CFB insider name drops USC’s Lincoln Riley as name to watch in head coach openings… but to who?
USC HC Lincoln Riley appears to be someone to watch during this head coaching hiring cycle.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen several prominent college football head coaching positions come open. That includes LSU, Penn State, Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, and UCLA. With the potential for a couple of others as well, this promises to be one of the most hectic hiring cycles in quite some time.
When each of these positions has come open individually, speculation began about where the programs would turn for a replacement. Hot boards and short lists started being released. Everyone rushed to find the perfect fit, and from there, the collective has impatiently been waiting to see how these coaching searches materialize.
One name that hasn’t been mentioned until recently is USC head coach Lincoln Riley. With Riley already manning one of the top programs in college football, he isn’t typically the candidate you think of to take over another job. On a recent episode of Bussin with the Boys, college football analyst Josh Pate dropped the Riley bomb to end the show.
“Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC,” Pate said.
This segment focused on all the open jobs, but there was definitely a noticeable slant toward the SEC. After Riley’s name was mentioned, the next question is going to naturally come from college football fans out there: Who would have an interest in Riley? Fit is such an important part of being a head coach, and it’s curious to consider where he would fit best.
Lincoln Riley’s background
Still only 42 years old, Riley has largely been considered to be one of the most innovative offensive minds in the country for some time now. Originally from Texas, he went on to play quarterback for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. That was also his first college coaching job, which he spent from 2003 to 2009 in Lubbock, in a variety of roles.
That early experience would eventually lead Riley to ECU, his first opportunity to be an offensive coordinator on the college level. Those five years with the Pirates would parlay into an opportunity to join Bob Stoops’ staff with the Oklahoma Sooners before the 2015 college football season. After two years as the offensive coordinator, Riley would eventually take over as the head coach of the Sooners.
During his five years as the Oklahoma head coach, Riley compiled a 55-10 overall record, excelling with the talent that Stoops had left him. It took some by surprise, but following the 2021 college football regular season, Riley was once again on the move. He chose to accept the head coaching job with the Trojans.
Since then, Riley has received some mixed reviews due to his performance with the USC program. There have been some good moments, such as the 11 wins he led the Trojans to during his first season in 2022. There have also been, however, numerous underwhelming moments, including just seven wins in 2024, and a push to end the Notre Dame-USC rivalry.
It actually does feel like a good time for the two sides to part ways. Riley has always felt like an odd fit out in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see if he really does have interest in moving this offseason, and which program would be the ideal fit.
What opening makes the most sense for Riley?
Some will make jokes that Riley should return to the state of Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but obviously, that is more of a trolling comment. LSU is an interesting school to watch. Before Riley ended up with USC, he had heavy interest in the Tigers that cycle. Would they pursue him again?
Perhaps Florida would also make some sense? If that program is going to recover from its recent mediocrity, it will need to maximize the talents of quarterback DJ Lagway. For some of the flaws that Riley does have as a coach, developing quarterbacks isn’t one of them. He’s one of the very best around in that department.
Auburn is another interesting fit, although I’m not sure that move would make much sense for Riley’s career trajectory. You could make a strong case that LSU and Florida are better jobs than USC. Auburn is, at best, a lateral move, but you could also argue that it is a lesser job.
Who knows how this story will end, and whether Riley is seriously considering any of the jobs that were mentioned? We should gain a lot more clarity on his interest over the next several weeks. There appears to be at least some smoke right now, and where there’s smoke, there is also typically fire.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
Lincoln Riley has a chance to go down as one of the softest coaches in college football history
Lincoln Riley is leaving a legacy at USC, and his biggest accomplishment might directly affect the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
