Lincoln Riley Honeymoon Over, And He May Be 1st USC Coach To Ban Media From Interviewing Players

You know things are bad at USC when the media is not allowed to interview football players.

This happened after the preseason No. 6 Trojans lost their second consecutive game on Saturday night, 34-32 to No. 14 Utah. USC (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) fell from No. 18 to No. 24. The Trojans lost 48-20 last week at then-No. 21 Notre Dame.

Only second-year USC coach Lincoln Riley was available to reporters after the Utah game.

"I've been covering USC since 2000," Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com told OutKick on Monday. "And this is the first time that has happened after a game. It may be the first time ever."

The USC athletic department gave no reason for the player-interview ban. OutKick reached out to USC football sports information director Katie Ryan Monday, but has not heard back.

Another USC media contact said the ban on player interviews after a game by requesting media had not happened previously.

Bill Plaschke has been a columnist at the L.A. Times since 1996 and said on the Dan Patrick Show Monday that media has never been banned from interviewing players after a USC football game.

Riley's Policy Different Than Pete Carroll's

USC became famous among media in the early and mid 2000s for its extremely open media policy under head coach Pete Carroll. Other coaches around the country at the time were swiftly adopting the Nick Saban method of very few player interviews and no assistant coach interviews. Saban banned most freshmen and usually assistants most of the year from interviews while LSU's coach from 2000-04. He has kept that policy since becoming Alabama's coach in 2007.

Meanwhile, reporters could often just grab a player after practice for interviews when Carrol coached USC from 2001-09. And this did not not lead to the type of subversion surely feared by the thin-skinned Riley or poor play on the field. USC won national titles in the 2003 and '04 seasons under Carroll. And he won seven Pac-10 titles.

Lincoln Riley may be the first USC football coach in history to ban requested media interviews with Trojans players after a game, which he did Saturday after losing to Utah. (Getty Images)

"This is the first time this has happened at USC," Plaschke told Patrick. "He's trying to protect himself and his image and the program's image. And that does so much damage. That's part of what these kids get out of college - learning how to deal with the media, learning how to talk in public situations."

It is a lesson that sports information directors throughout the country need to learn. Their predecessors understood what Plaschke spoke about.

"The players need to learn how to deal with the public," Plaschke said.

USC Trojan Players Usually Do Interviews During The Week

It is not known if USC plans to keep this postgame policy going for the rest of the season, or if players will continue to be available as usual on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It is not known because USC's athletic department has not yet communicated its updated policy to anyone.

Riley previously came under fire for banning a reporter for breaking his media policy. He has also twice not allowed star quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Caleb Williams to do interviews after games. This could hurt Williams' candidacy to become the first back-to-back Heisman winner since Ohio State's Archie Griffin.

Caleb Williams of USC tries to avoid a pass rush by Notre Dame in 48-20 loss on Oct. 14 at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

HEISMAN HOPEFUL CALEB WILLIAMS THE NEXT ARCHIE GRIFFIN?

"He cost him an opportunity," Plaschke said.

Columnist Bill Plaschke Rips Riley

Carroll always let his Heisman candidates be interviewed. And he helped produce three winners - quarterback Carson Palmer in 2002, quarterback Matt Leinart in 2004 and running back Reggie Bush in 2005.

"That's crazy," Plaschke said of not letting Williams talk after games. "He (Riley) is trying to hide the kid, and he's trying to hide himself. And it's not working. Not in this town. This town's too transparent. There's too much demand for accountability. You don't come here as the hottest coach in America and promise championships and don't deliver."

Bill Plaschke did pick USC to go 12-0 before the season.

"Last year was a great turnaround," Plaschke said of Riley's first season at USC when he went 11-3 overall after leaving Oklahoma. But he has not followed that up well with an excellent roster.

"They have a returning Heisman Trophy winner, a $10 million-a-year coach, 20 great, blue chip transfers, supposedly a national championship team, and they're already out of it," he said. "And it's still October. So, yes, the honeymoon is over for Lincoln Riley."

(To discuss, please email glenn.guilbeau@outkick.com or contact on X @LSUBeatTweet.)