Lincoln Riley, D’Anton Lynn bring in Doug Belk as new USC defensive back coach

The USC defensive staff makeover continues. Donte Williams has left the program, which means the Trojans and Lincoln Riley needed a new defensive back coach. Riley needed to give D’Anton Lynn more high-quality help.

Mission accomplished.

You will notice that USC has hired an FCS head coach as a linebacker coach (Matt Entz from North Dakota State). Now the Trojans have hired a defensive coordinator as a position coach.

Doug Belk, who has been the defensive coordinator at Houston the past three seasons, is coming aboard as USC’s defensive back coach.

Going from Houston to USC is an upward move … if we are talking about the same position at the two schools. However, going from a Power Five coordinator (Houston is now a Power Five program since the Cougars are in the Big 12) to a Power Five position coach job is, at best, a lateral move if not a downward one.

Riley and D’Anton Lynn are convincing coaches to take downward steps — purely in terms of roles within the coaching hierarchy (head coach-coordinator-position coach) — to come to USC. They have clearly sold Matt Entz and now Doug Belk on the value of coaching the Trojans and turning this program into a College Football Playoff program.

Donte Williams out and Doug Belk in? That seems like a dramatic coaching upgrade in the secondary for USC.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lincoln-riley-d-anton-lynn-121304974.html

Author : Trojans Wire

Publish date : 2023-12-17 12:13:04

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