Lincoln Riley Bluntly Addresses NFL Speculation

USC coach Lincoln Riley claims to have zero interest in taking an NFL job.

There's been serious speculation Riley might bolt for the NFL with Caleb Williams appearing to be a borderline lock to be the first QB drafted in April. There's been some who have wondered whether a team might draft Williams and then hire Riley to coach. It'd be a package deal.

However, fans shouldn't expect it to happen. Despite a brutally disappointing 7-5 season, the head coach of the Trojans says he doesn't plan on going anywhere.

Lincoln Riley responds to NFL speculation. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Riley told The Athletic the following when addressing speculation he might follow Williams to the NFL:

Hell no. No. I’m coaching at SC. Period. I didn’t come here for some short-term thing and as long as SC continues to give us the support and the things we need to continue to build this, this was not a two-year rebuild. No. I’m going to be the coach at SC. Period. End of discussion. I’m so committed to this place because I know what it can be. And if that commitment continues to get matched around us, we’re going to do what we’ve got to do in here and make the adjustments, make the tough decisions, push on the good, own the bad, fix the bad. We’re in it through all the twists and turns and I wanted to make sure people knew that and the more people we have with that same attitude, the faster this thing’s going to get back to normal.

Lincoln Riley pushes back on NFL speculation.

That's about as blunt as it gets when it comes to a coach claiming they're not going anywhere. He said "Hell no" and "End of discussion" in relation to leaving for the NFL.

How much more blunt would fans like him to get? There's no wiggle room at all. Of course, that would result in things getting very awkward if this turns into a Nick Saban/Miami Dolphins situation 2.0.

The former Dolphins coach famously said, "I guess I have to say it. I'm not going to be the Alabama coach." He's since won six national titles with the Crimson Tide. Saban was dragged for leaving after that comment, and Riley has now locked himself into the same corner.

Will Lincoln Riley stay at USC after disappointing 2023 season. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Riley's main concern definitely shouldn't be on the NFL anyways. It should be on the fact he started the season with a loaded offense, the best player in America, national championship aspirations and then lost five games.

The biggest knock on him is can't win the big one at USC, and so far, he's done nothing to prove otherwise. Going 7-5 with the reigning Heisman winner is going to leave fans livid, especially when preseason expectations were so high - fair or not.

Lincoln Riley claims he has no interest in taking an NFL job. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Fans will have to wait and see if Riley sticks to his word, but he's definitely doing his best to convince people he's not going anywhere. Time will tell if he ends up eating these words. For now, the Trojans are getting ready to find out what meaningless bowl game the team will be in.