College Football’s 5th Quarter: The 2018 coaching carousel continues

4. Alex Grinch to Ohio State

Fast-rising defensive coach Alex Grinch left the Washington State Cougars, where he served as defensive coordinator, to become the 10th assistant coach at Ohio State. Grinch, an Ohio-native, took what can be perceived as a demotion to move down the ladder from calling the defense to an assistant under Greg Schiano.

However, while it seemed very odd when the news broke in early January it doesn’t seem to far-fetched anymore. Schiano has been rumored to take interviews for a number of defensive coordinator openings in the NFL and it seems to be only a matter of time before Schiano exits and Grinch takes over the Buckeyes’ defense.

Grinch is a native of Ohio and played his college football at Mount Union where he won three Division III national championships in four years in Alliance, Ohio. He then started his coaching career at Mount Union.

Another legacy coach, he’s the nephew of former Missouri Tigers head football coach Gary Pinkel. Grinch traveled around college football to stops like Wyoming and New Hampshire before making a name for himself in Pullman at Washington State. He completely resurrected the Cougars’ terrible defense moving it from 101 in the S&P+ to 23rd in 2017.