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Lincoln Riley dismisses rumors that he's looking to leave USC

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko11/08/25nickkosko59
USATSI_27532700 (1)
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lincoln Riley shot down any rumors that he would leave USC at the end of the season. Amid an insane coaching carousel this year, and likely more to come, Riley said he won’t be apart of it.

“You guys know what I sacrificed to be here,” Riley said. “I’m where I need to be.”

The rumors started earlier this week when college football analyst Josh Pate sparked speculation about Riley’s future at USC during an appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys. Pate didn’t get into nitty gritty detail, but left it open to interpretation.

“Can we end on this,” Pate said, as he mimicked pulling a pin off a grenade and leaving. “Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC.”

On Friday, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer weighed in on the idea of Riley leaving USC. Riley, as he said above, already “sacrificed” his tenure at Oklahoma to go out west.

“That’s one of the places I don’t understand, Colin. That’s got everything,” Meyer said during an appearance on The Herd. “There’s some places that are hard. I don’t think USC’s hard. My entire career, I recruited out in California. It all comes down to recruiting base, tradition, and you have everything.

“I understand you have plenty of resources in the NIL and they’ve got an excellent coach in Lincoln Riley. I expect Lincoln Riley, when you see the recruiting rankings, what they’ve done recently, I see him not going anywhere and they’re going to have a nice run here coming up in the next couple years. …I refuse to believe that, Colin. I really do. I think he stays and I think they go on a great run.”

Riley has had a tumultuous couple of years at USC. In his debut campaign with the program in 2022, he guided the team to an 11-3 overall record and a Pac-12 championship game appearance.

However, the Trojans’ record has worsened each ensuing season since then. Most recently, USC finished with a 7-5 record last season. In fairness, the Trojans have bounce back this year and are currently 7-2 and ranked in the top 20 following Friday night’s win over Northwestern.