The Badgers are losing their safeties coach once again.
The Wisconsin Badgers are losing an assistant coach to a coordinator position as safeties coach Alex Grinch is headed to the UCF Knights to serve as their defensive coordinator, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Wow. #Badgers losing a key assistant.
Second straight offseason Wisconsin has lost their safeties coach. https://t.co/tof25ZD9bU
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) December 17, 2024
Grinch, 44, was hired as the team’s safeties coach a season ago after Colin Hitschler left the Badgers for a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach role with the Alabama Crimson Tide under head coach Kalen Deboer last offseason.
He had come from a stint with the USC Trojans as their defensive coordinator, working under head coach Lincoln Riley for two years before being fired with two games to go in the 2023 season.
Prior to that, he had been the defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Oklahoma Sooners under Riley from 2019-21. He’s also had previous defensive coordinator stints with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Washington State Cougars.
Now, he’ll take that experience to a new role with the UCF Knights, where he’ll work under newly-hired head coach Scott Frost.
This move means the Badgers will have their fourth safeties coach in four years, as Wisconsin had Jim Leonhard back in 2022, Hitschler in 2023, and Grinch in 2024.