In its first season in the Big Ten, the USC football program finished with a 7-6 record. Led by head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans hope to improve this offseason and be more competitive moving forward.
To do that, it appears Riley made a noticeable hire to his coaching staff on Monday after hiring former quality control coach for the Baylor Bears, Joe D’Orazio. D’Orazio will be taking on a director of football strategy role while also serving as an assistant running backs coach for the Trojans, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports and 247 Sports.
USC is expected to hire Baylor’s Joe D’Orazio as director of football strategy and assistant running backs coach, a sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports.
Before Baylor, was offensive coordinator at Columbia and worked in the NFL with the Eagles and Chiefs.https://t.co/qOetA1jj8s pic.twitter.com/1pGqzJK6p1
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) March 3, 2025
D’Orazio has been coaching since 2011, when he was hired as the tight ends coach for the University of Chicago. However, from 2013 to 2015, he worked as a special assistant to Andy Reid for the Kansas City Chiefs.
All of D’Orazio’s coaching experience is on the offensive side of the ball. Besides tight ends, he’s also coached wide receivers and running backs. The Chiefs aren’t the only NFL team he’s worked for, as D’Orazio helped coach the wide receiver group for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2017. He even served as the offensive coordinator for Columbia in 2023 before accepting the quality control job at Baylor in 2024.
The USC football team acquires a young, upcoming coach who has over 10 years of experience. Although the Trojans could use some improvements talent-wise for the roster, bringing in someone like D’Orazio can help the players on the roster develop.
As the director of football strategy, his job will largely be focusing on generating strategic plans (short and long term) for the USC football program. Additionally, D’Orazio should be heavily involved in recruiting, development, and team philosophy while also coaching the running back group.
The Trojans finished last season averaging 437.2 yards of total offense per game. They also averaged scoring three to four touchdowns per game. But USC will hope for more consistency moving forward, especially after hiring D’Orazio.
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