Clancy Pendergast Hired as USC DC: Latest Comments and Reaction

Clancy Pendergast was the defensive coordinator for the USC Trojans in 2013 and will reportedly return to the program in the same role in 2016, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.

Pendergast was an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 after he elected to sit out during the 2014 campaign.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports highlighted the fact USC has made a habit of hiring coaches with past ties to the program in recent years, considering Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton are the last three permanent head coaches. All were offensive assistants with the team before earning the nod.

Pendergast will replace Justin Wilcox, who was fired in early December after a disastrous showing in the Pac-12 title game.

The Trojans finished a dismal 70th in the nation in yards allowed per game and 57th in scoring defense this season. They had realistic national title aspirations heading into the year, but they ended up a disappointing 8-6 and lost in blowout fashion to Stanford in that conference championship game and to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl.

It was apparent how much improvement USC needed on defense during its marquee games of 2015, when it allowed 48 points to Oregon, 41 to Notre Dame and 41 against Stanford on two different occasions.

Feldman described why the Pendergast hire could prove fruitful for the Trojans:

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In 2013, he turned the Trojans from a unit that ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 to No. 1. A few years earlier, he sparked as dramatic a turnaround when he took over Cal's defense and made it the conference's top-rated D. Pendergast gained a rep in coaching circles for having a handle on containing the spread after his 2010 Bears slowed down Chip Kelly's prolific offense, holding them to 40 points below their average. However, when Steve Sarkisian was hired as USC's new coach, he opted to not retain Pendergast.

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USC won 10 games with Pendergast in charge of the defense in 2013, which it has only done one other time since the 2008 campaign. 

Max Meyer, digital content producer for the NFL, noted Pendergast’s 5-2 philosophy should fit in well with the talent pool at USC:

Ken Goe of the Oregonian reported earlier Thursday that the Oregon Ducks were interested in bringing Pendergast aboard after they demoted Don Pellum from defensive coordinator to linebacker coach.

Alas, it will be the Trojans who add him in an effort to slow down some of the Pac-12’s high-powered offenses that include stars such as Josh Rosen and Christian McCaffrey and uptempo schemes such as the one at Oregon.