Paul Finebaum fires bold shots at USC coach Lincoln Riley once again ahead of 2024 season

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley can't seem to catch a break just weeks before the new college football season begins in earnest. An 8-5 season at USC with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (Caleb Williams) in his team has not bought the coach a lot of room for mistakes.

One of his fiercest critics has been ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, who called for the USC coach's firing during some of last season's heavy defeats. He has kept up the anti-Riley discourse going during the off-season.

The job does not get any easier for Riley's team with a tricky Week 1 opener against the LSU Tigers under the guidance of coach Brian Kelly. During an appearance on the First Take, Finebaum gave a prediction on the Trojans' season and Riley's coaching chops.

“I think that’s where it starts to unravel for Lincoln,” Paul Finebaum said. “You can’t get more of a prominent shining moment of the first college football weekend than when you’re on that Sunday night with the entire world watching you. And I fully expect Lincoln Riley to show what an average coach he is against, to me a coach who can be elite at times, in Brian Kelly of LSU.

“LSU is missing the Heisman Trophy winner from last year. They’re missing some other key players,” Finebaum said. “But I totally agree. People will be able to turn off the TV and go to bed early that night because it won’t be that close. I don’t think Lincoln Riley is that dynamic personality that can keep everybody bought in,” he said. “It feels like the train’s already left the station. … Last year was so bad, and with this new schedule, I don’t see it getting any better.”

Paul Finebaum's anti-Lincoln Riley campaign rumbles on

Paul Finebaum has not relented on his tirade against the USC coach all summer, even suggesting that Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders would be a better fit for the job.

During a recent appearance on the First Take, Finebaum again predicted that the USC coach would be fired from his job.

“Southern Cal, to me, isn’t going anywhere, except maybe seeing Lincoln Riley depart here in a year or two. I’m just so underwhelmed by what he’s done there,” Finebaum said. “He had the big year with Caleb Williams, and then he trainwrecked it. He wouldn’t adjust, as he’s never done.

“So everybody celebrated, ‘Oh, he finally went out and got a defensive coordinator’. What took him so long? He’s simply blown more national championship appearances and shots at the playoff because of his stubbornness. I think he’s an average coach.”

It does not help coach Riley that the USC Trojans face one of the most grueling fixtures this coming season. College Football HQ has ranked it as the second most difficult schedule in college football.