Updated Coach Rankings: USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley's Surprising Rank

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley dropped three spots from his 2024 ranking on Power Four college football coaches according to Tom Fornelli. Last season, Riley was ranked at No. 10. The top five coaches ranked were Georgia's Kirby Smart, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Texas' Steve Sarkisian, and Oregon's Dan Lanning.

“I was surprised by Riley’s rankings after compiling the ballots. I figured he’d drop further, seeing how he’s gone 15-11 his last two years at USC,” Fornelli said. “He was brought in to restore the program to a national title contender, but he hasn’t.”

2025 will be Riley’s fourth season at USC. It got off to a great start in year one, when the Trojans went 11-3 with Hesiman trophy winning quarterback and future No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. Since then, it has been a disappointment, as Fornelli states that Riley's record is 15-11 the past two seasons. Another season like that could forth cause Riley to slide far down the coach rankings. 

Lincoln Riley’s Move From Oklahoma To USC

Lincoln Riley took the USC job prior to the 2022 season after a very successful run as coach of the Oklahoma Sooners from 2017 through 2021. Riley had an astounding record of 55-10 with four Big 12 titles and three College Football Playoff appearances. This clearly still factors in Riley’s ranking, but the more time that passes by, the less it will matter. 

“He’s still the coach who led Oklahoma to the playoff four times (three times) in five seasons and did produce another Heisman with the Trojans,” Fornelli said. “If he has another mediocre season in 2025, though, I bet we see the bottom fall out on his ranking.”

In his time at both Oklahoma and USC, Riley has coached three different Heisman trophy winners; quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2017, quarterback Kyler Murray in 2018, and quarterback Caleb Williams in 2022. All three of these quarterbacks also eventually ended up being the No. 1 selection in their respective NFL Draft’s.

While Riley has had a good history getting the most out of his quarterbacks, that was not the case last season. The Trojans gave the starting job to Miller Moss. Late in the season with USC fighting to secure a bowl game berth, Riley benched Moss for backup quarterback Jayden Maiava. Maiava was solid in his four starts and he will now be the starting quarterback for the Trojans in Week One when they host the Missouri State Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial on August 30.