Paul Finebaum doubles down on USC coach Lincoln Riley’s criticism: “I don't think he’s a great elite coach”

Paul Finebaum has been critical of Lincoln Riley over the last couple of weeks. The ESPN analyst believes the USC coach isn't living upp to expectations and is likely to struggle in the Big Ten. This comes after the Trojans' underwhelming 8-5 season in the 2023-24 college football season.

Finebaum stressed his points aboout Riley during his appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Friday. He noted that Riley doesn't possess any quality of greatness despite his accomplishments at Oklahoma and pointed at the defensive weaknesse of Riley's game as a major flaw.

“I frankly did say a lot of things about Lincoln Riley recently and I meant them,” Finebaum said. “I don't think he's a great elite coach. I know that the pushback is we look at what he did at Oklahoma.”

“It's really what he hasn't done that I think is so noteworthy. He hasn't won the [national] championship and he hasn't even really come close because Lincoln Riley has just forgotten one of those tenets of defense … He's never been on speaking terms with the word ‘defense’ in his career.”

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Finebaum explains his idea of Deion Sanders replacing Lincoln Riley at USC

A few weeks ago, Paul Finebaum suggested that Colorado coach Deion Sanders should replace Lincoln Riley at USC ahead of 2025. Finebaum sees Riley not succeeding in the Big Ten next season and believes Sanders will be a right fit to take the Trojans job.

Finebaum explained the idea of Sanders at USC while speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Friday. While Finebaum is aware that Sanders does not possess the quality of a traditional coach, he opined that Coach Prime can bring the city of Los Angeles to life with his personality.

“Deion Sanders isn't really a coach, he's a producer,“ Finebaum said. “They bring Spielberg into the movie, he fixes it up and he gets a lot of special effects, that's what he does. And my argument a couple of weeks ago is that if you bring him into LA, the town is on fire.”

“Deion is not Bill Belichick and Nick Saban wrapped into one but he is a dynamic figure. He gets the ratings, he brings excitement and that brings players.”

Both Sanders and Riley will be playing in a new conference in the 2024 college football season. They will also be seeking redemption in the upcoming season after an underwhelming performance in 2023. A significant amount of attention is expected to be paid to both coaches across the landscape.