USC targeting Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley to be next head coach, according to reports

USC has reportedly recovered its adjacent caput shot coach, and the Trojans volition beryllium making the biggest splash successful the coaching carousel this fall.

USC is finalizing a woody with Lincoln Riley, who would beryllium leaving Oklahoma to go the Trojans’ adjacent caput coach, according to aggregate media reports. Yahoo! Sports was the archetypal to study the news.

Riley, 38, comes to USC aft 7 seasons astatine Oklahoma, including the past six arsenic the Sooners’ caput coach. During his tenure, Riley led Oklahoma to 4 Big 12 championships and a 55-10 record. In 2017, Riley’s Sooners earned a spot successful the College Football Playoff, losing successful the semifinal to Georgia.

He spent his archetypal 2 seasons astatine Oklahoma arsenic violative coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Prior to that, Riley was an adjunct astatine East Carolina for 5 seasons and the wide receivers manager astatine his alma mater, Texas Tech, from 2007-2008.

Riley replaces Clay Helton, who was fired successful September pursuing an embarrassing location nonaccomplishment to Stanford. Helton was the caput manager astatine USC for six-plus seasons, going 46-24 wide but 19-14 from 2018-2021.

Following Helton’s dismissal, cornerbacks manager Donte Williams was named interim caput coach. USC has sputtered this season, falling to 4-7 and retired of vessel eligibility with a 35-31 nonaccomplishment to BYU Saturday, with 1 last crippled adjacent play against Cal remaining.

But Riley represents a large connection for USC diversion manager Mike Bohn and main of unit Brandon Sosna, who ran USC’s coaching search. Riley is wide regarded arsenic an fantabulous recruiter who tin link to his players. His beingness volition enactment USC backmost connected the representation arsenic the Trojans effort to unafraid the Southern California recruiting grounds.

Oklahoma presently has five-star Mater Dei RB Raleek Brown successful its 2022 recruiting class, not to notation five-star Los Alamitos QB Malachi Nelson, five-star Los Alamitos jock Makai Lemon and four-star Los Alamitos WR DeAndre moore committed successful 2023. Riley instantly gets USC backmost successful the doorway with Southern California recruits who mightiness not person antecedently considered the Trojans, not to notation his nationalist connections.

As the quality of Riley’s hiring broke connected Sunday, Brown tweeted, “Staying home?”

Riley is besides a beardown violative caput who helped mold Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray into Heisman Trophy winners and NFL quarterbacks. His accomplishment astatine USC comes arsenic the Trojans’ backmost of the future, Jaxson Dart, has gotten the archetypal 2 starts of his career.

Oklahoma was scheduled to determination to the SEC successful the coming years. By moving to USC and the Pac-12, Riley tin make an easier way to league titles and College Football Playoff appearances successful a league with little competition.

There were whispers that Riley mightiness permission the Sooners for the LSU opening. But erstwhile asked astir that pursuing Saturday’s nonaccomplishment to Oklahoma State, Riley said, “I’m not going to beryllium the adjacent caput manager astatine LSU. Next question.”

But nary 1 asked astir USC, and it turns retired that Riley preferred the Trojans implicit the different blue-blood programs similar Oklahoma and LSU.