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Things are pretty ugly for Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans these days, and the third-year head coach appears to be going into panic mode because of it.
Riley is 4-4 in his third season at the helm of the Trojans, moving his career record in LA to just 23-12. Hardly impressive for a coach who was poached away from Oklahoma and is being paid $11 million a year, which ranks third among all college football coaches.
Now it appears he’s also up to his old tricks, as USC announced on Monday that it intends to close practice to the media.
Needless to say, this is very disappointing. The only explanation from USC has been that Lincoln Riley plans to continue the new itinerary of practice the team used last week, with team periods first.
So, the media has *accidentally* lost its access in the shuffle.
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) October 29, 2024
USC Coach Lincoln Riley Also Closed Off Practices In Final Year At Oklahoma
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Riley has attempted this tactic. He did the same thing in his final season at Oklahoma when student reporters discovered that Caleb Williams was set to take Spencer Rattler’s starting quarterback job.
“Riley has been known to go to great lengths to conceal what happens at practice,” Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star wrote at the time. “Last year, Newson6.com reported university crews “applied a special opaque film to 54 windows” on buildings across the street from the Sooners’ practice facility.”
Riley went 10-2 that season with the Sooners, but only 3-2 after the practice changes, which he later went back on. He also, notably, left Oklahoma before the Alamo Bowl against Oregon to head to USC.
Williams followed Riley to USC and won the Heisman Trophy the following season. But USC got pummeled in the Pac-12 championship hame by Utah and then lost to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. The Trojans then, somehow, went just 8-5 in 2023 before Williams was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Trojans have a lot of issues this season. They still aren’t physical on defense. They are terrible in second halves, and quarterback Miller Moss makes some questionable decisions.
But none of those issues are worsened by media watching 10 minutes of practice. This is the move of a desperate, struggling head coach. And it does not reflect at all well on Riley.