Lincoln Riley makes bold commitment to USC Trojans

USC head coach Lincoln Riley is known as one of the best offensive minds in college football.

He could, technically, go to the NFL anytime he feels like it to call plays or even be a head coach. In fact, whenever there's a high-profile opening in the NFL, Riley's name tends to come up as an option.

With that being said, USC's head man told the media recently that he has no interest in leaving the Trojans. He's in it for the long haul because he wants to get it done.

“I wanna get it right here. I really do. I want it really bad," Riley said (h/t On3). "Not for me, I just want it really bad for this program and I want it really bad for the current team, the former players, the former coaches, the fans, the university. I just — that’s why we left everything that we left. We want it really, really bad here."

Riley went 11-3 in his first season with the Trojans while quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy. Despite Williams playing all of last season, the 2023 campaign was a down year for Riley's team. USC went 8-5 but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The Trojans started off fast at 6-0 but then lost five of their last six regular-season games before bouncing back with a win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.

Now in the Big Ten, bouncing back won't be easy, but at the very least, USC knows that its talented coach won't be going anywhere despite the number of college football head-coaching defectors we've seen this offseason.

“I’m at the place I want to be,” Riley said.