USC officially announces Lincoln Riley as head coach

It’s done. The USC Trojans have a new head football coach after a wild Sunday.

Lincoln Riley, who went 55-10 over five years as the head coach at Oklahoma, was officially announced as the head coach at USC by Trojans’ athletic director Mike Bohn.

“We are ecstatic to announce Lincoln Riley as our new head coach and welcome his wife Caitlin and their daughters Sloan and Stella to the Trojan Family,” Bohn said in a statement released by the school. “Lincoln is the rarest combination of extraordinary person and elite football coach. His successes and offensive accolades as a head coach the past five years are astonishing. Lincoln will recruit relentlessly, develop his players on and off the field, and implement a strong culture in which the program will operate with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.”

Riley takes over a USC program that will be looking to bounce back after a dismal 2021 season.

“I am truly excited to come to USC and join the Trojan Family as its new head football coach,” Riley said in a statement. “USC has an unparalleled football tradition with tremendous resources and facilities, and the administration has made a deep commitment to winning.  I look forward to honoring that successful tradition and building on it.  The pieces are in place for us to build the program back to where it should be and the fans expect it to be.  We will work hard to develop a physical football team that is dominant on both lines of scrimmage, and has a dynamic balanced offense and a stout aggressive defense. 

“I want to thank the administration, coaches and players at Oklahoma for five incredible years as their head coach.  We accomplished some great things there and I will always cherish my time as a Sooner.” 

Riley hit all the right notes as far as USC fans are concerned, pointing to building along the lines of scrimmage and employing a balanced offense. Former USC head coach Clay Helton was unable to recruit the offensive and defensive lines effectively in terms of numbers and overall talent level. The Trojans have paid the price for that in recent seasons.

Riley’s impact on recruiting this offseason will be immediate and substantial. USC’s 2022 recruiting class ranks No. 37 overall, following the departure of several high-profile prospects. But it would not be surprising to see that change quickly, as well as the Trojans beginning to add impact pieces in its 2023 recruiting class.

USC further announced that Riley will immediately transition to USC, with interim head coach Donte Williams finishing the final week of the season. USC’s regular-season finale against Cal will take place this Saturday, Dec. 4.

USC president Carol L. Folt was effusive in her praise for Riley as she welcomed him into the Trojan Family.

“Lincoln Riley is the perfect choice for our new head coach,” Folt said in the same statement. “He is known for caring about the development and character of his players and winning at the highest level. Mike Bohn and I share a vision for the future of USC Athletics and hiring Coach Riley is a huge statement about where we are going as a program. I cannot wait to welcome Coach Riley and his family to Los Angeles and the Trojan Family.”