FOOTBALL

Lincoln Riley Says He Is A Better Coach At USC Than At Oklahoma

I didn’t see this quote that Lincoln Riley gave to CBS during his offseason rehab tour.

“I’m a lot better coach than at any point at Oklahoma,” he said.

So he is better coach, it’s just the wins and losses that are worse. Winning and losing is the least important part of coaching, apparently.

And if he such a better coach, why doesn’t he want to play Notre Dame anymore?

Or did he just win at Oklahoma because he had Bob Stoops’ players?

This is a statement that even his most ardent supporters can justfy. But I’m sure they will try.

17 thoughts on “Lincoln Riley Says He Is A Better Coach At USC Than At Oklahoma”

  1. I would be hard pressed to find any ardent supporters of LR among the highly informed USC fan base at this juncture. His charade has been exposed long ago, and only reinforced over the last couple of years, with most of the Trojan faithful keenly awaiting his long overdue departure so that a REAL coach and leader of men might finally be found to take his place. Although with Bowden and Cohen at the helm, that search might be fraught with peril from the outset with yet possibly another poor coaching name hire. But first things first…

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    1. The best decision Cohen has made was to hire Bowden as the GM and give him the responsibility over player personnel and recruiting. Bowden has been incredibly effective and I like the emphasis on building the trenches. This will pay off in the next few years if Bowden can keep the elite players from transferring. I don’t give Riley credit for any of the positive steps in recruiting. He seemed to be fine with the Grinch philosophy of smaller and quicker is better along the defensive line. That philosophy is so absurd it is hard to believe that any program ever hired Grinch. He is now on his 4th coaching gig over the last 6 years.

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      1. Indeed, Chad learned something working for Marcus Freeman. Too bad Riley does not want to compete.

        Question for the day: If Chesney beats Riley with a team of unknowns band aided together…..is there a tarmac near the Rose Bowl.

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  2. WILEY: “I’ve definitely learned and grown a lot. There are a lot of things I’ve learned now that I wish I had known back then”

    QUESTION: Like time management and player evaluation?

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  3. Scott, i’m a Trojan fan who will try to explain LR’s quote to you. Let’s see, he has been headcoaching for nine years now so maybe he has learned new things over those years. And, the first five were in the Big 12 where his toughest games were against Texas and TCU and occasionally Kansas State. And, Texas during his time at OK was in a downward spiral after the Mack Brown glory years. And, after five years as head coach, I don’t think that he was playing with mostly Bob Stoops recruits, and I don’t think that he had anything to do with Stoop’s defenses. And as for the comment about playing ND, shall we remind you that the Big Ten is a far tougher conference than the Big 12. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. 100%, Ambitious…..[however, I think we have to take Scott’s comments for what they are: shrewd invitations for rebuttal from USC fans]…

      #…btw, ItAlwaysWorksWithMe….

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  4. Riley has a massive bullseye on his back for 2026….he knows it….he knows he’s done if he fails to go very very deep in the playoffs.

    Who decided to hire Gary Patterson?

    Who was saddled with a departing AD who hired him (Bohn) and has managed well with Cohen?

    Who decided to confront the imbalance in 2026 playing two major rivals back-to-back simply because the final one demands it be played then rather than moved earlier in the season?

    Who entered into a legacy program that went through 5 head coaches in 10 years? A program that also saw 5 athletic directors in 12 years?

    We as alums expect what our student days were… glory and well we should but this has been a dumpster fire for well over a decade and it’s over 15 yrs since the loss to TX.

    I believe this will be a stellar year and yes I think Riley is better because he has seen and experienced the full brunt of what it takes to compete in 2026.

    Tell you whose fan base have far more to worry about for 2026:

    AL, OR, FL, Clemson, GA, FL St., NE, WI, UT

    in particular ‘the princess’ because that pathetic schedule won’t prepare them for the playoffs and they know it. That’s why they’re back talking about revising the series….they desperately need quality opponents but their foolish arrogance is known to all that matter….head coaches and athletic directors.

    This will be a great year…FIGHT ON!

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    1. “Who entered into a legacy program that went through 5 head coaches in 10 years? A program that also saw 5 athletic directors in 12 years?”

      Those are some brutal facts. I would suggest firing the school President but that has been done multiple times. Can we change out the Board of Trustees? Probably not, they donate too much money.

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    2. Fan Fiction! Cool!

      Actual facts: OR is built to win. GA will be very, very good. AL, too. And Marcus Freeman has ND on the verge of a championship.

      Also, SC’s “offer” to play ND in Mexico City in August never was going anywhere. Stop lying about it.

      Stinkin’ Lincoln does not want to compete.

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      1. Lincoln hates competing so much he’ll be playing Oregon Washington, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana this year — all top ten teams…..

        #HeJustHateCompetition

        #HeHatesItSoMuchIt’sNotEvenFunny

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      4. Clay Helton would have quit if Carol told him “Guess what?! No more California Championships –we’re trading San Diego State and San Jose for Ohio State and Michigan!”

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  5. Man you countered all the points…and note class a monitoring ‘the princess’ fan…to ensure nothing is said against the annual con job.

    Yeah there it is a Ntl’ Championship right there…if only…why….

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