"Administratively, he was handcuffed" - Josh Pate defends Lincoln Riley's USC stint

USC coach Lincoln Riley entered the 2024 season as one of the most under-pressure coaches in college football, and the critics were justified after an inconsistent season. Despite a 35-31 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the Las Vegas Bowl, Riley's team finished with a 7-6 record.

During Sunday's segment of "Josh Pate's College Football Show," CBS analyst Josh Pate expressed optimism that the embattled Riley's team would be much better next season due to its offseason hires.

"It's real, it's not gonna be talked about nationally for a while, but there's some stuff happening inside that program," Pate said. "It's real, it's tangible, it's not smoke and mirrors, it's not acting, it's not performative, it's not winning a spring national championship or anything like that. The right people are in the building, that's really what matters. It's what it comes down to with everyone who wins in the sport."

Pate broke down the reasons why Riley has not been a success at USC so far, highlighting his former defensive coordinator, Alex Grinch, who was sacked midway through the 2023 season, and the changes in college football over the years.

"Lincoln Riley had a couple of things happen to him in USC," Pate said. "One was his fault, one wasn't. He handcuffed himself to a losing defensive staff,. To his credit, he rectified that a couple of years in. In a perfect world, you do that the moment you step on campus on day one of the job. That's not the way it happened, that's his fault.

"The second thing that was out of his control is, I think, administratively, he was handcuffed. College football kinda changed overnight. What the portal did, what NIL did to this sport, changed overnight, but not every program adjusted.

"And it's not just up to the head coach, your administration has to be on board. In some places they got it, but not everyone adjusted at the same speed. But make no mistake, they've got the right people in the building."

In his three seasons with the Trojans, Riley has an overall record of 26-14. His best season came in 2022, when he led the team to an 11-3 record and reached No. 12 in the AP poll.

Lincoln Riley explains 'most difficult' hire

The hiring of Chad Bowden from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as general manager by the under-fire Lincoln Riley has been hailed as the USC Trojans' best recruitment of the offseason. During an interview with On3, Riley revealed how difficult it was to hire the experienced GM.

"This one, because of all the ways that college football has changed was a much more difficult hire because you’re entering a salary cap era," Riley said. “There’s the appeal of people with pro experience, although some of the people with NFL experience don’t quite understand the college recruiting model and all of that.”

According to Football Scoop's John Brice, Bowden will earn $1 million at USC under Lincoln Riley against the $300,000 he earned under Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame as the Irish cruised to the national championship game.