
It was clear that USC could not roll into 2026 with the same staff it had in 2025 and expect different results. It’s good that the Trojans have made some changes, and every change they have made has a clear potential benefit.
Trojan fans can only hope that they made the right changes, bringing in the right pieces, letting the right pieces go, moving the right pieces around and retaining the right pieces.
Because if they didn’t, USC could be in for a much more dramatic coaching staff overhaul during the 2027 offseason.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Is USC making the right hires and demotions on defense this offseason?
Reporting by Ethan Inman, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
