Paul Finebaum Blasts USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley Again: ‘I Would Have Fired Him’

To say Lincoln Riley has had a disappointing tenure since being hired as head coach of the USC Trojans would be an understatement. 

After an outstanding start to his first year, riding Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams to an 11-1 record, an injury cost the Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship Game against the Utah Utes. That loss was compounded with an embarrassing blown lead in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane. Since then, it's been one disappointment after another on and off the field.

Still, USC has found some momentum heading into the 2025 season, with the nation's best recruiting class, a much-improved defense in 2024, some solid additions in the transfer portal and five-star freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet providing competition for Jayden Maiava. Not to mention two wins over SEC teams and a bevy of frustrating close losses showed improvement over 2023.

None of that's enough for ESPN's Paul Finebaum though. In a new episode of his show, Finebaum once again ripped into Riley and said he doesn't believe he's capable of leading a program.

"I’m beginning to think what we saw at Oklahoma had more to do with what Bob Stoops left behind than what Lincoln Riley was able to do," Finebaum said. "I can’t say that he isn’t a great recruiter. I think that’s pretty self-evident. I think he’s also a great offensive coordinator. But I don’t think he can handle the pressure of being a coach. … I would have fired him last year if I didn’t have to eat an $80 million buyout. To me, the trajectory has ended."

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is under immense pressure to improve the on-field results in the 2025 season, ahead of a huge recruiting class in 2026. (Credit: Getty Images)

Finebaum Isn't Giving Riley Enough Credit As Head Coach

Clearly, Riley hasn't succeeded in bringing USC back to perennial contention. And much of that is his fault…and much of it isn't. 

Riley inherited a mediocre roster, at best, thanks to years of disappointing results under previous head coach Clay Helton. USC was far, far behind in building a quality name, image and likeness recruiting system, putting the team at a severe disadvantage compared to other big-name programs competing for top players. 

Still, with a roster of primarily transfers, Riley helped lead USC to an 11-1 regular-season record. And the Trojans had a lead in the Pac-12 title game before Williams got hurt, all but ending their hopes of making the playoff. Where he deserves criticism is bringing in defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, and sticking with him after the Trojans defense frequently collapsed in 2022.

The 2024 team had one of the most bizarre years of any football team in modern history. USC had 95+% win expectancy in multiple games they wound up losing. Obviously, some of that falls on Riley. But some of it also comes down to just sheer bad luck. And it's why SC finished the season as the 17th best team in the country, per ESPN's own FPI ratings. The next highest ranked team with at least six losses was, ironically, Oklahoma, way down at 30th. 

Finebaum also doesn't give enough credit to Riley for the job he did at Oklahoma. Riley was 55-10 with the Sooners, 37-7 in Big 12 Conference play. He did that over five seasons, long after Stoops left. And he did that in the pre-NIL era, with a wildly different recruiting landscape. 

At SC, in the time when NIL has become the single most important factor, he's never had a top-flight collective backing roster construction. Now that SC has a new general manager and much better alignment, the Trojans have the top class in the country heading into 2026. Could and should have Riley done better? Absolutely. Is there reason for optimism moving forward? Also absolutely.

We'll see if Riley can prove Finebaum wrong.