How USC landed Lincoln Riley and all the little things that had to go right

From a substance of perspective, USC’s process to find caller caput manager Lincoln Riley did not statesman successful September with the firing of Clay Helton. It started 2 years earlier, soon aft Mike Bohn was hired distant from Cincinnati to beryllium USC’s caller diversion director.

Bohn and main of unit Brandon Sosna sat down for their archetypal meetings with Helton and his assistants. Many USC fans astatine the clip wished that the coaching unit had been relieved of its duties determination and then. But Bohn and Sosna had a question instead.

What bash you need?

USC had fallen woefully down different assemblage shot bluish bloods successful infrastructure, from recruiting unit to nutrition specialists to spot staff. Sosna wrote the coaches’ answers connected a Post-It and placed it connected his caller desk.

He and Bohn went to enactment putting checks adjacent to those items, making definite Helton had the resources to bash the occupation earlier deciding to look for idiosyncratic other to bash it.

“We’ve each observed a fig of programs that look to judge that the reply is to consistently prosecute and occurrence and prosecute and occurrence without recognizing that, overmuch similar an NFL manager with a wide manager and ownership, that alignment and enactment and resources are critical,” Sosna said connected Monday aft Riley’s introduction.

“I don’t deliberation 2 years agone Lincoln Riley would beryllium the caput manager astatine USC. I don’t cognize that for sure, but I deliberation that the authorities of our programme and the alignment of our assemblage and our leadership, each that you heard up there, that was precise real.”

Once it was clip for USC to statesman the existent coaching search, the archetypal sanction that came to caput was Lincoln Riley’s. He had been Bohn and Sosna’s achromatic whale, a sanction they archetypal floated successful 2014 erstwhile Bohn was successful Cincinnati and Sosna was his intern, and Riley was violative coordinator astatine East Carolina.

When they reached retired to Riley successful 2017, helium neither answered nor returned their calls, arsenic helium was connected the verge of being promoted to caput manager astatine Oklahoma. In 2019, Bohn and Sosna had to hold 2 months to spot if helium would prime up the telephone this clip around.

In the meantime, they went astir their process. They vetted dozens of candidates. They presented a 50-page slideshow to manufacture insiders to dispersed the gospel astir the rebuilt USC. They consulted and strategized with assemblage president Carol L. Folt and committee of trustees president Rick Caruso. They organized a modulation squad to expedite and program the rotation retired of the announcement.

All the while, Riley remained astatine the apical of list. But that remained a intimately guarded secret. Even erstwhile Riley agreed to an interview, USC elected to behaviour it implicit Zoom alternatively than hazard taking a backstage level to Norman.

“Any clip you effort to bash thing successful idiosyncratic with timing, it tin beryllium problematic. More radical person to get involved. The Twitter formation tracker guys are gonna beryllium problematic,” Sosna said. “And I deliberation the biggest menace to thing similar this is connection getting out.”

But of each the things that had to align for USC to adjacent get a ft successful the doorway with Riley, the past was the astir chaotic of all: the effect of a shot game.

As USC faced BYU connected Saturday successful the Coliseum, Bohn and Sosna had Oklahoma’s crippled against Oklahoma State connected successful their suite. They lived and died by each zany update: The Cowboys taking an aboriginal lead, lone for the Sooners to respond. Oklahoma State returning a kickoff for a touchdown. Oklahoma scoring 16 unanswered to instrumentality a two-possession lead. The Cowboys taking the pb acknowledgment to a muffed punt by the Sooners. Finally, mercifully, the fourth-down sack astatine the OSU 32 with 8 seconds near to crystal the game.

Riley’s regular play was over. The Sooners would not beryllium going to the Big 12 title crippled nor the College Football Playoff. It was clip for USC to marque contact, alternatively of pivoting to Plan B successful the look of Riley’s extended season.

“It benignant of felt a small spot similar ‘Ender’s Game,’ erstwhile Oklahoma State won that game,” Sosna said, referring to the 1985 science-fiction caller that became a 2013 enactment movie. “It benignant of felt like, ‘Hey, the enemy’s gates are down, let’s spell get it done.’”

From there, Bohn and Sosna fine-tuned their presumption done the night, checking with Folt and Caruso throughout. And lone aft that did they larn that the enactment that began 2 years agone – and immoderate luck – had paid off.

“Just due to the fact that it’s USC, that’s a large start, but that’s each it is, a start,” Riley said. “You amended person the close radical down it, you amended person committedness astatine each levels, you amended person alignment astatine each levels oregon you’re not going to beryllium successful. And erstwhile I met with assemblage leadership, I could spot full alignment. And much than conscionable alignment, determination was excitement. You could tell, they were acceptable to spell and their vigor conscionable spoke to me.”