Wisconsin has officially hired Alex Grinch as its next co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.

Grinch previously served as the defensive coordinator at USC and Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley. He was fired by USC toward the end of the 2023 season as the Trojans struggled mightily on that side of the ball.

He now arrives in Madison to coach safeties and work alongside defensive coordinator Mike Tressel.

“I’m thankful to have the opportunity to add Alex to our staff,” Luke Fickell said in a press release. “Alex has phenomenal experience from across the college football landscape and I’m excited for the schematic, recruiting and coaching talents he’ll bring to our defensive staff.”

Prior to joining Riley’s staff at Oklahoma, Grinch worked at Ohio State and Washington State. He has a long history of coaching defense at programs who variations of the air raid offense. That makes him an intriguing fit at Wisconsin as the Badgers move into Year 2 with Phil Longo as their offensive coordinator.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Coach Fickell’s staff at Wisconsin,” Grinch said in a press release. “I’ve admired Coach Fickell’s coaching and leadership style from afar for a while and I can’t wait to enter a new era of Big Ten football on his staff at Wisconsin.”

Grinch will get a chance to game plan against his former boss and employer on Sept. 28 as the Badgers travel to USC.