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USC is hiring Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma as its new HC

The Alabaster Yak said:
Kind of chicken and egg though. Pac 12 is looked down on because it’s flagship program hasn’t been relevant in the CFP era. If the conference has Oregon and USC in the top 5-10 consistently, the conference is right there with the B1G and SEC.

Also, what direction would you have gone for $15m/year? Nick Saban? Kirby? Dabo? Brian Kelly? Urban? There really aren’t any other coaches you’d pay $15m/year for and Riley is right there with those guy as a top 5 proven CFB coach.
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You could totally be right WRT national perception....time will tell. My belief is that the PAC has historically been looked down upon nationally as a "soft" conference, sans the peak USC years. I think there is a false narrative there, and the different time slots hurt perception, but I also don't think this hire does anything to change that narrative.

I think I have been pretty clear that I think Riley is a very good coach and my issue is with the style of ball he coaches not being a good fit...everything else is a great fit. Obviously no one is poaching Saban or Dabo. If Kirby would listen, that would be intriguing...although recruiting then becomes more of a concern. I think a better fit for SC would have been to try and steal a coach for less than $15 Mil, and pour more money into highly coveted OC/DC/asst's. Could they have stolen Wittingham for $10 Mil? I think Dan Quinn would have been an excellent fit at SC for far less $$, and spend the extra money on assistants and recruiting.

I am nitpicking here...clearly this is a HUGE hire. I just think it isn't going to get SC what they want/expect in a National Championship. Frankly, I hope I am wrong, because that would be really good for the conference and for CU.
 
Big Jim said:
Best reaction to USC hiring Riley I've seen so far is from the UCLA fans. They are acting as if Riley is overrated, OU has been imploding the past two seasons and that all UCLA needs to do to keep beating USC every year is to get a better DC.
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Frankly, I'd be feeling pretty good about my program if I was a UCLA fan. Kelly's got it going in the right direction and they're on their way back to being a consistent top 25 type program again.
 
MiamiBuffs said:
I guess it depends on who makes the list. Chuck Fairbanks? Rich Rodriguez? Charlie Strong? Tyrone Willingham? Ron Zook?
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This is more shades of Saban going from LSU to Bama (brief stop in Miami), than any of those without the NC of course.

Riley is a proven top 5 coach in CFB. I guess I struggle to see how USC *literally* could have done any better. Saban, Dabo, Kirby, and Urban are about the only others who would be considered better or more proven, IMO.
 
Bill Cody said:
No real disagreement here, other than to point out that the PAC is looked down upon nationally. A one loss USC team will still have a harder time making the CFP than a one loss tOSU or Bama....and likely gets knocked out all together if that loss is a weird Pac12 after dark loss to Wazzu or something. I think Riley will recruit lights out and win a LOT of games at SC. I guess my overall point is this; if I was willing to pay $15 million a year to poach a head coach, I probably would have gone a slightly different direction.

I do very much look forward to how this will impact the conference going forward, particularly the SC-fucla rivalry. Those games will be super fun to watch IMO.
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There is zero percent chance a one loss USC team misses the playoffs.
 
onealcd said:
There is zero percent chance a one loss USC team misses the playoffs.
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I think that's an overstatement. Let's say you have an undefeated Bama and Clemson, and a one loss tOSU, ND, and USC. In your opinion, who get's left out in that scenario?

EDIT: Nik beat me to it, the one that lost between SC and ND.
 
Bill Cody said:
You could totally be right WRT national perception....time will tell. My belief is that the PAC has historically been looked down upon nationally as a "soft" conference, sans the peak USC years. I think there is a false narrative there, and the different time slots hurt perception, but I also don't think this hire does anything to change that narrative.

I think I have been pretty clear that I think Riley is a very good coach and my issue is with the style of ball he coaches not being a good fit...everything else is a great fit. Obviously no one is poaching Saban or Dabo. If Kirby would listen, that would be intriguing...although recruiting then becomes more of a concern. I think a better fit for SC would have been to try and steal a coach for less than $15 Mil, and pour more money into highly coveted OC/DC/asst's. Could they have stolen Wittingham for $10 Mil? I think Dan Quinn would have been an excellent fit at SC for far less $$, and spend the extra money on assistants and recruiting.

I am nitpicking here...clearly this is a HUGE hire. I just think it isn't going to get SC what they want/expect in a National Championship. Frankly, I hope I am wrong, because that would be really good for the conference and for CU.
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I like Dan Quinn a lot as well, but USC needed a hire that was the following (not in order):

1. A huge splash (generate excitement and hype)
2. Excellent coach (X’s and O’s and best QB developer in the country)
3. Recruiter
4. Proven track record at the P5 collegiate level

There are definitely guys out there who might fit the bill better, but they don’t immediately check all the boxes. USC needed a sure thing and Riley is about as close to a sure thing as it gets, IMO.
 
The Alabaster Yak said:
I like Dan Quinn a lot as well, but USC needed a hire that was the following (not in order):

1. A huge splash (generate excitement and hype)
2. Excellent coach (X’s and O’s and best QB developer in the country)
3. Recruiter
4. Proven track record at the P5 collegiate level

There are definitely guys out there who might fit the bill better, but they don’t immediately check all the boxes. USC needed a sure thing and Riley is about as close to a sure thing as it gets, IMO.
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Zero disagreement. I still don't think he'll meet expectations at SC.
 
The Alabaster Yak said:
I like Dan Quinn a lot as well, but USC needed a hire that was the following (not in order):

1. A huge splash (generate excitement and hype)
2. Excellent coach (X’s and O’s and best QB developer in the country)
3. Recruiter
4. Proven track record at the P5 collegiate level

There are definitely guys out there who might fit the bill better, but they don’t immediately check all the boxes. USC needed a sure thing and Riley is about as close to a sure thing as it gets, IMO.
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Were those guys available?
 
Bill Cody said:
I think that's an overstatement. Let's say you have an undefeated Bama and Clemson, and a one loss tOSU, ND, and USC. In your opinion, who get's left out in that scenario?

EDIT: Nik beat me to it, the one that lost between SC and ND.
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Assuming SC’s 1 loss isn’t to Notre Dame, the team that’s left out is ND and it’s an EASY choice because they aren’t going to have the 13th game.

A 1 loss Oregon this year would have been in no question.
 
Bill Cody said:
I think that's an overstatement. Let's say you have an undefeated Bama and Clemson, and a one loss tOSU, ND, and USC. In your opinion, who get's left out in that scenario?

EDIT: Nik beat me to it, the one that lost between SC and ND.
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Not usc
 
Bill Cody said:
Zero disagreement. I still don't think he'll meet expectations at SC.
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What are USC expectations?

1. Top 10 recruiting that owns So Cal.
2. 9+ wins every year.
3. Conf title and/or playoff more years than not.
4. Exciting play style with regular Heisman candidates.
5. At least 1 national championship per decade.

I'm about 50/50 on whether I think he can get them there.
 
With the NIL those college kids in L.A. are going to be living in a music video. With the right coach that knows how to recruit USC will able to compete against top SEC schools.
 
Buffnik said:
What are USC expectations?

1. Top 10 recruiting that owns So Cal.
2. 9+ wins every year.
3. Conf title and/or playoff more years than not.
4. Exciting play style with regular Heisman candidates.
5. At least 1 national championship per decade.

I'm about 50/50 on whether I think he can get them there.
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I would say top 5 recruiting, 10-11+ wins/year, playing in the Pac 12 CG pretty much every year, winning it more often than not, and being in the CFP most seasons.

I mean, basically the Pete Carroll years, right? I feel like your expectations are pretty meh for a program like SC
 
Buffnik said:
What are USC expectations?

1. Top 10 recruiting that owns So Cal.
2. 9+ wins every year.
3. Conf title and/or playoff more years than not.
4. Exciting play style with regular Heisman candidates.
5. At least 1 national championship per decade.

I'm about 50/50 on whether I think he can get them there.
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1. Yes - he's already there with OK in LA for pete's sake!
2. Likely (maybe not next year, depends on a lot of moving parts gelling)
3. Very difficult, but... 40% chance? - Only Bama and Clemson are at this level, but the P12 seems to be a wasteland of mediocrity. If the schedule goes to 8 conference and they only have ND OOC...
4. Seems near certain
5. Always a crap shoot but I feel like that's easier than #3.
 
Buffnik said:
What are USC expectations?

1. Top 10 recruiting that owns So Cal.
2. 9+ wins every year.
3. Conf title and/or playoff more years than not.
4. Exciting play style with regular Heisman candidates.
5. At least 1 national championship per decade.

I'm about 50/50 on whether I think he can get them there.
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I started this whole debate by saying that I think he will fall short of expectations at USC. The expectations (in my mind) are what you list +++.

USC put forth a concerted effort to steal away one of the top coaches in CFB, and by paying him $15 Mil per year, I think this is reflective of USC boosters trying to get back to what they had under Carrol. I think anything short of that will cause frustration after 4-5 years.
 
Bill Cody said:
I started this whole debate by saying that I think he will fall short of expectations at USC. The expectations (in my mind) are what you list +++.

USC put forth a concerted effort to steal away one of the top coaches in CFB, and by paying him $15 Mil per year, I think this is reflective of USC boosters trying to get back to what they had under Carrol. I think anything short of that will cause frustration after 4-5 years.
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Agreed. A 9-3 season would be a major disappointment. They are trying to get on Alabama’s level of consistent CFP Championship conetending
 
I think Riley is a good choice for them. He will recruit SoCal well, his offenses score points by the bunch, and with the athletes they land, only Oregon, Washington and fUCLA should even be able to match up. Everybody else will line up for their yearly beating.
 
For those counting at home, Oklahoma had a lot more talent than most of these games I list below. It's not easy to win the games you should win though, and to his credit, Riley won a lot of games. But certainly not dominating the Big12 like the record would make it seem like.... (still think he's a great pickup for USC for what they need right now).

2019
Beat Texas by 7
Loses to KSU by 7
Beat ISU by 1
Beat Baylor by 3
Beat TCU by 4
Beat Baylor by 7
Loses to LSU in playoff

2020:
Loses to KSU by 3
Loses to ISU by 7
Beats Texas in 4OT
Beats ISU by 6 for conf title

2021:
Beats Tulane by 5
Beats Nebraska by 7
Beats UWV by 3
Beats KSU by 6
Beats Texas by 7
Beats Kansas by 12
Loses to Baylor by 13
Beats ISU by 6
Loses to OSU by 4
 
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