FOOTBALL

Why Lincoln Riley To USC Makes Perfect Sense

There is a brilliance on the part of Lincoln Riley taking the USC job.

His star was fading a bit at Oklahoma this season and he knows the Sooners are eventually moving to a Super 16-team SEC. The Sooners job is getting harder.

Instead, he can grab the low-hanging fruit of the USC job, where winning a mediocre Pac-12 title will be heartily cheered by the fans, who are starving for success after the Clay Helton era.

In a way, it was a no-brainer. Life in the Pac-12 beats the stress of the SEC.

And in the process, USC gets an elite coach.

110 thoughts on “Why Lincoln Riley To USC Makes Perfect Sense”

    2. Too many Mike Leach ties with this hire, so don’t be surprised if Lincoln Riley keeps Graham Harrell, and the horrible offensive line coach they recently hired. I have many concerns, especially since Oklahoma didn’t have a dominating running game either.

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      1. In his 5 years as HC at OU, the sooners have averaged 212.28 yards per game. I would say that this is a pretty dominating running game considering that they pass the ball too. In his 2 years as OC at Oklahoma, they averaged 229.45 YPG rushing.

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    3. Scott Wolf is trying to play it off like he’s not crying inside seeing how he’s Luke Fickell’s #1 Fanboy and his boy didn’t get the job.

      I told you clowns that USC would never hire that hick Fickell, it was never going to happpen.

      And Wolf got all wrapped up and enamored with that redneck hick Fickell for nothing.

      LMFAO!

      OH MY SIDE HURTS FROM LAUGHING SO MUCH!

      AHA HA HA HA HA HA!

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    4. Lincoln Riley isn’t a fan of having his players tackling in practice either.

      You all better look into to that because it’s true.

      Probably why those Oklahoma defenses were just as soft as USC’s.

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  2. The Wallace site had Campbell signed, sealed and delivered in a presser scheduled Monday. They have zero credibility!!

    Their sources suck just like their site. Hey Beavis (Wallace) and Butthead (Weld) stick to your day jobs whatever it may be.

    Thanks Bohn for going for a home run hire.

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    1. Incorrect, they reported USC will have a press conference announced for tomorrow. They did not say Campbell anywhere. Looks like the press conference is happening tomorrow just like John posted.

      Scott had….. Twitter, the same as all of us.

      Just stay on this board with all of the trolls as salty Scott wannabes.

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      1. My bad, they did mention Campbell at 80%.

        Came to see if this board is filled with trolls even on a day like today, yep. Glad I left it, see you all later.

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      2. BS, Butthead wrote “then it must be Campbell per 2 sources” or Dan Quinn. Idiot was wrong.

        Ms H you have been fooled again.

        Enjoy your time in Statesboro.

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      3. Mrs. Helton —
        Lets not go overboard here with the “salty” stuff. Lots of people weren’t real impressed with 5-7 in ’18, 8-5 in ’19 and 4-7 in ’21. We weren’t impressed with blowouts against Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon, Iowa and Texas. We wondered what Bohn was doing extending the guy responsible for this crap.
        And, yes, we mistrusted Bohn and underestimated his ability to land a First Magnitude coach. We were wrong –and I’m glad we were wrong. But, let’s face it, we had reason to be concerned. Until this announcement it didn’t exactly look like everything was coming up roses.

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      5. It’s funny how you’re not “a good fan” if you’re even the slightest bit critical of the program. It’s like Trumpism. Speak ill of the golden god and you are ostracized.

        Being critical is being a good fan. Blind sycophancy is not a healthy behavior.

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  3. One important point about Lincoln Riley? He coached Graham Harrell at Texas Tech, and they are buddies. The question is will he keep Graham Harrell now. One thing about Riley is he runs a partial air raid offense, and believe in a balanced attack with a good running game which Harrell knows nothing about. Perhaps, he keeps Harrell as the Passing Game Coordinator, and also hires a Running game coordinator which might work. If it was me I would Harrell go, but he might survive under Riley.
    Orlando will be gone as will most of the other coaches except probably Donte.

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    2. Graham? Orlando? Donte? They’re probably all gone. Riley was rated one of the top 3 coaches in the country by Phil Steele (whom I respect) –he’s not gonna rely on any appointments made by Clay Helton.
      IF this is REAL –we have turned the corner in fell swoop. All respect to Mike Bohn if he actually pulls this off.

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    2. It is virtually impossible to change a completely toxic and inept culture by keeping a coordinator. Almost as bad as swann saying the most important thing is to change the culture and then keep the man responsible for creating an unbelievably bad culture. It would be a major mistake for harrell to be retained. The guy is responsible for the whole offense, that means everything that happens there. Personnel, fundamental development, scheme, execution, culture, toughness, run, pass etc, and takes responsibility for nothing. Dudes drop balls it’s on you buddy. Miss run routs, you. Short at the sticks, you. O line can’t get 2 yards, on you. Too many holds and false starts, you.
      You cash the big check then you wear the big boy pants. But he alway passes the buck as if he is just the quarterbacks coach and he didn’t do anything wrong. If you were told by helton to do it that way, well that’s on you for not standing up for what you believe in. You were certainly sociopathic enough to talk behind his back for 2 years. Non mature adults much like children, take no responsibility for the short comings yet are the first to take credit. If you want to cash the big check then wear the big boy pants and take responsibility. It aint gunna change under Riley. I think its a good hire, but flush the staff and all the dead weight.

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    1. The last time ucla played Lincoln Riley’s team, the OU offense (with Jalen Hurts) put up about 300 yards – in the first quarter. Chip is going to need a few extra crullers next season.

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      1. Chip heard the Riley announcement, went straight to the kitchen and made himself a big potato chip, spam and pickle sandwich on Wonder Bread…
        …And then, after one bite….
        #….”Honey?Is31FlavorsOpenOnSunday?”
        #..”TheyAre?!Here’s$200!SurpriseMe!”

        Liked by 2 people

  10. Solid pick the players and prospective players can rally around. Now can Riley bring local high school RB Raleek Brown and Nevada OT Jake Taylor with him? Can he turn QB Devin Brown and Domani Jackson around from decommitments? If he could do this he could bring a lot of recruiting momentum. Now, who is going to be his D coach? Second thing to do, sort out those players who need to be told they won’t be retained on scholarship.

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      1. OK also lost a 5* WR and a 4* RB to decommits today. And Malachi said “I committed to Coach Riley, not to Oklahoma.”

        Get ready for some flips coming soon.

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      3. Check twentyfourseven(***) and there’s three players with 5-Star rankings now switched over to USC for Crystal Ball predictions.

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    2. They definitely need to recruit at least one QB. Slovis will probably transfer and I think Moss will too. I don’t think that Hassan has anymore elegibility. We could be down to one QB

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  11. Key part of this hire will be 1) Recruit some offensive/ defensive linemen and linebackers instead of stock piling at WR and QB which was one of the main problems since Carroll left. Yes, we got alot of 4 stars, and a few 5 stars in the past, but none on defense other than Drake Jackson, and Corey Foreman who have been huge disappointments. 2) Hire a defensive coordinator (Alex Grinch) please don’t give that job to Donte let him stick to recruiting and coaching the defensive backs.

    Give Coach Riley 2-3 years to rebuild the culture and recruiting. Trojans fans must be patient including Scott Wolf.

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      1. I doesn’t look like any coach will be invited back. Also, Donte didn’t look good as a DB coach this season for sure besides being the interim. He recruited well but we saw a lot of bad DB play under him.

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  12. Late to the party here but Bohner hit a home run here. Good job.

    I agree with the sentiments of cleaning house. Harrell and Orlando have caused enough damage and Donte proved he can recruit but his D-Backs played horribly all year. Yeah, he had a lot of duties to tend to under terrible circumstances (including personal) but the secondary was terrible.

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    2. It looks like Lincoln Riley recruited very well in SoCal without Donte. It looks like Lincoln Riley developed high powered offenses without Opie Harrell. I don’t expect him to retain any coach with links to the old regime even though Mike Jinks did a great job with the running backs.

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  13. Rumors from Norman OK are that Riley’s WR coach will be coming with him. He is regarded as about the best WR recruiter in the country, including CeeDee Lamb.

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    1. This like a dream, 67. After the last few years this is really like a dream. Couldn’t be happier for our players. I imagine they are sky high right now.

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  14. I have been saying this for a long time……namely that all these so-called “football pundants” who keep saying that nobody wants to come to SC didn’t make sense to me. Why would a great football school like USC be so toxic to the football coaching community. The real truth is that most of these “pundants” hate SC and don’t want SC to get a great coach. They tell you what they want to happen….not what they really believe will happen.

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  15. It’s been 1099 days since Lynn Swann announced on the Monday following the UCLA game in 2018 that he was retaining Clay Helton as coach. This despite the outcry from USC fans which included the “Lynn Swann, Fire Clay Helton” airplane banner being flown over the Coliseum during the UCLA game and the attempted LA Times paid advertisement which Heritage Hall quashed. It’s been like a siege on the part of USC fans who stood up to USC leadership and said “NO!” were not going to accept mediocrity anymore. As much as Mike Bohn deserves credit for the big-time hire of Lincoln Riley, it wouldn’t have happened if not for the efforts of season ticket holders, donors, and fans holding USC and its leadership accountable.

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    3. Definitely, the anger of the fans played a major role in this hire. But I always thought that Mike Bohn was a good hire….as was Carol Folt. Max Nakias wanted to destroy the trojan football program. He was one of those elite educational academics who believed that Universities were for education, not for football. The first action that made me think that Folt didn’t hold that view was when, shortly after she was hired, she called “golf boy” into her office and said “sorry, but we will not be needing your services anymore”. She fired a USC legend. If she had Nakias’s views, she would have been more than happy to just let him play golf and be a “yes” man like Haden.

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  16. This is a monumental hiring for not only USC but for the Pac 12 overall. With the exception of Oregon, it is time for the rest of the conference to ante up and get serious about football or get the hell out of the conference. This is easier said than done because a vast majority of the Pac 12 is led by the WOKE Brigade of school Presidents and Board of Trustees, because they look at football as a symbol of toxic masculinity.

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  18. hello sports fans, st brown wr for lions tied 129 th position with 0 tds this season! goff the cal qb 0 wins so far this season??? coach c has a chance plays the lions for a win !!!!!! sincerely, E

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  19. The SEC is highly overrated … doubt Riley is scared of a conference populated by fired USC coaches. Goat Kiffin, and meathead O actually had some success in that crap conference. Now 7 loss Suck is in it too lol.
    75 year old Geezer Saban needs a weak schedule and numerous homer calls to win in that over hyped garbage conference.

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  20. hello fans ,we have many but heres one followers stockers etc rich welsh ofpenn hills 5 foot5 if that aaahhh 5 4 more like it ! kdka news lier reader???? sincerely, E

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  21. It’s been said USC hiring Lincoln Riley is good for the Pac12 Conference. I agree it raises the bar as well as the conference’s profile nationally. Look at Chip Kelly and Herm Edwards; two guys on the fence. Are those schools going to stand pat now because of USC!? Washington!? Will they try to aim higher than Wilcox and the guy from Fresno!? The bar has been raised! George Kliavkoff approves.

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    1. State schools can’t compete financially. The also have football as a much lower priority than USC traditionally has.

      What you say could happen if USC actually gets good again and makes PAC12 media rights more valuable where in everyone will share the wealth. Until then, I don’t see a coaching arms race. It will be interesting to see what boosters wrote checks for Riley.

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  22. I actually think this is a good hire but I think the thing no one realizes is this. The 3 leading candidates (campbell, fickell, aranda) plus the ESPN choice (Kelly) all had one thing in common. And it is what ails usc the most, culture. Those 4 have all come in to change bad cultures where they were at and made them good cultures. Their teams don’t commit a lot of penalties, they play hard and tough, they work hard, they love each other and respect the staff and each other. They don’t self aggrandize much. SC is the opposite. Horrible fundamentals, many penalties, not tough, easy practices, lots of chest thumping. My only concern with Riley is he has never had to set culture. He hasn’t let it slide but never had to re set it. Stoops had a good culture, Riley just kept it going. It is not to say he can’t change what crap culture we have, but at least he knows what good culture looks like.

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    2. Aranda inherited the program from Rhule who already had it rolling. Campbell did the best resurrection project of them all.

      I still would take Riley above any or all. Other than Saban, there is no other college coach I would take. I believe we are in for another dominant era of football b

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      1. It was rolling so well that he managed to go 2-7 in his first season as a head coach which was also just last year.

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  23. Finally..
    It’s about time that Bohn and
    Folt did something intelligent!
    Hopefully, Riley and Staff can immediately change the culture and reverse the exiting
    of SoCal recruits and bring in some National elite recruits.
    It’s a blessing that SC won’t play in meaningless bowl game so that Riley and staff can start fresh and be aggressive on recruiting and plan for Spring Football.
    It’s not complete until the contract is signed!

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      1. Wikipedia has listed Lincoln Riley as “Head Coach of USC football.”
        Wikipedia ALSO [for what it’s worth] says that Riley “will work alongside Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell at USC.”
        #????????

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      5. Correct. Graham got on before Bohn’s people could.
        [Hope to see a change before tomorrow —something along the lines of “no fricking way Coach Riley keeps either of Helton’s Coordinators….this entry will never be updated”]……

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  24. LA Sports Fans,
    There’s “Zeke from Cabin Creek”
    Now there’s Lincoln Riley from “Muleshoe”
    There has to be a catchy nickname in there somewhere.

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    1. That’s a mistake –but maybe a necessary mistake. Riley wants to move fast ….and keeping Orlando is out of the question.

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      1. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t Grinch also DC for Leach up at Wazzu? I’d imagine that running an Air Raid style O is best complimented by Air Raid style of D… whatever that may be I haven’t a clue, but I gotta imagine there’s a twist. Maybe it means playing/recruiting fleeter, fitter types of athletes who can handle getting back on the field with less recovery time if O goes 1-2-3-TD.

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      2. Doin a self-ask & answer deal, turns out my ex was wrong, I do have a memory. Big jump on D as DC with Leach:
        “In 2014, the year before his arrival at Washington State, the Cougars ranked 99th nationally in total defense (442.3 ypg), 127th in pass defense (296.6 ypg) and 127th in turnovers gained (8). In 2017, his WSU unit ranked 16th in total defense (323.3 ypg), ninth in passing defense (170.9 ypg) and ninth in turnovers gained (28).”

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  26. “We will work hard to develop a physical football team that is dominant on both lines of scrimmage, and has a dynamic balanced offense and a stout aggressive defense.” — Lincoln Riley

    😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

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    1. Everyone —please treat yourself to the photo on Wikipedia of Lincoln Riley putting his arm around Chip Kelly to console him after destroying UCLA….
      #ALittleTasteOfYearsToCome

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  27. In 2019, Oklahoma ran the ball 40 times a game for 240 yards rushing, and threw the ball 27 times a game for 280 passing yards per game, while giving up just 353 yard of total offense per game.

    A lot to like in those stats.

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    1. Funny how fast we’re forgetting about the heartbreaker at the coli last night, huh guys?
      #”It’sAGreatBigBeautifulTomorrow”
      —Carousel of Progress Ride at Disneyland

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  29. Am i the only one that does not like this hire?

    I like Fickell better. Seems more of a grinder than Riley.

    Just glad they passed on Franklin.

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    1. I hear you FF, I’m partial to the tough disciplinary coaches like Saban or Fickell or Dabo. But think of the upgrade we are getting in coaching! Furthermore, most of us didn’t have any faith that Bohn could hire a competent coach let alone a proven coach. And yet we have a winning coach!

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  31. The assumption that Riley wants to dominate the Pac-12 might not be true. Maybe Bohn pitched Riley on the idea of a USC football team that is independent, like Notre Dame. USC could set up the most lucrative media contract and play a schedule that generates national interest. No more playing Wazzu and Colorado, etc.

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    1. Be interesting if a coach was able to negotiate for a % of any bumps in tv rev that can be demonstrated were directly related/resultant from his hire and/or performance

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  32. Uno mas for the good of the order. Check out the big brain on HCLR. Impressive memory*.

    *brought to you by Makers Mark as well. Which ironically helps you forget a bunch of shit.

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  33. Alot is going on!!! looks like one of the best Defensive Coordinators is coming with Lincoln Riley to USC. Love how fast things are moving now.

    Hope Lincoln brings his offensive line coach with him.

    FROM WIKIPEDIA TONIGHT- WOW!! THEY MOVE QUICKLY ALSO!
    Alexander Gregory Grinch (born May 29, 1980) is an American football coach who serves as the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California.

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  34. wolfie…you have the strangest ways of degrading some ones choices…some like new challenges and a change of scenery in life,especially if the money is rewarding of their hard work; some stay to take on the new challenge,do not want to move and the money /reward is about the same…al you see is evident in your belittling comment,but not everyone is as small as you can be.

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  35. Rick Caruso has obviously had too much to drink here, but he’s excused.

    “Today is all about the importance and impact of leadership,” said Caruso, who cited President Carol Folt as the driving force behind the move. “Dr. Folt changed the trajectory of this university and expects excellence at every level. She hired the best athletic director in the country in Mike Bohn. That set the stage to attract the best football coach in the country.”

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    1. Charles-Brings to mind an image of senators in Rome gathering to engage in self-congratulation after (being compelled by the danger of invasion and popular unrest) Marius, a man they hated but in fear appointed, took charge and defeated the Cimbri and Teutones.

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      2. Hard to decide the perfect roles for Nikias, Caruso, Folt, Bohn, Haden, Swann…all of us with open eyes know what role Helton and his barnacles played…but the behind the scenes stuff is for people with far more knowledge than I…just know that your above description is reminiscent of reading about how much the elites hated Marius, but that it took someone like him (big, tough, physical, active, determined, prideful…those traits ring familiar?) to do the dirty, hard work that saved those same elites’ skins, since they were too incompetent to do it themselves, and had dithered literally for years (again, sound familiar?) while the northern boundaries of the state were being overrun to the point of the whole civilization facing collapse (again, sound familiar? okay, run into the ground enough).

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    2. First of all, neither of the latter statements are true. The whole statement is caruso washing his own balls. Other than ok’ing the deal, folt had nothing to do with it. The board knows that the fanbase and alumni (and with much legitimacy) knows she was a mistake to hire in the wake of 2 academic scandals at UNC and her firing for it. Caruso looks like an sc corner back pounding his chest after a receiver who just burned him dropped a sure touchdown pass. Riley is a good, maybe great coach. But not there best in the country. Bohn made a good move. But I’d look to the Georga AD or even the Bama or ohio st AD’s who’s overall programs and contracts are in much better and more inline with a healthy program. So slow down on the Courvoisier there Ricky.

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