Paul Finebaum doubles down on idea that Lincoln Riley should look to leave USC

Paul Finebaum isn’t backing down from his belief that it’s time for head coach Lincoln Riley to move on from USC. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday, the ESPN analyst doubled down on his controversial stance.

“I’ve been particularly hard on him. I felt like he’s done a good job this year, but he lost again in a big moment,” Finebaum said. “Ultimately, that really hurts, because he’s not going to the playoff again.

“SC fans don’t really get excited about, ‘Hey, we had a 9-3 season. We’re going to a good bowl game.’ ‘Oh, really, where’s that? And how many tickets will be eaten?’ So, I’ve argued here a couple of weeks in a row, I think Lincoln Riley ought to hightail it out of Southern Cal and see if he can get in one of these major coaching jobs.”

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 worsened in each of the ensuing two seasons. Most recently, USC finished with a 7-5 record last season. In fairness, the Trojans have taken a step in the right direction in the 2025 campaign and currently have an 8-3 record.

Nonetheless, following their 42-27 loss to Oregon on Saturday, Lincoln Riley and Co. will miss out on College Football Playoff again. It’s been a painful drought for Riley, who led Oklahoma to the CFP every season from 2017-19.

Paul Finebaum believes Riley needs a clean slate. The 42-year-old HC has plenty of options in the college football landscape. As of this report, there are eight head coach openings at the Power Four level, including at elite programs such as LSU, Florida and Penn State.

Despite Finebaum’s strong opinion, not everybody agrees it’d be best for Riley to move on from USC. Earlier this month, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer explained why Lincoln Riley can success at USC.

“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.”