USC's AD Announces Stance On Head Coach Lincoln Riley

USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen publicly supported Lincoln Riley following the football program's underwhelming 2024 season.

Riley led the Trojans to 11 wins in his first season as head coach, but his tenure has taken a concerning turn. USC lost five of its final seven games in 2023 behind Caleb Williams before going 7-6 last season. The backslide has caused critics to question Riley's future in Southern California.

In a recent interview with Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times, Cohen acknowledged that USC's 2024 campaign "certainly didn’t meet the expectations that we have." However, she remains confident in Riley steering the program back to championship aspirations.

"Lincoln has the experience, right?" Cohen said. "He's built and led championship teams before. And so my focus with him is just investing and giving him — and not just him, but his entire coaching staff, his support staff that he has around him — every resource possible to get to the next level."

Cohen said she's "pleased" with the team's offseason progress and believes Riley has done "an excellent job" building his coaching staff. The university also hired general manager Chad Bowen, giving Cohen hope of an upward swing in 2025.

"There’s been some really positive action taken to create what looks like some really exciting moment as we enter into the spring and into next season," Cohen said.