John McDonell

Biography

A veteran with over 35 years of experience in college football, John McDonell enters his first season with the Trojans as a senior offensive analyst in 2025. McDonell joined the USC staff from LSU where he served in the same role for the last two years. Prior to his time at LSU, he spent 4 years in the Canadian Football League where he served as offensive line coach for Edmonton (2020-21) and Ottawa (2018-19), who went to the Grey Cup in 2018. He has 29 years of experience coaching the offensive line at the NCAA Division I level including 12 bowl appearances. Prior to his move to the CFL, McDonell served as a senior analyst and tight ends coach at Georgia State from 2016-17. He coached the offensive line at Tulane from 2012-15. In 2011, he was the offensive line coach at Idaho. Before Idaho, McDonell spent the 2010 season in the same capacity at the University of Memphis and he also served for one season in the same role at Bowling Green State University (2009), where he helped the Falcons to the Humanitarian Bowl. Before Bowling Green, McDonell's previous coaching stops included Purdue (2006-08) where he helped them to the Champs Bowl in 2006 and the Motor City Bowl in 2007 and also played an instrumental role in Dustin Keller's first-round selection (30th overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. McDonnell made two stops at Stanford (2001, 2005) where he was a member of their Seattle Bowl appearance in 2001 and coached Eric Heitmann to First Team All-America honors that same season.