Even though the USC Trojans are 6-1, this season had been up and down and there are rumblings that Riley and the school aren’t exactly on good terms.
Following a loss to Notre Dame, many in the fanbase are questioning just how good of a coach Riley. On a recent episode of the Dan Patrick Show, Patrick addressed a report from InsideUSC with Scott Wolf that recently floated the idea that Riley’s days in Los Angeles are numbered.
Wolf explained that Riley has been testing the waters in a way, and may be plotting his next move which could pair him with Caleb Williams at the next level.
“In NFL coaching circles, the talk is that Lincoln Riley is putting out feelers about taking a job in the NFL next season. To be clear, this chatter was going around last week and has nothing to do with USC’s loss to Notre Dame. The word is Riley would be open to an NFL job if he could follow Caleb Williams to the same franchise. If the Chicago Bears had the No. 1 pick, it would probably [be] ideal for this theory.”
Wolf also wrote that if he were to jump to the NFL, the team would likely hire his defensive staff for him.
“The other part of the theory is that an NFL team would tell Riley who to hire, especially on the defensive staff, to avoid some of the pratfalls that have happened in college. If Riley is serious about wanting to coach only 10 more years, it makes sense that he would go to the NFL sooner than later.”
Riley bailing on USC after just two years would be a major blow to the football program, which is slated to head to the Big Ten next year. The program was rumored to be paying around $110 million for the duration of his contract.
The Trojans host Utah on Saturday.
