USC Trojans officially announce the hiring of Mike Ekeler as special teams coordinator, linebackers coach
It took about a month since word came down that the USC Trojans would be hiring former Nebraska assistant coach Mike Ekeler, but the school officially announced that move on Tuesday.
Ekeler will serve as the Trojans’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, head coach Lincoln Riley announced.
“This is an exciting return to USC for Mike and his family,” Riley said in a statement. “Mike’s special teams and linebacker units are elite, and he brings 23 years of Power Four experience on staffs that have produced some of the nation’s finest defenses and special teams. We’re thrilled to welcome him back to Los Angeles as part of our program.”
Previously, we took a deep dive into what Ekeler would bring to the Trojans purely from a special teams standpoint. He has a history of really impressive one-year turnarounds at his two most recent stops, Tennessee and Nebraska. The move to USC also gets Ekeler a defensive position group and reports were that he wanted to get back into that side of the ball.
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This will be Ekeler’s second go-around with the USC linebackers. That’s a position group he coached during the 2013 season, which was truly the last really good defensive season USC has put together on the field. The Trojans finished that year No. 13 in the nation in yards per game allowed. USC hasn’t been better than No. 36 in any year since then (and have typically been No. 60 or worse). Inside linebacker Hayes Pullard had a standout season in 2013 under Ekeler’s coaching. He was a Second Team All-Pac-12 selection after producing 92 tackles, including 5.5 for loss, an interception and six pass deflections.
Ekeler hasn’t stayed in one spot for long during his career, though he did spend the 2021-2024 seasons at Tennessee. His past stops include:
2025 – Nebraska (ST)
2021-24 – Tennessee (OLB/ST)
2020 – North Texas (ST)
2019 – Kansas (ST/ILB)
2017-18 – North Carolina (LB)
2016 – North Texas (DB/LB)
2014-15 – Georgia (ILB/ST)
2013 – USC (LB)
2011-12 – Indiana (co-DC/LB)
2008-10 – Nebraska (LB)
