Report: Oklahoma 'eying' recently-hired head coach

On3 imageby:Griffin McVeigh11/28/21

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Lincoln Riley shocked the college football world on Sunday, reportedly heading to USC to be their head coach. The Oklahoma Sooners will now be looking for a new head coach.

According to Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, recently hired TCU head coach Sonny Dykes is somebody to keep a “close eye on” for the job. There is mutual interest between the two parties.

Dykes has not officially been named the Horned Frogs’ head coach, finishing out the season with SMU on Saturday. He has begun to assemble a coaching staff too before heading to Fort Worth.

As a Power Five head coach, Dykes has a 19-30 record while at California. He then left for SMU, where he inherited the program from Chad Morris and brought them to a new level in the American Athletic Conference.

Dykes led the Mustangs to a 30-18 record over four seasons. He reached 10 wins and would have appeared in three consecutive bowl games had he stayed in Dallas.

Oklahoma loses Lincoln Riley to USC

Lincoln Riley has shifted the college football landscape with one swift move. Lincoln Riley is expected to become USC’s next head coach, On3’s Matt Zenitz reported Sunday.

Contract details have yet to be announced. Per USA Today, Riley was the fifth-highest paid coach this season with a $7.672 million salary.

In his fifth season with the Sooners, Riley was tabbed as the heir to the Bob Stoops’ dynasty. Oklahoma is 10-2 this season and was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth until its loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday night. A win would have set up the Sooners to meet the Cowboys in Dallas for the Big 12 title this coming weekend.

Riley took over for Stoops in June 2017. Initially hired by Stoops as an offensive coordinator in 2015, Riley built the Sooners into a top-10 offense in the 2016 season and won the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.

There are a handful of reasons why Riley would want to make the move. For starters, Oklahoma is set to join the SEC in the coming years and as early as 2023. While the Sooners are constantly in the playoff conversation and winners of six-consecutive Big 12 titles, making the jump to the most competitive conference in the nation could backfire.

With a 55-10 overall record and 37-7 mark in conference play at Oklahoma, Riley has made the playoff four times but still doesn’t have a national title game appearance. Making the move to USC gives the 38-year-old head coach a backyard loaded with talent.