Nick Holt, defensive coordinator for the nation’s most dynamic defense, has been lured away from USC to fill the same role at the University of Washington.

A press conference will be held today at 12:30 p.m. to formally announce the hiring of Holt, who will also become the assistant head coach for the Huskies.

“This is very exciting for Husky football,” UW head coach Steve Sarkisian said in a press release. “I don’t think we could have found a more qualified or successful defensive coordinator anywhere in the country.”

The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I confirmed that Holt was scheduled to check in at a University District hotel Sunday night or Monday, shortly after Holt told the Los Angeles Daily News that he was not interested in the UW job.

“That was like three weeks ago, I don’t know why it’s still coming up,” he said Saturday.

Holt’s change of heart comes after he reportedly turned down Sarkisian’s offer Dec. 5.

The appeal of having complete command of UW’s defense — something Holt lacked under USC coach Pete Carroll — is believed to have been enough for Sarkisian to woo Holt to Washington, where he will likely take a pay cut.

“Coach Sarkisian has been working tirelessly to recruit and to hire coaches,” UW athletic director Scott Woodward said in the release. “This hire is a clear reinforcement of the confidence I have in him to put together a top-notch coaching staff.”

In Holt’s third season as defensive coordinator at USC, the Trojans led the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense, scoring defense, pass defense and pass efficiency defense during the regular season. USC also ranked fifth in rushing defense, giving up just 83 yards per game.

Both Holt and Sarkisian — the latter coaching his final game at USC after four seasons as offensive coordinator — worked the sideline under Carroll in USC’s 38-24 win Thursday, the school’s third straight Rose Bowl victory.

Now, Holt inherits one of the nation’s worst defenses, a porous Washington line that failed to record a sack until the fifth game of last season. The once-mighty Huskies set program lows in 2008, allowing 38.6 points and nearly 452 yards per game.

The 46-year-old Holt is coming off his sixth season at USC, serving as linebackers’ coach from 2001-2003 in his first L.A. stint.

Holt then left to be head coach at Idaho for two seasons, going just 5-18.

Instead of taking a job that he had accepted with the St. Louis Rams in 2006, Holt returned to USC as defensive coordinator.

Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.