Lincoln Riley names his full USC coaching staff

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LOS ANGELES – Southern California coach Lincoln Riley has confirmed his full coaching staff for his debut season with the Trojans.

Riley on Monday formally named a 10-man staff that includes Donte Williams. He will be Riley’s defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator after going 3-7 while serving as USC’s interim head coach following the firing of Clay Helton in September.

Riley’s new staff is headlined by Alex Grinch, his defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Grinch followed Riley from Oklahoma last month, taking the same private plane to Los Angeles after three seasons together with the Sooners.

Josh Henson is the Trojans’ new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, leaving Texas A&M. Dennis Simmons is Riley’s assistant head coach and outside wide receivers coach, while Dave Nichol is the inside wide receivers coach.

Kiel McDonald left Utah to become USC’s running backs coach. Tight ends coach Zach Hanson was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 2019 before spending the past two seasons at Tulsa.

USC defensive line coach Shaun Nua spent the past three seasons in the same job at Michigan, while outside linebackers coach Roy Manning was on Riley’s staff at Oklahoma. Brian Odom is the Trojans’ new inside linebackers coach.

Former Navy coach Niumatalolo joins UCLA staff

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LOS ANGELES – Former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo is joining UCLA’s coaching staff as director of leadership.

The school said in an announcement Friday that Niumatalolo will serve as an advisor to the Bruins’ football staff and players.

Niumatalolo led Navy for 15 years and was the winningest coach in school history at 109-83. The Midshipmen, however, finished with losing records the past three seasons, including 4-8 the past two.

Navy played in 10 bowl games under Niumatalolo. He also was the only coach to win his first eight games in the storied Army-Navy rivalry.

Troy, Jon Sumrall agree to new 4-year contract through 2026

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TROY, Ala. ⁠— Jon Sumrall agreed to a new four-year contract as Troy’s coach after leading the Trojans to a Sun Belt Conference championship and national ranking in his debut season.

The school announced the deal, which runs through 2026, but didn’t release details.

The Trojans went 12-2 and won their final 11 games, second only to national champion Georgia, including the league championship game and the Cure Bowl against UTSA. For the first time, they finished a season ranked, ending up 19th in The Associated Press Top 25.

“When we appointed Coach Sumrall in December 2021, we challenged him to return Troy football to the top of the Sun Belt Conference,” Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. said. “It didn’t take long, as the 2022 season was the best in our FBS history.”

Troy held all 14 of its opponents to under their season average in scoring, beating UTSA 18-12. The Trojans beat Coastal Carolina 45-26 in the Sun Belt title game.

“Last year was an amazing accomplishment for everyone associated with Troy football and was the product of relentless effort from our players and staff, athletic administration and university leaders,” Sumrall said.