USC targeting ex-TCU coach Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator ahead of critical season for Lincoln Riley

Former TCU coach Gary Patterson is USC's primary target to become the Trojans' new defensive coordinator, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer report. Patterson, 65, led the TCU program from 2000 to 2021 and most recently worked as a special assistant to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian in 2022 and a consultant at Baylor in 2024

At USC, Patterson would replace D'Anton Lynn, who left Lincoln Riley's staff in December for the same position at his alma mater, Penn State. Patterson, known as a defensive guru, went 181-79 at TCU and is the winningest head coach in program history. The Horned Frogs went undefeated and won the Rose Bowl under Patterson in 2010 and just missed out on a College Football Playoff bid in 2014 -- the first year of the four-team era. 

Patterson guided TCU's transition from Conference USA to the Mountain West and into the Big 12, winning at least a share of the conference crown in each of those leagues. In all, he led the Horned Frogs to 17 bowl games, six top 10 finishes and 11 seasons with double-digit victories before the school relieved him of his duties in October 2021 amid a four-year stretch of uneven play. 

In November 2023, Patterson said he had an itch to return to the sideline in the future.

"I still have a lot of ballgames left in me," Patterson said. "If I ever get a to a place, everything in place you'd have a chance to play in the playoffs and win a national championship ... I've keep my eyes open. I took great notes when I was at Texas. With Sark being in the NFL and being with Coach (Nick) Saban, I went down there to learn. There were things I felt like that we did better at TCU than maybe they did there, but not that anything was bad. To Xs and Os, to recruiting, to NIL, portal, you name it. I'm rested. The key for me is to find the right place that would want Gary Patterson, but also to understand I'm looking for the right place, too."

Patterson is set to join the USC program ahead of Riley's fifth season on the job. Riley was hired away from Oklahoma to push the Trojans back into the top tier of the sport. So far, he has under-delivered with a 35-18 record across his four seasons. The Trojans won 11 games in Riley's first season before dropping to 8-5 in 2023 and 7-6 in 2024, USC's first year as a member of the Big Ten. 

The Trojans finished 9-4 in 2025, a season that ended with an Alamo Bowl loss to TCU. They were placed at No. 11 in CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello's way-too-early top 25 for the 2026 season.