Wisconsin co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch leaving for promotion
Wisconsin football assistant coach Alex Grinch is leaving to take the defensive coordinator job at UCF after one season with the Badgers.
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program is losing one of its top defensive assistants to a promotion.
Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch is officially joining UCF as their new defensive coordinator.
Grinch, who spent just one season in Madison, oversaw a safety group that featured several standout performances in 2024. Hunter Wohler led the team with 71 tackles and six pass breakups. At the same time, senior Preston Zachman had a breakout campaign, finishing with 58 total tackles, 13 stops, six pass deflections, 2.5 TFLs, and two interceptions in 12 games as a starter.
Junior Austin Brown also emerged as a solid contributor for the Badgers defense, splitting time between nickel corner and safety. On the recruiting trail, Grinch helped secure commitments from safeties Grant Dean and Luke Emmerich, both of whom are highly regarded by the coaching staff.
Grinch joined coach Fickell’s staff at Wisconsin in 2024 as the co-defensive coordinator after Colin Hitschler left for Alabama. He shared duties with Mike Tressel following a turbulent end to his tenure at USC.
The Ohio native earned $500,000 as an assistant for Wisconsin this past season, and it’s reasonable to expect he will receive a pay raise at UCF as their defensive coordinator.
Grinch, who previously held defensive coordinator roles at Washington State and Oklahoma and served as co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, faced a number of challenges during his tenure with the Trojans.
USC’s defense struggled mightily in 2023, giving up 34.5 points per game and ranking near the bottom nationally in most defensive categories. Their rush defense finished 120th in the FBS, while the pass defense didn’t fare much better, landing at 107th. Lincoln Riley eventually dismissed Grinch as USC’s defensive issues became too glaring to ignore.
“What happens is when you don’t have the success that you expect, that you can circle that and highlight that, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but it also creates a chip on your shoulder,” Grinch told reporters. “I’m not sure there’d be anyone in the country with a bigger chip than what I have.
“You get punched in the mouth, you try to stand tall, set your jaw, and get ready for what’s next,”
Now, Grinch looks to reestablish himself at UCF, where he will work under former Nebraska head coach Scott Frost. Frost, who returned to the program where he achieved the bulk of his success, will replace Gus Malzahn, who is moving on to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State.
Grinch’s departure marks the second major shakeup on the Badgers staff in 2024, following the midseason dismissal of offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
As Wisconsin heads into a pivotal offseason, coach Fickell now faces the challenge of finding a suitable replacement to lead the safety room and, ideally, someone who can take on expanded defensive responsibilities, potentially including a collaborative role in playcalling.
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