USC football reportedly hires Chad Kauha’aha’a as new defensive line coach

USC football has made Boise State’s Chad Kauha’aha’a the Trojans’ new defensive line coach, according to multiple reports.

Two weeks after firing defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze, USC football has found his replacement.

According to Scott Schrader of TrojanInsider.com, Adam Maya of TrojanSports.com and Gerard Martinez of USCFootball.com, the Trojans have landed Boise State defensive line coach Chad Kauha’aha’a for the same position in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: Kauha’aha’a has updated his Twitter bio to include naming himself as the defensive line coach at the University of Southern California, tweeting out a USC logo as his new profile picture. The only thing remaining is for the Trojans to officially announce the hire.

Kauha’aha’a’s name had been linked to USC on Sunday by Football Scoop, but the Trojans were expected to face competition to nab his services. His former employer Gary Anderson was aiming to bring him back to Utah State while Boise State was reportedly pursuing an extension to keep him in place.

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In securing Kauha’aha’a as defensive line coach, USC has successfully filled the role with a greater level of experience. Kauha’aha’a has been coaching the defensive line since 2005 at Weber State. Before then he was a high school head coach in Hawaii.

His career path has followed a largely steady trajectory. From Weber State, Kauha’aha’a spent two seasons at Utah State. He switched sides with Utah for two seasons in 2011 and 2012 before rejoining Anderson at Wisconsin for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He followed Anderson when he took over at Oregon State in 2015 and remained there until the head coach’s unusual departure in 2017.

During his one season coaching at Boise State, results have been stellar for Kauha’aha’a and the Bronco defensive line. Boise State ranks sixth in sacks in 2018 and thrived in advanced statistics in the trenches.

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Kauha’aha’a should also strengthen USC’s connections in the Polynesian community. The Trojans have already had success bringing the likes of Jay Tufele, Marlon Tuipulotu and Brandon Pili to the program with the help of outside linebacker coach Johnny Nansen. Another strong recruiter will only benefit the Trojans in that regard.

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The presence of Tufele, Tuipulotu and Pili will give Kauha’aha’a a strong foundation to work with up front as he takes over a defensive line in need of fine tuning. He will also have the likes of Christian Rector, Lian Jimmons, Jacob Lichtenstein, Caleb Tremblay and Trevor Trout at his disposal in 2019.