Lincoln Riley Talks Program Building, Future Of USC After Paul Finebaum Criticism

The 2023 season for the USC Trojans was a disaster, to say the least. SC entered the season with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, coming off an 11-win season, with hopes that a full year of recruiting under head coach Lincoln Riley would lead to defensive improvements.

Instead, virtually the entire team regressed, especially on defense. Despite the returning talent and at times, an elite offense, the Trojans stumbled to a 7-5 regular season record. Though thanks to an impressive performance from quarterback Miller Moss, were able to win the Holiday Bowl over Louisville to finish 8-5.

Riley cleaned house in the offseason, bringing in an entirely new defensive coaching staff, led by D'Anton Lynn and new co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Eric Henderson. But while there's reason for optimism about improvement on the defensive side of the ball, the harsh reality is that USC enters the Big Ten Conference with a brutal, punishing schedule. 

A season-opening matchup against the LSU Tigers, road games against the National Champion Michigan Wolverines, title game loser Washington Huskies, UCLA Bruins and home games against Penn State, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin have severely diminished expectations. And Paul Finebaum believes Riley may not be long for the USC coaching job if the 2024 season goes as poorly as expected.

Lincoln Riley dragged after USC/Ole Miss cancel football series. (Photo: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports)

Has Lincoln Riley ‘Lost Control’ At USC?

Speaking on his show recently, Paul Finebaum went after Riley, saying he thinks "it's over" for the 40-year-old Riley.

READ: Paul Finebaum Makes Unhinged Claim About Lincoln Riley's Job Status

This isn't the first time Finebaum's criticized Riley's abilities. After the 2023 debacle, Finebaum said "I don’t know that I’ve seen a worse coaching job by anyone than Lincoln Riley this year." He added, "It’s a complete disaster, and quite frankly, he outta pack up. I don’t really see what his path is moving forward."

Is Finebaum right though?

There's plenty to criticize about Riley; maybe he was too stubborn in retaining Alex Grinch at defensive coordinator after poor defensive metrics in 2022. He's also yet to consistently bring in elite recruiting classes in the era of heightened NIL player requirements. But some of the failings of the Trojans football team can be blamed on USC too.

While other elite football schools have leaned hard into NIL to secure top talent, USC's treated it as an afterthought. Recruiting has slipped as a result. The school's football facilities are woefully outdated compared to other programs. And ticket price increases at the LA Coliseum have hurt attendance, diminishing the atmosphere that players are drawn towards.

Want to attend the Alabama-Georgia game in Tuscaloosa? Single game tickets are $200 each, regardless of location. Seats for the Crimson Tide-South Carolina Gamecocks game at Alabama are $75-100 from the school. Individual USC games routinely will sell for $250-300, with even bad seats retailing for $100 or more. 

It's hard to build the crowd support you want when you're pricing most fans out.

Riley Speaks About USC Program 

Riley spoke recently on the "Next Up With Alex Breneman" podcast about building a program and the progress he believes the Trojans have made in year three on the job. Even with the imminent Big Ten move.

"You feel the progress, you feel the momentum and you see a lot of tangible things right now," Riley said. "The way we're recruiting, the facility we're building, the staff that we just brought in on the defensive side – there are pieces you can point to and say, ‘that is real progress, I can see it, that’s not some idea, that's not some thought or some hope;' those things are real."

When asked whether or not the Big Ten has changed his recruiting strategy or how you build a program, Riley said it's "opening up" some new areas of the country to recruit. He also said there may be a few small changes in positional alignments.

"The Big Ten football wise as we've studied it, there's definitely new challenges, but you know, our goal has been to come here and win National Championships. That's been the goal, that's why we signed up from the beginning. To do that, you have to be good enough to beat everybody, including Big Ten teams." 

That's inarguably true. But the question remains, will he be able to do it at USC? 

Riley needs to do a better job, starting in 2024. But the reality of the schedule is such that even an elite team may only win nine games. Given the investment USC made in hiring him, it's doubtful Riley is anywhere close to a hot seat situation. But there's no doubt there's added pressure this year. Let's see how he holds up.