USC head coach Lincoln Riley has hired longtime Horned Frogs leader Gary Patterson to be his next defensive coordinator. The news comes weeks after Patterson was named as a member of the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class.
Gary Patterson has recently been named a member of the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2026, and adding to his impressive resume, he's landed new gig with old Big 12 rival Lincoln Riley.
Reports surfaced earlier in the week that the USC head coach Riley was interested in Patterson, the longtime TCU coach, to be his next defensive coordinator.
The news became official on Friday. Patterson will now return to college football in a proiminent position in the Big Ten at Southern California.
"We are excited to welcome Gary and his family to USC," Riley said, via the school's athletics website. "As a Hall of Fame coach, who is one of the game's most highly regarded defensive minds, he brings a wealth of success and experience to our program. His impact will be immediate, elevating our defense and strengthening the culture we've built. We're proud to welcome him to the Trojan Family."
Patterson's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame largely comes from his success with the Horned Frogs, as he spent over two decades in Fort Worth and accumulated a program record 181 wins.
TCU rose in national prominence under Patterson's leadership. The team grew from a conference champion in Conference USA and the Mountain West into a Big 12 power that won the league in 2014, the same year Patterson was named AP National Coach of the Year for the second time.
The Horned Frogs finished the season in the AP Top-25 11 times under Patterson, went 11-6 in bowl games, and achieved three major BCS appearances (2009 Fiesta Bowl, 2010 Rose Bowl, 2014 Peach Bowl).
Patterson was a special assistant to the Steve Sarkisian at Texas in 2022 and a consultant for Dave Aranda at Baylor in 2024 since parting ways with TCU in 2021.
Now, he returns to the forefront of college football to bring his revolutionary defensive mind to a historic program in USC.
"I still have a lot of ballgames left in me," Patterson said back in 2023 when he was first considering a full-time return to the sidelines. "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."
"To Xs and Os, to recruiting, to NIL, portal, you name it. I'm rested," he added. "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."
The Hall of Famer has found what he's been looking for in Southern California.