USC football adds Super Bowl champ Rob Ryan to Lincoln Riley's staff
Yesterday at 02:19 PM
Lincoln Riley is determined to improve his team’s defense in 2025. One month after USC ended 2024 with a 7-6 record, Riley hired Las Vegas Raiders defensive assistant coach Rob Ryan to his football staff.
Ryan will join the Trojans as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach, the team announced on social media. He returns to college football for the first time since 1999 when he was the defensive coordinator of Oklahoma State.
Ryan will replace Matt Entz, who held the same dual role with USC’s football team in 2024. At the end of the season, Entz was hired by Fresno State to become their next head coach in relief of Jeff Tedford. The Bulldogs spent all of 2024 with Tedford as the interim head coach after Tim Skipper stepped down from the position just before the start of the season due to health concerns.
After his third season in Stillwater, Ryan was recruited by Bill Belichick to coach the New England Patriots’ linebackers. Over the next four years, he went on to win two Super Bowl rings while coaching star players Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, and Ted Johnson.
Since then, Ryan has been a prominent defensive assistant throughout the league. He has been with the Raiders since 2022, working as the team’s senior defensive assistant.
Aside from his coaching accolades, Ryan is known for being the twin brother of former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan. The two worked together for one year with the Bills in 2016, when Rob Ryan served as his brother’s assistant head coach of defense.
Lincoln Riley adjusts USC football coaching staff
As Ryan replaces Entz, Riley has additional work to do to fill out the rest of his coaching staff. Riley was forced to address his own future at the end of the season to silence rumors of his potential exit.
Riley is still looking for his next offensive coordinator after Josh Henson left for Purdue. Henson also coached the team’s offensive line, which Riley filled with Zach Hanson, his former tight ends coach.
Amidst the chaotic turnover, Riley was able to retain defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who recently inked a long-term extension. Lynn just completed his first year with USC after spending the previous season with cross-town rival UCLA.
Despite constant criticism of his recent lack of success, Riley remains under contract with USC through the 2032 season. He is still linked to the massive 10-year, $110 million deal he signed with the Trojans in 2022.
The post USC football adds Super Bowl champ Rob Ryan to Lincoln Riley’s staff appeared first on ClutchPoints.
