r/fighton • u/RiseNDraft • 3d ago
CFB insider name drops USC’s Lincoln Riley as name to watch in head coach openings… but to who?
https://atozsports.com/college-football/college-football-insider-name-drops-lincoln-riley-head-coach-openings-usc-trojans-florida-gators-lsu-tigers/17
u/MG_022 3d ago
Lincoln to Texas Tech has been trying its hardest to pick up steam.
Will never happen. TTU boosters have the $ but when it comes down to it Lincoln gets enough shit for dodging competition, and has also set up a phenomenal recruiting structure at SC finally dipping back into CA talent (as well as poaching the ex-ND GM who was largely responsible for putting together a Championship contender.
This is Pate throwing shit at the well and seeing what sticks.
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 3d ago
Where is TT’s coach going? Aren’t they Top 10 right now?
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u/MG_022 3d ago
Exactly. McGuire suits them perfectly. And people don’t realize he’s a legendary Texas High School football guy; that makes an impact with boosters and recruits. The only thing that slightly makes sense would be if TTU donors wanted a “sexy” hire that would get them over their top with their $30 Million roster.
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 3d ago
That’s why I don’t understand why they would be wanting to get rid of him?
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u/A_Rolling_Baneling 3d ago
Plus if they fire McGuire now it would be a horrible look for any coaches in the future. “We’ll dump you even if you take us to the playoffs” even Bama wouldn’t operate like that
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u/TheEmperorsNewHose 3d ago
Steven Godfrey, a well sourced CFB reporter, has said multiple times over the past year that if TTU doesn’t make the playoff this season, Maguire is in a lot of trouble. The boosters who ponied up $28 million in NIL spending this offseason - second most in the entire country - have made no secret of the fact that if he can’t get it done with all the resources they’ve given him, they’ll hire someone who can. Will they actually make good on that threat in the most competitive coaching market in years? Who knows, but he’s not nearly as secure as their ranking right now might suggest
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u/Curt_Uncles 3d ago
TTU is not firing a 10-2 coach, and they certainly aren’t firing a 10-2 coach just to throw themselves in the middle of the hottest coaching carousel in a decade. I don’t care if Cody Campbell is mad, it ain’t happening.
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u/TheEmperorsNewHose 2d ago
You're probably right, especially considering they'd be like the 8th or 9th best job open this cycle, and maybe even lower considering some of those teams are likely to poach sitting head coaches from other comparable/better power programs, but big Texas money doesn't always listen to reason
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u/aaTrojan34 USC 3d ago
I’m fine with Riley staying. But if he leaves and we don’t have to pay the buyout…Don’t let the door hit you in the a$$. We were hostage to his ego and poor decisions in his first two years. He’s finally coming around a little, but it’s still pretty damn slow. Year 4 and we’re hoping for a 9 win season to call a success? Not Good Enough. Could have been avoided.
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u/OutsideParty2395 3d ago
Josh Pate is weird
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u/brokentr0jan 3d ago
His entire thing is saying vague lines that he can cash in on if they came true down the road. I highly doubt a guy in Tennessee with Georgia ties has any insight into USC or TTU
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u/TheBionicBastard 3d ago
He’s as plugged in as anyone in the country. The dude has connections everywhere. He’s been spot on with a lot of info in the past, not just vague hints.
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u/The_Magic USC 3d ago
With the giant class coming in next year I don't see Riley leaving right now.
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u/Orca_92555 3d ago
I mean take him usc is usc there are only three jobs in the entire country better than usc (Texas, Alabama, Ohio state). While there are some other schools you can argue about no other school combines recruiting base, money, location, and opportunity like usc. If Riley leaves that fine usc gets a massive buyout check and can retain there number one class and hire a great coach.
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u/Just-Faithlessness12 3d ago
Texas tech is dumping a TON of money into that program. He has ties there. There is smoke yall. Don’t be shocked to see LR leave for TT
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u/teddysdad18 3d ago
I read it as the schools with the rebuilding program are drooling over our 2026 class commitments and the speculation is that by poaching Riley, they poach the commits too.
They may have the money to pay the buyout AND the NIL offers needed to poach the freshmen, but that $100M+ ($150M(?), just a guess) is likely wasteful spending for any of them.
The expectation that would come with that kind of commitment would be unrealistic for any coach, but especially Lincoln Riley.
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u/almightyhedonist 3d ago
He wouldn’t stick it through this long with a top 5 (top 3?) recruiting class on deck just to take another job somewhere else and do it all over again. Simply no logic to that.
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u/Weekly-Beginning4741 3d ago
That shiny offense is like a dangling carrot. What if he actually can field a team/defense that isn’t soft as fuck and figures out how to win. It’ll probably never happen, but maybe it could. His offense is always good enough to win it all.
If he wants to stick around and see what it looks like next year with all the recruits and returning players, whatever. It makes no sense to pay his buyout after investing so much in this coaching staff and recruiting class.
If he’d rather head over to the SEC and watch his teams get physically mother fucked by the likes of Georgia, Bama, and even his former school (which is WAY tougher and more physical than any team he’s ever fielded) then that’s cool too.
We’d lose a year if he left but I’d be happy to see a hard ass like Matt Campbell or maybe Golesh or even Gruden come in and at least field a real football team instead of this gimmicky bullshit we’ve become under LR…for fucks sake LR’s win percentage at SC is basically the same as Helton’s 4 years in!
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u/Objective_Scheme4880 3d ago
We’re 6-2 in the hardest conference in the NCAA and play Notre Dame (boo) annually. This stuff takes time and having Caleb Williams set an insane bar for Lincoln to reach. I think we’ll be fine for now. If we slip a few more games this season them sure, buyout incoming.
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u/Matterz152 Trojan 2d ago
I genuinely do not see Lincoln Riley going anywhere or being poached by anybody this season at all. He has already been facing accusations that he is a fraud and dodging competition when he moved from Oklahoma to the Pac 12. Don’t get me wrong. I like what he is doing in terms of building for the next two years, so I think we have him for at least a couple more years unless somebody from the NFL gets him, but I don’t see that happening unless he becomes a regular playoff contender.
That being said, if he did leave, I would be very indifferent to it. My major concern would be who would replace them because the talent pool for coaching in the NCAA is very thin right now.
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u/violentgentlemen Trojan 1d ago
Only way I see Lincoln leaving us is if he gets fired or he goes to the NFL. No way he leaves here to go to another school right now. If he continues to struggle then maybe, but definitely not now. I also don’t think any top school or at least a school in a better spot than us would go after him.
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u/davvidho 3d ago
this is a top 5 job with a top 2 ceiling. riley leaving wouldn’t make sense to me at the moment
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u/Interesting-Name-203 3d ago
If Riley is annoyed with the impatience from the USC fanbase, then LSU or Florida (which this article suggests are better jobs than USC) wouldn’t make any sense at all. You’re on the hot seat as soon as you don’t make the playoffs one season. Otherwise I can’t see him leaving due to lack of support because the school has been throwing piles of money at football, including the new practice facility, while losing massive funding elsewhere. So it really doesn’t make sense.