FOOTBALL

USC Notes: Coach Juggling Continues

The reason Mike Ekeler left Nebraska is because USC is also letting him coach linebackers.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean Rob Ryan is out. Ekeler will likely assist Ryan unless a new defensive coordinator makes a strong push to replace Ryan.

I remember Ekeler from his lone season at USC under Lane Kiffin (2013). It was unremarkable. Let’s face it: He’s being brought to USC to shore up the special teams. Coaching linebackers is a cherry on the top.

The funny thing would be if Gary Patterson looked at things and decided he didn’t want Ryan or Ekeler coaching linebackers. What would USC do then?

  • Marcus Freeman did not vote for his USC in his final Top 25 ballot. He did have TCU 25th, so maybe he ran out of room. Or was he being petty? Lol.

26 thoughts on “USC Notes: Coach Juggling Continues”

    1. KAM: Sadly this wasn’t a typo:

      “Sparrow Calypso

      October 24, 2025 at 2:33pm

      DON: I was reminded today of how in 1848 California had been a part of Mexico for hundreds of years. But the U.S. took it from Mexico in a War

      KAM: Well, they are becoming a large percentage of the California population, so they’re taking it back”

      DON: How could someone who graduated from USC being that ignorant?

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      1. KAM: Mexicans had been living in California for hundreds of years. On another topic, I see you are backing off from owning Greenland.

        DON: You have to have big ideas, but not all of them come true

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  2. I don’t think Patterson has much leverage. He has been out of work for about 4 years. Before that he was a defensive analyst for a few years. He was very successful at TCU for about 15 years and then his defenses were scorched. So why did USC hire him over more qualified candidates like Pete K and the guy from Missouri? Because those guys likely told Riley they need to bring in their own staffs and Riley and Jen would not agree to it. So why would they allow Patterson to do it? Patterson coaches safeties so they allowed Belk to go but I suspect that is it.

    Oh yes, Patterson is also friendly with Riley. Maybe that had some influence on the hiring decision. Riley was also friends with Grinch.

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    1. I hope I’m wrong….but…. it doesn’t look like Riley’s phone was really “ringing off the hook with D. C. candidates.”

      #AsFarAs2026:WhateverHappens,It’sOnRiley…

      #[ThingsCouldTurnOutFine..

      #Or…

      #…ItCouldBe”NiceKnowingYou”ByNovember]….

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    1. I don’t blame people for not believing this….but…the REAL breaking news [per Yahoo} is that Patterson will be announced tomorrow or the next day.

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  5. Thanks for the gumball, Freeman!! a deftly placed humiliating kick to the trOXans’ crotch in response to SC chickening out of playing the Rudys!! such chicken-sh!t moves do not happen in a vacuum, all NCAA teams are talking about how far the trOXans have fallen, talent-wise and Guts-wise!!

    #BAWK-BAWK-BAAAAWK!!!

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  6. all college football is trying to figure out why trOXans are hiring the Defensive staff backwards. i also hear trOXans eat cereal by filling their bowl with milk then adding Cheerios.

    #BackAsswards

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      2. KAM: Where is Uncle Rico?

        DON: Martinelli’s 22 help Northwestern beat USC 74-68, snap 9-game skid in Big Ten play

        LOS ANGELES — — Nick Martinell scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half on Wednesday night to help Northwestern beat USC 74-68 and snap a five game losing streak.

        Five-star freshman Alijah Arenas— a McDonald’s All-American and the son of three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas — made his debutfor USC and finished with eight points on 3-of-15 shooting, 0 for 6 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-6 guard hit a pull-up jumper along the right baseline nearly 3 1/2 minutes into the game for his first points and added a 360-layup about two minutes later.

        With 1.6 seconds on the shot clock, Max Green threw and inbounds pass from three-quarters court to Martinelli, who immediately turned and hit a baseline jumper to make it 67-63 with 2:14 to play. Martinelli then stole the ball, went coast to coast and fed Kropp for a layup and it was at least a two-possession game the rest of the way.

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  9. Who here thinks or ever thought Eric Musselman is a good basketball coach. To me he is subpar way below Andy Enfield who did a nice job at USC. Where has Musselman ever won anything his teams play street ball are not fundamentally sound, and if you look at his career resume a good part of his career was coaching in the NBA D-League, and when given the chance to coach in the NBA it did not last long.

    I happenned to watch the USC basketball game tonight vs. Northwestern. We lost to a team who has not won a game in the Big 10 this year, and we were clearly out played, out hustled, and definitely out coached. I have never seen a USC team look this bad at the mid-point of the season. He continues to make excuses clearly the team still has enough talent to win if they were coached properly. Tonight, this team was not prepared to win a basketball game so this one is on the coach.

    Just watch many of the players will transfer at the end of the season. and freshman phenom Arenas will leave after 1 season at USC for the NBA despite looking not being ready. Sound familiar remember you cannot build a program on 1 player who uses the university for 1 season, and then declares for the draft.

    Musselman is a clown with a small man complex. He is not a winner. I don’t see this guy taking USC basketball to the next level.

    Just watch in two years USC will get very tired of him just like many NBA, and college programs have in the past. Don’t be fooled by his resume after a few years even Arkansas got tired of his act quickly just like the NBA. USC hired a name in Musselman not a winning basketball coach. Just watch this team will now throw in the towel on the season, and Musselman will feature Arenas so he can fulfill his promise to his dad he will have him ready for the NBA after 1 season.

    Injuries are part of the game. No question USC has dropped a level because of it, but there is still enough talent to win especially on their home court if the team is coached properly, and the players developed which is not the case with Musselman. To me Musselman and belongs in the NBA D-League .

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  11. I don’t mind Gary Patterson being a coach as long as Lincoln Riley listens to him. He clearly wants to win a national championship before he leaves the Earth. Why not pimp, er, use USC since Sarkisian sent him packing.

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  12. What’s with ESPN having Marcus Freeman as a commentator along with Nick Saban and others during the national championship game. ND stiffed the bowl game broadcast by ESPN and they televise their games on NBC. When are the national media going to wake up and realize the ND is playing everyone and getting away with it. Then, next year they will play a bunch of losers along with BYU and Miami and get into the playoffs by being in the top twelve. This makes me so glad that USC dumped them after they wouldn’t change their scheduling to accommodate USC which is playing a far tougher schedule. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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