lincoln riley

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Two years ago, a day after he decided to fire Alex Grinch as USC‘s defensive coordinator, Lincoln Riley made a promise to those concerned about the future of the Trojans’ defense.

“I have complete belief, conviction. We will play great defense here,” the coach said in November 2023. “It is going to happen. There’s not a reason in the world why it can’t.”

Two years later, another defensive coordinator is out the door at USC. The day after Grinch’s replacement, D’Anton Lynn, left to take the same job at Penn State, Riley stood in front of reporters, assuring everyone once again that soon enough, USC would be great on that side of the ball.

“The arrow,” he said Tuesday, “is pointing straight up.”

“The opportunity for us to make a hire, to continue to make us better and to go from being a very good defense to being a great defense is the goal.”

Yet patience on that promise is wearing thin, especially given how the season had ended less than an hour before. USC blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes against Texas Christian on Tuesday, a team playing without its star quarterback, before missing four tackles on a third-and-20 walk-off touchdown in overtime. The disastrous Alamo Bowl defeat would serve as an especially sobering reminder that while USC made progress under Lynn, it’s still a ways from heeding Riley’s guarantee.

And now, the defense will have to start again, with a new direction, a new scheme and a new coordinator, who will be Riley’s third hire in five seasons at USC.

In spite of all that, Riley was upbeat when asked about the unit’s future Tuesday night. He felt “fantastic,” he said, about where USC’s defense was headed.

“We have the personnel,” Riley said of becoming a great defensive unit. “We’re on an upward trend. And, you know, there’s going to be a lot of interest in this job.
I mean, this will be an extremely, extremely coveted job, and I can already tell by the nature of what my phone’s been like the last couple of days.”

Several potential candidates with deep experience, as well as close ties to USC athletics officials, are expected to be available.

Former Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who worked at Washington under current USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen, was let go by the Longhorns earlier this month. Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden, meanwhile, worked closely with USC general manager Chad Bowden at Notre Dame and could be looking for a job as soon as next week.

Both coached college defenses that ranked in the top four in the nation in points allowed during the 2024 season.

USC appeared bound for a similar trajectory after Year 1 with Lynn. The Trojans allowed 10 fewer points per game, leaping from 121st in scoring defense under Grinch to 56th in his first season at USC. They got stingier on third down — 106th nationally to 21st — and in the red zone — 119th to 69th. Lynn was even named candidate for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant.

In some respects, USC’s defense continued to take steps forward in Year 2 under Lynn. It gave up fewer points and fewer yards per game. The pass rush improved, adding 10 sacks to its season total in 2025.

But the personnel on defense was less proven this season — and more prone to mistakes. The secondary struggled through stretches. A thin group of linebackers was often overwhelmed. The defensive interior was manhandled for most of the season, and in each of their three regular-season losses, the Trojans were trampled on the ground.

Last month, when asked about the group’s inconsistency, Lynn said that USC’s youth forced him to “scale back” significantly on defense. He actually wondered, in the wake of USC’s loss to Oregon, if he shouldn’t have scaled back the defense even more this season.

“It’s different when you’re teaching an 18-year-old versus teaching a guy who has been at two to three schools who has already played a bunch of college ball,” Lynn said.

Lynn, nonetheless, leaves USC in a better place than when he arrived. The nation’s No. 1 recruiting class lands on campus next week, with plenty of highly ranked reinforcements on the way. Talented freshmen like defensive linemen Jahkeem Stewart and Floyd Boucard as well as defensive back Alex Graham are rising stars who should be ready to step into significant roles.

But USC will have to replace three starters in the secondary, including Kamari Ramsey, its best linebacker [Eric Gentry] and its top run stopper on the defensive line [Anthony Lucas]. Whomever takes over as coordinator will be expected to take a significant step forward immediately, up against one of the nation’s toughest schedules in what should be a decisive season for the program.

Then there’s the matter of Riley’s job security, which could make any available top coordinator queasy.

Yet as far as the coach is concerned, the path to finding a great coordinator and fielding a great defense isn’t that far off from what USC has now.

“I definitely don’t want to press reset,” Riley said. “I’m excited about the process, and I think it’s going to make us better, I know it will. So, we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and we’ll get on it.”

Matt Leinart went to bed early.

Tired from hosting family for the holidays and planning on rising early for a workout, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and star USC quarterback did not stay up to catch the end of his alma mater’s game against Texas Christian in the Alamo Bowl on Tuesday night.

He likely does not regret that decision.

After allowing a 10-point lead to slip away in the final minutes of regulation, the Trojans eventually lost 30-27 in overtime after TCU running back Jeremy Payne caught a check-down pass on third-and-20 and broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone for a 35-yard, game-winning touchdown.

It was a exasperating finish to a 9-4 season already considered a disappointment by many Trojan fans after the team failed to make the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in as many seasons under coach Lincoln Riley.

A number of former USC players took to social media during and after the game to express their frustrations. Leinart initially wasn’t one of them, even though some people thought he was commenting on the Alamo Bowl when he wrote, “Nobody cares…. I promise!” Tuesday night on X.

Later, the verified TCU Football account reposted Leinart’s post and wrote “cry on,” a play on the USC rallying cry, “Fight on!”

USC coach Lincoln Riley, right, shakes hands with Texas Christian coach Sonny Dykes after the Alamo Bowl

(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)

On Wednesday morning, Leinart wrote that his comment actually “had nothing to with USC game lol.” In a video posted about an hour later, the two-time NCAA national champion said he missed the last three drives because of his early bedtime. He did, however, offer brief thoughts on the previous night’s result and the state of Trojan football.

“Not a good way to end the season,” the Fox Sports analyst said. “It is what it is at this point. Big offseason.”

Su’a Cravens, a USC standout at safety/linebacker from 2013-15, also pointed to the next year as make-or-break for the Riley-coached Trojans.

“Another year goes by and yet we’re marching in the same ole place of above avg football!” Cravens wrote on X. “I pray to God this recruiting class and offseason squeezes every ounce of talent and work ethic out of this team next year. Because in my book, you either make the playoff next year or this was a failed experiment. Plain & simple!”

Cravens, who hosts Rams coverage on ESPN LA, added some constructive advice in a separate, and lengthy, post.

“Get more former players in the building coaching and showing these guys what it really means to be a Trojan!!!!” he wrote. “Let practices be open again and allow every single media camera on the sideline and create that Pete Carol [sic] environment of competition! Pressure makes diamonds !!! …

“ACTUALLY HOLD PLAYERS ACCOUNTABLE IN THE FILM ROOM AND BENCH THEM WHEN THEY REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES!!!! Let’s get down the core of the issues.”

LenDale White, who won two national titles with the Trojans during the Carroll years, offered to be one of those former players to return as a coach.

“@uscfb i’m ready to be on the staff it’s time,” the former running back wrote on X. “What are we gonna do???”

White also vented about the Trojans’ Alamo Bowl performance — writing “Do y’all ever practice tackling ever or is it always about offense?” — and having to endure more than two decades without a national title.

“I truly don’t even know why I’m mad. I knew better lol. My fault!!!” White wrote. “Maybe one day I can see them in the playoffs maybe one day don’t look like no time soon!! and I hope I can eat my words.”

Former USC longsnapper Jake Olson was asked on X for his thoughts on Riley and the Trojans after Tuesday night’s collapse.

“I’ve made my thoughts on [Riley] pretty clear over the course of the season. Tonight’s game, although reminiscent of the season, probably isn’t the best measuring stick in all fairness,” Olson wrote. “But clearly there’s problems—problems that are still here from 4 years ago. Simply put, hes not it.”

Olson continued in the comments: “Except I will add this. It’s alarming to see how clueless Riley looks at times. He has regressed so much, especially in play calling. For 11 mil a year, and for offense to be his ‘forte,’ it’s become very sad.”

The century-old rivalry series between USC and Notre Dame is taking a few years off, and as far as Lincoln Riley is concerned, that’s the fault of the Irish.

In his first public comments since the series was officially put on hiatus, the USC coach put the blame squarely on Notre Dame for not accepting USC’s most recent offer to continue the rivalry, which would have moved the 2026 game, usually scheduled in November, to the very beginning of the season.

“It’s pretty simple,” Riley said Monday, ahead of USC’s bowl matchup with Texas Christian. “We both worked for months to try to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere.

“Jen Cohen, our AD, went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere. That proposal was rejected.

“Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after we got the call, it was announced they scheduled another opponent, which I’ll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.”

The Times reported last week that the Playoff selection earlier this month proved to be a turning point for USC’s administration in talks with Notre Dame. The realization that the Irish — by virtue of a side agreement with the College Football Playoff committee that hands them a bid if ranked in the top 12 — would have gotten into the field over Miami especially gave USC pause.

That’s when Cohen returned to Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua with an offer for the rivals to face off in the season opener. Notre Dame instead scheduled Brigham Young to fill that vacancy over the next two seasons.

Riley has been roundly criticized for his part in the rivalry’s potential demise after he suggested in August 2024 that the annual series could be in danger, if USC proved too much of a hurdle in the Trojans’ path to the College Football Playoff.

In the spring, as negotiations between the two schools stalled and the public pointed fingers at Riley and USC, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said that continuing the rivalry was “pretty black and white for me.”

“I want to play them every single year,” Freeman said. “You want my opinion? I want to play them every single year. When? I don’t care. I don’t care when we play them: Start of the season, middle of the season, end of the season. I don’t care. I want to play USC every year because I think it’s great for college football.”

After initially holding firm on its intent to renegotiate terms of the rivalry year-to-year, so as to wait on changes to the College Football Playoff format, USC sent an amended offer to Notre Dame before the season that would have extended the series for two seasons. But Notre Dame wanted a longer deal.

The two schools nearly came to an agreement in October, around their final meeting in South Bend. USC had made clear that it wanted to play the game earlier in the season, but was warming up to the idea of continuing the series as is through 2027.

USC decided to dig its heels in after Selection Sunday, returning to USC with a final offer to play early in the 2026 season. Notre Dame declined.

“The fact is very, very clear, this can all be settled very quickly,” Riley said. “Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing in the next two years, and looking ahead after that, hopefully continuing the series.

“They did not follow through on it, thus we are not playing them the next couple years. We’re hopeful something can be worked out in the future. That would be fantastic. We at SC would love for the game to continue. We have no problem following through on our promises in the future.”

It’ll be a while before those negotiations start up again. The next window in which USC could play Notre Dame is during the 2030 season.

After Friday afternoon’s practice, USC football coach Lincoln Riley said he had no update on D’Anton Lynn, who has been the target of Penn State’s defensive coordinator search.

Penn State showed interest in Lynn last year before he received a contract extension from USC. Lynn was hired by the Trojans after a successful season as the defensive coordinator at UCLA.

“This is what happens this time of year, especially when you have a really good staff and are doing a lot of positive things,” Riley said. “We’re excited about having the opportunity to keep continuity but if there is turnover, not just with that position but any position, these are coveted jobs. It’s just part of the world we live in.

“Obviously, D’Anton has done a really good job here and we’ll see how it turns out.”

Being prepared for change is a must in the current college football climate, Riley said.

“Contingency plans for coaches, players, staff, everyone because so much can and does change,” Riley said. “Our job is to be prepared and have flexibility. You can’t always predict everything that’s going to happen but you have to be ready to adjust. Yeah, every team goes through it on some level and you try to handle it as well as you can.”

Riley has liked what he has seen in practice as USC (9-3) prepares for its Alamo Bowl matchup against Texas Christian on Dec. 30.

“We’ve done a really good job the last couple of years of going to work and we’re not thinking about what players or coaches are here or aren’t here,” Riley said. “It’s all about trying to maximize this time and build for the future.”

USC announced Tuesday that redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava had re-signed for the upcoming season and is not joining Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane — USC’s two best receivers — in declaring for the 2026 NFL draft.

“It’s great. Anytime you can get a returning guy like that who has played a good amount of football, it’s important,” Riley said of Maiava. “He’s also become a good leader in this program and I’d expect that to continue to improve. The majority of this team has already re-signed, we know those guys are going to be here and it’s cool for those guys to show how much they believe in this place and what we’re doing.

“The exciting thing is you look ahead and you start to imagine pairing what we have coming back with what’s going to be walking through the door here in three weeks or so, but it starts with your veterans who have been through the fire and we have a lot of them back.”

Maiava, one of the last players to leave the practice field Friday, made it clear why he chose to stay.

“Coach Riley,” Maiava said. “Of course, the staff too and my brothers. I’m super grateful to be back out here. I’m focused on a day at a time, staying level-headed, making the right decisions and just taking care of the ball.”

Maiava is happy for Lemon, who won the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver after catching 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior this season.

“It was awesome, everybody was there in the lobby when we found out … it’s well-deserved,” Maiava said. “He and Ja’Kobi set the standard for everyone. He won the award, so I’d say we had pretty good chemistry even off the field going out to eat and places. I had to do my job, but he did his job, too, as best he could.”

Defensive end Braylan Shelby also is grateful to be back with the Trojans for another season.

“I always knew I wanted to be here, he said. “Bowl games mean a lot and it’s a time for the team to put it all together and play together one last time.”

Regarding the new NFL model for announcing re-signings, Shelby said: “Some people love it, some hate it. … USC is a step ahead of the game and I think it’s the right step. In this NIL era, it helps fans know who’s returning.”

Having re-signed, junior safety Christian Pierce is excited about being a potential starter next fall.

“The bowl game is a huge start going into next season in terms of building the culture,” Pierce said. “My focus is on trying to understand the defense even more and the skills and techniques I’ll need to get better at. The talk after re-signing was more on the coaching staff and the program.”

Riley praised offensive lineman Tobias Raymond on his willingness and ability to play multiple positions on the front line.

“He was one of the most important players on the entire team,” Riley said. “His toughness was off the charts, his versatility with all the different lineups we played, being able to physically and mentally handle that. He was just a steadying presence. He’ll be a huge key coming back as a captain, a leader and a player. As many of those guys as you can have in a locker room — you’ll be a lot closer to winning.”

Much to his coach’s liking, Raymond has embraced his leadership role.

“I’ve just tried to be more vocal, set an example and hold other people to the standard our coaches have put out for us,” said the 6–foot-6, 315-pound redshirt sophomore out of Ventura. “Pick people up when things are low and when things are high making sure we’re keeping level-headed.”

Regarding the transfer portal, Riley said he plans to be less reliant on it than in previous years.

“The number we’re talking about is so much less than before, so moving forward we’ll be able to zero in on what we’re going to go after. So the picture is starting to become clearer on what we’ll be targeting.”

Following Monday afternoon’s practice at Howard Jones Field, USC coach Lincoln Riley addressed the media for the first time since the Trojans’ victory over crosstown rival UCLA on Nov. 29.

USC (9-3), ranked No. 16 in the AP poll, is preparing to play Texas Christian (9-4) on Dec. 30 in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. USC finished 7-2 in its second season in the Big Ten and won four of its last five games, the only setback during that stretch being a 42-27 loss to Oregon, which is the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Riley announced that safety Kamari Ramsey, receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, tight end Lake McRee and linebacker Eric Gentry will not play in the Alamo Bowl. Lane declared for the NFL draft on Monday.

“Anthony Lucas and Bishop Fitzgerald want to play in the game but are dealing with injuries and trying to get back … we’ll see how that goes,” Riley said. “Kilian O’Connor and Elijah Paige and Jahkeem Stewart all had surgery and will be ready to roll.”

Asked about signing the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026, Riley said: “It was a great day. We tried to keep the focus on building next year’s team. The amount of guys that we signed is a big portion of it and as we start to look ahead … half of our day and maybe even more is pointing towards next year and coming years. Meanwhile, obviously getting ready for this bowl game. It was a lot of hard work to add talent and people who care about this place and starting to put next year’s team together has been exciting here these last few weeks.”

Riley has a 35-27 record in his four seasons at USC and is hoping to improve his bowl record to 3-1. He guided the Trojans to wins in the 2023 Holiday Bowl and 2024 Las Vegas Bowl.

Riley watched the CIF state Open Division bowl game between Santa Margarita (coached by former Trojans quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer) and De La Salle on Saturday and was impressed by the performance of USC commit Trent Mosley, who had 11 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the Eagles’ 47-13 win.

“He was someone we targeted very early on,” Riley said. “I thought he was super impressive and it was important. He’s one of the best receivers in the country. He’s proven that and he just played out of his mind. It’s a great family and he’s a really smart kid.”

Asked what advice he gives to players who are deciding what to do next in their careers, Riley said: “Yes, it’s an important decision. The guys that make the right decision no matter what it is get a leg up on the rest of their lives. Consequently, a wrong decision can be catastrophic. That’s the world we all live in. I just try to educate them on their options. I don’t like telling guys you should do this or you shouldn’t do that. It’s more about, here’s this option, this is what it would look like, here’s what you need to consider. Sometimes the decision’s pretty clear one way or another, other times it’s not. I try to give them as much guidance as I possibly can.”

Given that USC will be missing quite a few players who were key contributors throughout the season, Riley is not ruling out the possibility of younger players seeing action against TCU.

“There’s gonna be guys all over the place who are going to have opportunities,” Riley said. “All sides of the ball, all position groups, maybe it’s some of the guys you saw a little bit during the season and in some instances you’ll see guys get some burn in this game that haven’t played at all or very little. Bowl games are great, but days like this are the most valuable part of it because we’re just pouring reps into all of these guys, it’s super competitive and the energy level is just different. All these guys feel it’s their time.”

Riley admitted he and his staff had to make hard decisions based on the incoming freshmen, a majority of whom are spring enrollees.

“It’s huge, it’s a high, high number that are going to be here and it’s important,” he said. “We’ve had to make a bunch of roster decisions in the last couple of weeks. We have a large number of players who have already signed and some of the decisions we had to make were based on knowing what we have coming in, and when you sign as many as we did, you’re going to have tough decisions to make.”