by Kyle Golik
Dan Patrick sought out the state of L.A. sports with ESPN’s Around The Horn contributor and LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke. They discussed all the burning Los Angeles sports topics of LeBron and Bronny James, Shohei Ohtani, Jim Harbaugh, the sudden departure of Chip Kelly from UCLA to Ohio State, and then the state of Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley came up.
Patrick asked, “Where do we stand on the Lincoln Riley era at USC?”
Plaschke continued his negative tone, something that was consistent throughout the interview when answering about Riley’s status, “Everybody is really upset with him. Everybody is really down on him. I was hoping he would leave, but he hurt his NFL chances by having a bad season. He’s got a lot to prove. He’s making a lot of money with little results. He can’t coach a defense. I think he’s on the hot seat.”
Plaschke has been consistent in his railing against Riley. In a November 2023 column in the LA Times, following a 38-20 loss to crosstown rival UCLA that dropped Southern California to 7-7 in its previous 14 games, Plaschke proclaimed the honeymoon was over and delivered the critical blow to Riley
“This awful loss is on you. This disappointing season is on you. The pulsating heat from a fan base that doesn’t accept mediocrity is now squarely on you.”
—LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke after USC lost to UCLA
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I understand Plaschke’s frustration with Riley. When you consider the amount of money Riley is making (around $10 million per season) and the hype to begin his reign at Southern Cal, going 11-1, the Trojans were ahead of schedule in terms of rebuilding the program that was left to toil in mediocrity during the Clay Helton era.
Riley has been aggressive in the transfer portal early in his tenure at Southern California, especially bringing in a lot of defensive talent to make up for the serious deficiencies in that group.
That effort was deemed a failure when Riley relieved Alex Grinch from the defensive coordinator position.
Maybe a bigger question to ponder was how miraculous the 2023 Trojans were to win eight games despite having the 121st scoring defense in the nation, allowing 34.4 points per game.
Plaschke’s point that Riley couldn’t coach defenses might be a slight embellishment. I have pointed out in the past that the lack of success in recruiting high-end defensive talent, along with scouting and assessing defensive talent, has plagued Riley more than anything.
Riley has since answered the call by assembling a defensive staff that should give Riley an education on how to have an elite defensive program by bringing in D’Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator, Matt Entz as assistant head coach and linebackers coach, and Doug Belk as secondary coach.
I feel Plaschke and other supporters of the Trojans need to be patient with this new structure with defense coaching personnel. Lynn is a hot coaching commodity whose stock skyrocketed being a defensive coordinator at UCLA. Entz guided North Dakota State to a 60-11 record and two FCS National Championships. Belk has been a trendy pick to become a head coach, especially after being the architect of the “Third Ward Defense” at Houston.
Plaschke also took a swipe at the “Quarterback Whisperer,” wondering if Riley can win without Caleb Williams.
Well, looking at what Riley did at Oklahoma, he won with Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, and Jalen Hurts. Quarterback Miller Moss, who started in the Holiday Bowl after Williams opted out, set a Holiday Bowl record with six touchdown passes and was MVP in a 42-28 win over Louisville.
But Riley wasn’t brought to Southern California to win eight games in a season, have a poor-performing defense, and win mid-level bowl games.
Look at what Nick Saban did at Alabama, what Dabo Swinney did for a decade at Clemson, and what Kirby Smart has built at Georgia. That was the vision of Trojan fans to return to the national elite and be a juggernaut.
Riley is not naive to understand those expectations Plaschke and the community have, and those are his desires as well. I feel Riley’s actions in assembling the defensive staff he did were a response to those expectations and wanting to not just meet them but exceed them.
With an expanded College Football Playoff starting this year, the standard has to be playoff or bust for the Trojans and anything less is failing to meet that standard.
Riley’s seat, to me, shouldn’t be hot, but he should be feeling uncomfortable sitting in it. If Southern California fails to transition well into the Big Ten this year and not make the Playoffs, the seat will only get warmer.
