Dan Mullen Fires Direct Shot At Lincoln Riley As USC Hits Rock Bottom

Dan Mullen took a not-so-subtle jab at Lincoln Riley as USC hit a new low Saturday.

The Trojans were run off the field 38-20 by the team's bitter rival UCLA to fall to 7-5, and a season that started with so much hope has turned into an unmitigated disaster.

The product on the field is simply awful. There's no other way to sum it up. The 2023 campaign is one every USC fan would love to forget.

USC got blown out by UCLA, and Dan Mullen used the loss to fire a shot at Lincoln Riley. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Dan Mullen suggests Lincoln Riley should be on the hot seat.

Amid the chaos with the Trojans, it's seems to go largely unnoticed that Chip Kelly's seat at UCLA is getting increasingly hot.

Will the win over USC save his job? That remains to be seen as the Bruins sit at 7-4, but Mullen thinks it might be Riley who should be on the hot seat.

"Are we sure that they have the right coach on the hot seat in LA," the former Florida coach asked his followers on X amid Chip Kelly and the Bruins dominating USC.

Riley and USC have been a disaster this season.

Now, is Lincoln Riley on the hot seat? Of course not. He's 18-8 through nearly two seasons with the Trojans, and while the results have been disappointing, there's no chance he's gone to get fired. None.

USC is all in on Riley, and a terrible 2023 season won't change that fact. Now, could he leave for the NFL? That's a different discussion that people seem interested in having nonstop given Caleb Williams will likely be the first overall pick.

However, Mullen does seem to have a solid point. The worst case for UCLA this season is to finish 7-5, which is the exact same record USC and Riley have.

Why is Chip Kelly getting crushed but not Riley? The answer is simple. Kelly is in year six with the Bruins and hasn't done anything really noteworthy.

There's a big difference between being in year two and year six. By year six, you better have some results, and Kelly simply doesn't.

Will UCLA fire Chip Kelly? (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We'll see where USC and UCLA go from here, but clearly, Dan Mullen couldn't resist the chance to drag Lincoln Riley. Let me know your thoughts on his tweet at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.