Wisconsin Football Hires Safeties Coach Alex Grinch: Here’s What You Need to Know

The Wisconsin football program found its replacement for former safeties coach/co-defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler — who was hired by Alabama last week — on Thursday, as the Badgers are set to hire former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

The veteran brings 21 years of coaching experience to the Badgers.

Here’s what you need to know about the new safeties coach. 

Wisconsin Football Reels in Safeties Coach Alex Grinch

Before his coaching career, Grinch played safety at Division III Mount Union. With his help, the Purple Raiders amassed a 54-1 record from 1998-2001, winning three national titles. 

After his playing years were over, Grinch took his first coaching gig as a graduate assistant with Missouri from 2002-2004. He would earn his first positional coaching job at New Hampshire, where he started out as a cornerbacks coach before moving to a recruiting coordinator role and being named a defensive secondary coach. He held the same positions at Wyoming for three seasons before heading back to Missouri to coach safeties. 

Grinch would then take a step up to defensive coordinator with Washington State, earned a co-defensive coordinator role at Ohio State, and then had two more stints as defensive coordinator with Oklahoma and USC. 

Grinch is a four-time nominee and a two-time semifinalist for the Broyles Award, given to the best assistant coach in college football. 

The former USC defensive coordinator was dismissed last season after the Trojans ranked under No. 100 in the nation in every defensive category.

What the Hire Means for Wisconsin Football

There’s been much discussion following this hire because of Grinch’s track record as a defensive coordinator, but that’s not what he’s coming to Madison for. 

As an assistant, Grinch was under the wing of some strong HCs, including Mike Leach, Gary Pinkel, and Lincoln Riley, which speaks to how his coaching is viewed. 

Replacing a coach like Colin Hitschler, who produced some great on-field play along with some lauded recruiting prowess, is no easy task. However, Grinch does have strong recruiting connections, specifically in California and Georgia, branching out from the strong Midwest and Northeast ties of the current staff. 

The former USC coordinator was the primary recruiter for four-star prospects Bryson Washington, Nate Brown, Jordan Mukes, and Christian Pierce. He also played a part in recruiting other four-star prospects, such as Zion Branch (a top 50 player in the 2022 class), Marquis Gallegos, Maliki Crawford, Joshua Eaton, and Justin Harrington.

Yes, USC’s defense was poor last season, but Grinch has produced some NFL defensive backs during his years as a safeties/secondary coach. Grinch coached cornerback Corey Graham at New Hampshire, as well as Chris Posinski and Tashaun Gipson at Wyoming, who all spent multiple seasons in the NFL. He also had two defensive backs (Tre Brown and Tre Norwood) selected during his tenure at Oklahoma. 

Grinch will be coaching a strong group of safeties in his first season with the Wisconsin Badgers, with Hunter Wohler, Preston Zachmann, Kamo’i Latu, Braedyn Moore, and Raphael Dunn all having opportunities for snaps. 

While concerns about his ability to run an entire defensive unit are valid, it detracts from what Grinch has accomplished as a positional coach. From his strong recruiting to sending multiple defensive backs to the NFL, this hire makes a lot of sense. Grinch has big shoes to fill, and while it’s pointless to make any sort of projection in January, this hire could have promise if he can tap back into his assistant coach ability from years prior.

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