Just 45 minutes after Ohio State beat Washington 28-23 in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, Alex Grinch called his dad, Greg.
“Dad,” said the then-Buckeye co-defensive coordinator, “I’m going to Oklahoma.”
Three days later, it was official: The defensive-minded coach from Grove City, Ohio, was headed to Norman in an attempt to restore a once historically great defensive program. It’s a job he’s been waiting for.
“He’s ready for it,” said Greg, who’s retired and lives in Columbia, Missouri. “This is what he’s wanted. It’s another fantastic opportunity for him to show his ability, and he’s going to do great.”
Grinch is of football blood, being the nephew of former Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel. He’s also the son of a retired Marine, which has taught him discipline and determination to be the best at his job. He’s exceeded expectations everywhere, from winning three Division III national championships at safety at Mount Union in Ohio to turning around Mike Leach and Washington State’s defense in just three seasons. At 38, he relates to players thanks to his simple, but creative defensive scheme and his unwavering passion to win.
He’s exactly who Lincoln Riley has been looking for. He’s exactly what Oklahoma needs.
“I think he’s special,” Pinkel said. “He’s an absolutely outstanding man and coach. I think he will be a difference-maker at Oklahoma.”
The principal’s kid
Alex got called into the principal’s office only once in his life. He hit a kid in the head with a snowball — or an “iceball,” according to Greg — while waiting in line at the bus stop in Grove City. Unfortunately for Alex, the principal was his dad.
“Alex’s claim to this day was that they were both participating,” said Greg, who served as the principal at Park Street Middle School in Grove City. “I had to give him detention.”
Greg has always been a discipline-minded father, serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He instilled in his sons — Alex and Andrew — the belief that if they always work hard at what they do, success will follow.
“I always taught them, ‘Do your job,’” Greg said. “It’s amazing how far you will go when you are doing and exceeding what you are supposed to do. Most people don’t. And if you want to stand out, do the job you were hired to do. That’s why Alex has been successful. He does his job.”
Alex took that to heart as a kid. Whether it was in the classroom or on the football field, he did his job day in and day out.
He didn’t start playing football until middle school and was undersized for his age, but he was one of the best players on his youth team. He often played up with his older brother and friends, who were two and a half years older than him. He played quarterback and safety, eventually continuing his career at Grove City High School, where he quickly became one of the best players on that team, as well.
His mom, Kathy, remembers him coming home after workouts and practice saying, “I like to sweat, I like to sweat.” He enjoyed every aspect of the game, but especially the grind to be a great player. This led him to earn an academic scholarship to the University of Mount Union, a Division III school in Alliance, Ohio, that prided itself on football, winning three national championships before he arrived.
Greg said Alex had the opportunity to attend a number of other schools, but wanted to go somewhere it mattered — somewhere that won.
“He’s a high-character young man, which was clear in his recruitment process,” said Larry Kehres, who coached Alex at Mount Union and won 11 national titles in 27 seasons. Now the athletics director at Mount Union, he’s considered one of the greatest coaches in college football history. “He’s passionate about football. I think he had a desire to be a football coach from the moment he started playing the game.”
During his time at Mount Union, Alex helped the Purple Raiders win three national championships and post a 54-1 record, starting at safety his junior and senior years. He wasn’t afraid of big moments, coming up with the eventual game-winning interception his junior year in the national championship.
From learning his lesson in the principal’s office to becoming the best player on his youth and high school teams to winning three national championships, Alex has always stayed focused on his job. He does everything to the best of his ability and those who know him best say that won’t stop at Oklahoma.
“He will exceed expectations or it kills him,” Greg said. “He’s used to those high expectations. Whether it be at Mount Union, Missouri, Washington State, Ohio State or Oklahoma — he’s got that ‘We’re here to win’ mentality."
The groundskeeper
After graduating from Mount Union in 2001, Alex wanted to coach. Pinkel — the brother of Alex’s mom, Kathy — saw promise in his young nephew and offered him a graduate assistant spot at Missouri. He soon thrived.
“He got along with everyone really well,” Pinkel said. “He’s very competitive, very demanding, but understanding. There’s a line there. He wants things done in certain ways and kids like him because he’s very sincere. He’s honest and patient. He demands excellence.”
Alex’s brother, Andrew, will never forget his brother’s other job at Missouri — groundskeeper.
While Alex was on the Tigers’ staff as a graduate assistant from 2002-04, he also had the task of painting the practice fields. It was a tireless chore, but nevertheless, Alex did it every week without complaint.
“I’ll never forget him coming back to our apartment covered in paint,” said Andrew, who was working in Missouri’s athletics marketing department at the time. “He didn’t mind it, though. If that’s what it took, that’s what it took.”
It was that attitude that got Alex his first job at New Hampshire in 2005 as the cornerbacks coach, his second at Wyoming in 2009 as the defensive backs coach and eventually led him back to Missouri with his uncle in 2012, despite Pinkel’s original plan to never hire relatives as assistants.
Before the 2013 season, Pinkel and his staff needed to fill a coaching gap on the defensive side of the ball. Pinkel was reluctant to hire Alex because of their relation, even though he knew how talented of a coach he had become. That changed when three different coaches urged Pinkel to re-hire his nephew in a 30-minute span.
“All those coaches must have planned it because they all came in my office within 10 minutes of each other, telling me I needed to hire Alex back,” Pinkel said. “I knew he was exceptional. If I hadn’t been so stubborn, I would have hired him way earlier. But it all worked out and he helped us tremendously.”
Alex spent the next two seasons on his uncle’s staff as the safeties coach, helping the Tigers go from 68th in total defense in 2012 to 20th in 2014, before receiving a call from Mike Leach and Washington State ahead of the 2015 season to be the Cougars' next defensive coordinator.
Leach saw that same drive Pinkel did years ago. He saw that same kid who was willing to do whatever it took, even if that meant painting the practice fields.
“He’s got three things: He’s smart, he’s competitive and he loves football,” Pinkel said. “In order to be a great coach, you have to be a great competitor. I think he’s driven to be successful. He has the unique ability to connect with kids and I think that’s because of his passion. He’s a guy that can get the best out of people and that’s because of his personality and the type of guy he is.”
The innovator
Isaac Dotson remembers the first time he met Alex. It was on an elevator during Alex’s official tour of the Washington State facilities.
“You could feel his passion for the game,” said Dotson, who played safety and linebacker at Washington State from 2014-17. “I don’t remember much else from the elevator ride other than thinking, ‘We’re in good hands.’”
Grinch helped change the culture at Washington State.
He held defensive players accountable and expected greatness. Before each season, Dotson recalls, Alex would give absurd statistics about what goals he wanted to achieve. The stats would include first downs allowed in a quarter, yards and turnovers per game, total defense in a season and much more.
“There was no option,” Dotson said. “That was the standard. We had to achieve those goals.”
In three seasons, he took the Cougars from 97th in total defense to 16th and from 127th in turnovers gained to 9th. He helped Washington State to a 26-13 record while in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars had gone 13-22 the three seasons prior.
He found success in his creative scheme, “Speed D,” which he and his assistants invented and emphasized running to the ball and forcing turnovers. He used his players the best he could, finding their strengths and putting them in position to make plays.
“The bottom line, for his scheme, is effort,” Dotson said. “That’s the end-all, be-all of defensive football. If you miss a tackle, or a gap, or an assignment, as long as you’re busting your ass and going as hard as you can and getting to the football, then you’re in good shape. That was his plan. It was simple.”
Leach calls Alex a “hands-on” coach. He remembers having to move Alex from the press box to the sidelines during the middle of his second season because it was where he best fit and “belonged.”
That dynamic, those who’ve coached and played with him say, is what separates Grinch from others. He understands how to connect with players, teaching the fundamentals while also getting every ounce out of his guys.
“He actually teaches you,” said Robert Taylor, who played safety at Washington State from 2016-17. “He won’t let you slack off, either. He pushes you to be the best you can be. If you don’t get the job done, the next guy will. He has no favoritism.”
The night before every game, Alex would hold a defense-only meeting. This meeting didn’t focus on the game plan or schemes, but instead the players. He would give a motivational speech and tell each and every one of his players he believed in them. He showed them the passion he wanted them to play with.
“He was the kind of guy that would make you want to run through a brick wall,” Dotson said. “He just always knew what to say. He’s just the type of guy that not only makes you want to win for yourself, but also him and everyone else around you. You want to play hard because you know he cares about you.”
Alex will bring a much-needed attitude change to the Oklahoma defense. He’s not afraid to make changes or bench players. He wants to win and will play the 11 who give him the best opportunity to do so.
And if he can do that, the nation won’t be laughing at the Sooners' defense any longer.
“The Big 12 better watch out,” Dotson said, “because they haven’t seen what’s coming.”
The home run hire
In his single year at Ohio State, Alex was not the defensive playcaller; instead, he served as the co-defensive coordinator along with Greg Schiano, who did the majority of calling plays. He wasn’t able to run his “Speed D” or make his own decisions.
“Ohio State had three (defensive coordinators),” Leach said. “That seems like quite a few.”
Hence the move to Oklahoma.
What makes Alex a highly-coveted coordinator is his simplistic approach to defense. But it only works if he — a three-time Broyles Award nominee (given to the top assistant in college football) — has full control.
“I think this is an opportunity for him to run the defense he wants to run and for him to really get back into that driver’s seat with a program he really believes in," Andrew said. "When I heard he was headed to Oklahoma, I couldn’t have been more excited.”
Alex’s family remembers rooting against Oklahoma years ago when Alex and Pinkel were at Missouri, but they also understand the tradition and history at a program like OU.
Oklahoma is just as thrilled. After Riley fired Mike Stoops during the middle of the season following a 48-45 loss to Texas, the Sooners' defense had finally hit rock bottom. And the feeling of wasting seasons with two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018), and also coming up short in consecutive years in the College Football Playoff, was not sitting well with Sooner Nation.
And that’s why Alex is a home run hire and why Riley called him “one of the most sought-after guys in the country” in his press release. His knowledge, attention to detail and his skill to connect with young adults has him headed for a bright future at Oklahoma.
“The No. 1 asset I think he has is intelligence, next is organization and after that is communication,” Kehres said about his former player. “He knows what a good practice and scheme is like. He understands how to communicate. And he loves the teaching of young men off the field. Oklahoma knocked it out of the park.”
He’s bringing hope to a program on the edge of becoming dominant on both sides of the ball.
“He took this job because he’s confident in himself,” Greg said. “He knows he’s going to succeed.”
