Football fans are stunned after learning that the USC Trojans hired Rob Ryan for an assistant coaching position.

Ryan left Oklahoma State after the 1999 season to join Bill Belichick's Patriots staff, and hasn't coached in college since.

USC is hiring longtime NFL assistant Rob Ryan as its linebackers coach, the program announced Saturday. Ryan, 62, will also hold the title of assistant head coach for defense as the Trojans enter their second season in the Big Ten needing to make more defensive strides under fourth-year head coach Lincoln Riley.

Lincoln Riley's latest addition to USC's defensive staff has raised eyebrows, but Rob Ryan's hiring as linebackers coach and assistant head coach could be just what the Trojans need heading into 2025.

Raiders defensive assistant Rob Ryan joins Lincoln Riley's staff as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach of USC football

The Las Vegas Raiders senior defensive assistant with 35 years of coaching experience, including 24 in the NFL, will oversee the Trojans’ linebackers

The longtime NFL assistant coach and brother of former Jets and Bills head coach Rex Ryan was named the new linebackers coach at USC on Saturday. USC needed a linebackers coach after former North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz was named the head coach at Fresno State following the 2024 season.

With the linebackers coaching post open on his Southern Cal staff since Matt Entz departed to take over at Fresno State, Lincoln Riley and heralded defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn are working to add longtime NFL veteran Rob Ryan to coach the Trojans linebackers, FootballScoop has learned.

With Johnson heading to Chicago and Mike Vrabel already in New England, five head coaching vacancies remain. The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. The Jets, Saints, Jaguars, Raiders and Cowboys are still in the hunt.

AMES — Iowa State might get all-time assists leader Emily Ryan back for Wednesday’s game against BYU. But the Cyclones’ standout point guard’s status remains up in the air as she recovers from a recent illness.

It’s also worth pointing out that Toure’s Instagram profile features Wrexham in the bio, another hint that he has in fact signed on a permanent basis. That team sheet also showed the name of Tom Kelly in the Wrexham XI.