Report: USC hires Clancy Pendergast as DC

USC is calling on its storied past for help on the defensive side of the football, as Clancy Pendergast is returning to the program to serve as defensive coordinator, a source told Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports.

Pendergast held the defensive coordinator post for the Trojans in 2013 before heading to the professional ranks as the San Francisco 49ers' linebacker coach.

The 48-year-old experienced great success in his brief stint with USC, turning the Pac-12's seventh-ranked defense into the best in the conference. Despite the impressive turnaround, Steve Sarkisian opted to let Pendergast walk when he was hired as head coach following the 2013 campaign.

USC head coach Clay Helton, a fellow member of the 2013 staff, is certainly hoping Pendergast can duplicate past success for a unit that ranked 65th in the country last season.