Chris Rosso blasts Paul Finebaum for calling USC HC Lincoln Riley "disastrous"

Last Monday, controversial ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum heavily criticized USC coach Lincoln Riley's tenure with the Trojans. Finebaum even hinted that the embattled coach, who finished last season with an 8-5 record, would get fired due to the rigors of the Big Ten that USC is now a part of.

ESPN analyst Chris Russo came to Riley's defense during Wednesday's episode of "First Take" while speaking to Finebaum who was at the SEC Media Days. Russo referenced Riley's record of helping Caleb Williams to win the coveted Heisman Trophy as proof that his USC tenure has been a success.

"Paul (Finebaum) I love you, you're a good man but get out of the sun or the heat, I know you're hot. He (Lincoln Riley) didn't take over a good program, they were terrible. What was their record before he got there -- did they lose five games, four games?" Russo said.

"He won a Heisman Trophy, at a place where they win Heismans -- with Marcus Allen and Charles White, and Simpson -- Carson Palmer. Hold on now, you talk about a Heisman Trophy at USC, that means everything, Caron Palmer, Leinhart, Reggie Bush, Simpson, they love Heisman Trophies, and he brought a Heisman Trophy there. That counts. That counts," Russo said.

The Paul Finebaum vs. Lincoln Riley saga

The Lincoln Riley era has not gone according to plan after he left the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021. Apart from coaching Caleb Williams to the Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 draft pick, the Trojans have underwhelmed and lost the Cotton Bowl to the Tulane Green Wave, and the Pac-12 championship game to the Utah Utes.

Paul Finebaum went on and shredded Riley for his record, and even claimed that he departed Oklahoma to duck the difficult SEC (Southeastern Conference).

“I think (Riley) he has an enormous amount to prove, because quite frankly, I think he’s been a disaster,” Finebaum said. “He ran away. He did not want to deal with the Southeastern Conference at OU. He took what he saw was an easier course, so he goes out to Southern Cal. He takes Caleb Williams. Good first year, but since then everything has gone wrong. I thought last year was one of the worst coaching jobs I’ve ever seen.

“Quite frankly, had I been the Athletics Director at Southern Cal, I would’ve fired Lincoln Riley because he’s yet to show, after many years as a head coach, that he knows anything about defense,” Finebaum said.

The Big Ten is a bigger and grander stage than the Pac-12 and coach Lincoln Riley will be under pressure to prove that his tenure in Southern California has not been a complete failure.