The USC Trojans were dealt a big blow this morning when LB Coach Matt Entz took the head coaching position at Fresno State. This entire defensive staff was a long shot to hold together for very long, but Entz leaving on National Signing Day was certainly unfortunate, although well deserved.
The Trojans missed out on some top prospects that had been trending in their direction but did finish strong by landing 5-star DL Jahkeem Stewart and flipping 4-star DB Alex Graham from Colorado.
Now Lincoln Riley will be tasked with filling his open LB Coach position. We have composed a short list of potential targets that would be solid hires in replacing Entz.
***Update (12/17)
A new candidate, current Illinois LB Coach Archie McDaniel, has emerged as a potential hire for the USC LB Position.
Last season was McDaniel’s first year with the Fighting Illini, and before that, he coached at Houston (where he coached with current USC DB Coach Doug Belk), Texas State, New Mexico, SMU, Tulsa, and Texas Southern.
Overall, he has 17 years of collegiate coaching experience and he was a 3-year starter at Linebacker and team captain for Texas A&M from 2003-2005.
McDaniel was not one of our original candidates, but he is certainly qualified and would continue to fortify a strong pipeline with Texas recruiting.
Below is our original candidate list and we will continue to update as we learn more.
Top 5 USC Trojans LB Coach Targets
Chris Claiborne
The choice of hiring Chris Claiborne feels like the most logical, but who knows if it would actually happen. Claiborne is a USC legend who played for the Trojans from 1996-1998. He was a member of the legendary “55” club and was drafted 9th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions.
Claiborne began his coaching career as the Calabasas High School head coach before joining USC as a quality control analyst in 2020. He was then hired by Herm Edwards as the linebackers coach at Arizona State. When Edwards was fired, Claiborne moved on to the same role with the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, which is where he is presently coaching.
Claiborne has plenty of coaching and playing experience to be a great hire. He is also a Trojans legacy that would instill tradition in the program that fans have been begging for.
Matt Entz is a big loss, but Claiborne would be a seamless transition and would be a fantastic hire that would have an immediate impact on recruiting and the transfer portal.
Ken Norton Jr.
This would be a slam-dunk hire, in my opinion, but a bit of a long shot. Ken Norton Jr. is highly respected among all coaching circles and has coached some elite players.
Currently, he is the linebackers coach for the Washington Commanders in the NFL, so it would be a lateral move, but perhaps a pay raise and getting him back to Los Angeles could entice the former UCLA Bruin.
Similar to when Lincoln Riley hired Coach Henderson from the Rams last year, this most likely would not happen until the Commanders’ season is over, so if this was the move, it might be a few months before he is brought on board.
Also Read: USC Trojans 2025 Recruiting Class
Norton Jr. coached at USC as the linebackers coach from 2004-2009, which one could argue was the heyday of USC Linebackers. After his stint with the Trojans, he coached with the Seattle Seahawks (twice), Oakland Raiders, and UCLA.
Michael Hutchings
USC Trojans icon Su’a Cravens mentioned Hutchings as a great candidate and we agree. Hutchings is currently the assistant defensive backs coach with the Minnesota Vikings, and before that coached at Western Kentucky, Oregon, and USC from 2018-2020.
With the Trojans, Hutchings started as a graduate assistant, working with the linebackers, and then was promoted to quality control analyst in 2020.
He played linebacker for SC from 2013-2016.
This would be a bit riskier of a hire as he is lesser known and is just getting his coaching career started. But he has experience in College and the NFL, played the position, and has the USC pedigree. He could be a diamond in the rough hire.
Geoff Collins
Perhaps a lesser-known name, but there were some rumors circling last year that Collins had a legit shot for the USC DC opening before D’Anton Lynn was hired.
Currently, Collins is the DC for North Carolina, but with the recent firing of head coach Mack Brown, it is unknown if whoever is hired will retain Collins, so he may be available and looking for a new start.
Collins has a long, successful coaching career including stints as the head coach at Georgia Tech and Temple, and serving as the DC for Mississippi State and Florida.
Most of Collins’ coaching career has been spent in SEC country, which could bode well for recruiting if USC wants to continue targeting that area so heavily.
Rob Dvoracek
This one is another long shot, but would be a really solid hire. Rob Dvoracek is currently the LB coach at Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers DC, Tony White, just took the DC job with Florida State so there will be some movement on the staff.
A new DC may want to be able to hire his own guy, however, Dvoracek has pretty much been with head coach Matt Rhule for his entire coaching career. He was with him at Baylor and the Carolina Panthers, before joining him at Nebraska in 2023.
Related: USC Trojans Beat Out LSU, Oregon, For 5-Star Defensive Lineman
While the overall season was a disappointing one for Nebraska, the defense as a whole, and the linebackers specifically, played well finishing 19th in total team defense.
Again, probably a long shot, but a name worth looking at, especially since Tony White, and his defensive system, was a name linked to the USC DC job last year.
Honorable Mentions:
Ikaika Malloe – UCLA DC/Inside LB Coach (Got D’Anton Lynn last year, so why not?)
Mike Stoops – Kentucky LB Coach
Christian Robinson – Alabama Outside LB Coach