USC athletic director makes bold declaration in Lincoln Riley’s introductory press conference

Two historic blue blood programs had their paths altered on Monday, as Lincoln Riley was named the newest USC head coach. Coming from Oklahoma, it’s hard to think of a move more monumental of a move than this one.

USC athletic director Mike Bohn said when looking for a new head coach, making such a move was not intentional. Now that he has Riley to lead the Trojans, Bohn is happy he was able to pull it off.

“It was never our goal to change the landscape of college football with one of the biggest moves in the history of the game, but we did exactly that,” Bohn said at Riley’s introductory press conference on Monday.

Riley says he learned of the Trojans’ interest late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. After a couple of hours of sleep following an Oklahoma loss to in-state rivals Oklahoma State, the head coach was on a Zoom with USC. From there, the rest is history.

“It came together quickly, but in this day and age of college football, it kind of has to,” Riley said.

Riley now has one of the most prestine jobs in the world in front of him, with a potential rebuild on the way. However, with the kind of talent the Califonia area has, it could be a quick one for the Trojans. They are one of the few programs that are a head coach away from instant success.

The former Oklahoma man already did well on the west coast in the recruiting world, having some major prospected committed to coming to Norman. Now, with the USC branding on his side, the task could become a whole lot easier for Riley.

Oklahoma “blindsided” by Lincoln Riley leaving

In a Monday press conference, Oklahoma president Joe Harroz said he learned the news of coach Lincoln Riley’s departure to USC the same time everyone else did. Despite being in talks “for weeks” with Riley about a contract extension, the two sides never came to an agreement.

Instead, Riley bolted for sunnier weather in California just a day removed from his first Bedlam loss. He took with him several Sooners assistants, including defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

Riley leaves behind a team that finished the year 10-2 and will miss the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time since it was brought back in 2017. He amassed a 55-10 overall record in five seasons, including 37-7 in conference play. He was just 1-3 in bowl games.