Saturday’s 42–27 loss to Oregon ended USC’s hopes of scoring a trip to the Big Ten championship or the College Football Playoff, another big game in which Lincoln Riley’s Trojans ultimately looked outmatched by a superior opponent. USC, now 8–3, has held serve this season, but with losses to Notre Dame, Illinois and now Oregon, they’ve struggled on the road and in games where they weren’t a clear favorite.
Few expected a CFP run by the Trojans entering the year, but the competitive team’s inability to get over the hump against top competition has grown stale with many of the program’s fans. At the same time, rumors have emerged that Riley could seek to leave USC and latch on with one of the many power conference programs looking for a coach right now. During Saturday night’s Tennessee win over Florida, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said he’s heard Riley’s name floated as a backup plan if Florida strikes out on landing Lane Kiffin.
Arkansas, Auburn and LSU are also open in the SEC, and Ole Miss could join them if Kiffin leaves for Gainesville, Fla. or Baton Rouge.
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With some mounting pressure from the program he currently leads and the potential to flee and reset his clock at another one, Riley was asked directly about his job status on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, he pledged his commitment to the Trojans.
Asked again if he plans to stay at USC, Lincoln Riley says, “Oh yeah. 100%.”
— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) November 26, 2025
“I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” pic.twitter.com/DHHvcQKgWO
“Oh yeah, 100%. Like I said before, I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Riley said in the video shared by Los Angeles Times reporter Ryan Kartje. “So yeah, that’s, I think nothing other than what we’re building, literally, and I love being here. Yeah, that’s really the end of it.”
Lincoln Riley’s record at USC and future outlook
With a win over another school with a vacancy, intracity rival UCLA, Riley will go 9–3, with a chance to win double-digit games in a bowl. The record indicates a program on the upswing, after his solid 11–3 debut season in 2022 gave way to eight wins in ‘23 and just seven in ’24. Throw in a top-ranked 2026 high school recruiting class per 247 Sports, and there is reason for optimism around the program. But someone like Riley who has been around the sport for years knows that circumstances can change in an instant. Riley is also a coach that already made a seismic, unexpected coaching change, leaving a very solid situation at Oklahoma to take the USC job.
His answer seems clear, but when it comes to the college football coaching carousel you can certainly never say never.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC’s Lincoln Riley Addresses Rumors That He Could Leave Trojans in Coaching Carousel.
