There is no reason to believe that Lincoln Riley has any desire to leave USC for another job in the near or distant future. However, the 41-year-old head coach is a top target for UCF and might have an opportunity to get out of Los Angeles if he wanted to do so.
According to Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo, the Knights are actively kicking the tires about an earth-shattering hire.
Three different people who are privy to the conversations in Orlando told The Athletic that UCF has reached out to the representatives of Lincoln Riley to gauge his interest in moving across the country. Gus Malzahn recently got ahead of an expected firing and bolted from Central Florida to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. That leaves an opening at one of the college football programs best positioned to find success in the Big 12.
Riley is familiar with most of the new Big 12 from his time at Oklahoma and first year at USC. The Trojans’ fanbase has soured on their head coach after a loss in the Cotton Bowl, an 8-5 record in 2023 and a 6-6 season in 2024. Although it seems unlikely that he would leave, the Knights must figure that it can’t hurt to ask.
With that being said, both of the people directly involved with the Riley hire at USC are gone. Current athletic director Jen Cohen inherited his reported 10-year, $100 million contract on which he has underperformed. It would be way too expensive to fire him at this point of the deal so some kind of hypothetical sign-and-trade might be the quickest and easiest way out.
Two sources said even if Riley had an interest in making the move, it would require some payout of his current deal with USC to make up for what he would be giving up in the transition — like a professional sports trade where one team pays a chunk of a player’s remaining salary on a large contract and the receiving team picks up the rest.
— The Athletic
Central Florida’s supposed interest in Riley feels entirely one-sided. It is a Hail Mary. What if the Knights could somehow hire one of the biggest names in the sport to lead a program with a much easier path to the Playoff as a member of the Big 12? You can’t hear “no” if you don’t ask the question!
To reiterate: this, more than likely, will not happen. Lincoln Riley is not going to leave. USC is not going to pay a portion of his salary for him to coach at UCF. Unless………………