Lincoln Riley: Oklahoma fans terrorized me after taking USC job

Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Lincoln Riley says Oklahoma fans terrorized him, his family after taking USC job

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/14/23

When he decided to leave Oklahoma to become the new head coach at USC, Lincoln Riley knew there would be some backlash.

However, he likely didn’t expect it to reach the level it did. Riley recently admitted in an interview on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” that things got so bad that he actually feared for his family's safety at one point.

"A couple of people were like, 'Well, it'll be a few hours, a few days, but it'll blow by,’” Riley said. “I said 'No, I've lived in these shoes. It's going to be that bad. … I had a lot of different people trying to break into the house the days after it happened. And 95% of the fans and people out there at Oklahoma or anybody else are great. You typically always have that percentage that at times take it too far. Obviously, this was one of those instances.”

USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley regrets how his tenure ended in Oklahoma ️ pic.twitter.com/cXsVRGFuoi
— 247Sports (@247Sports) November 19, 2022

Because of the repeated attempted break-ins, Riley had to hire armed security to watch his house and his family. In addition to the burglaries, Riley’s family also started getting suspicious packages in the mail, and strangers had even gained access to his 9-year-old daughter’s phone number.

“We wanted our girls to finish out school just because the semester was almost over,” Riley added. “As that stuff transpired, we said no we’ve got to get them the hell out of here as fast as we can.”

In his first season at USC, Riley led the Trojans to an 11-3 record and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. Quarterback Caleb Williams, who followed Riley from Oklahoma to USC, also won the Heisman Trophy.

Riley spent five seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to a 55-10 record with three first-place finishes in the Big 12 and three appearances in the College Football Playoffs. Oklahoma finished ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll each year.

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