Lincoln Riley is entering his third season as head coach at USC, but the Trojans have yet to meet the high expectations set after his departure from Oklahoma.
During his five seasons at Oklahoma, Riley led the Sooners to four conference championships and three College Football Playoff appearances. However, Riley’s record at USC stands at 19-8 over his first two seasons, including a disappointing 8-5 season in 2023.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum recently expressed his views on Riley’s job security at USC during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. Finebaum boldly accused Riley of “tucking and running” from Oklahoma, suggesting that this decision has contributed to his lack of success with the Trojans.
“I don’t think Lincoln Riley has a path back, and what we all sensed on Monday (in Oklahoma) was real,” Finebaum said. “This wasn’t just the ‘beat up the coach’ scenario. We all saw something similar 20 years ago at Alabama when Dennis Franchione left.
“But this situation was even more stark because Lincoln Riley was popular. He was beloved by Oklahoma fans, having led the program to three playoffs and producing a couple of Heisman trophy winners. And yet, he clearly tucked and ran.
“In college sports, running away from a challenge is probably the worst look. And that’s how they feel about him. Oklahoma is an incredibly proud program that has been at the pinnacle of the sport for 100 years.”
Finebaum also pointed to Brent Venables’ success at Oklahoma as the biggest indictment of Riley’s decision to leave. Venables led the Sooners to 10 wins last season and a Top 15 finish in the AP Top 25 poll.
Finebaum went on to predict that Riley’s downfall at USC is inevitable, suggesting it could become one of college football’s biggest failures.
“It’s a matter of whether he crashes and burns or decides to seek opportunities elsewhere, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s going to be successful at USC. That train has left the station,” Finebaum continued. “And if that does happen, this could go down as one of the most historic crash-and-burns in the history of college football.
“Five years ago, Lincoln Riley was considered among the top three or four coaches in the country. Every time the Cowboys job opened up, there was fear he would leave. But ultimately, I think he made a disastrous decision.”
