Lincoln Riley is an overrated fraud: Paul Finebaum eviscerates USC coach

“I know a lot of people are still gnashing teeth in Norman and Oklahoma City and across that state, but I frankly believe the Sooner Nation is better off today than it would have been had he stayed around, because there is something wrong with this guy...”

Finebaum added: “I am underwhelmed and I can’t think of a coach, in modern time, who’s making the kind of money that he’s making who has done less.”

Things have not gone according to plan for USC since bringing Riley on three years ago. His sudden departure from Oklahoma and debut at the Coliseum seemed like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, and for a time it seemed like the Trojan faithful finally had their man.

USC won 11 games in Riley’s debut season and quarterback Caleb Williams was awarded the Heisman Trophy, but the Trojans’ terrible defense sabotaged the team at the moment it seemed like a College Football Playoff berth was inevitable.

An ugly loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game and a 1-point defeat to Group of Five program Tulane in the Cotton Bowl was a disappointing end to an otherwise very hopeful campaign.

And it’s all been downhill from there.

Riley went just 8-5 the following season behind another disastrous defensive effort, losing to four ranked teams, but finished with a win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.

Then came the worst of Riley’s tenure at USC amid its first season in the Big Ten, falling to 7-6 overall with a 4-5 record in conference play, with five of those losses coming by a single possession.

This isn't the first time Finebaum has delivered some harsh criticism of Riley and his job at USC.

In comments to The Matt Barrie Show two years ago, the ESPN host and long-time college football commentator called the Trojans a "complete disaster" under Riley.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a worse coaching job by anyone than Lincoln Riley this year,” Finebaum said after USC's loss to UCLA, the team's fifth defeat in six games.

“It’s a complete disaster, and quite frankly, he outta pack up. I don’t really see what his path is moving forward.”

“Maybe, Lincoln, you oughta look in the mirror,” he said. “Maybe you’re just a total fraud as a coach.” 

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