USC HC Lincoln Riley reveals pondering about letting go of coaching duties following unsuccessful 2024 CFB season

Lincoln Riley is a highly distinguished college football coach who has been with the USC Trojans for the last two seasons. During that time, he played an instrumental role in developing former Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, who went to the Chicago Bears as the number one pick of the 2024 NFL draft.

However, the rest of Riley's tenure in southern California has been less than successful, and he gave up on the role of quarterback duties and focused on other areas.

“I don’t necessarily want to have to do it but I’ll always do what’s best for the program to help us win, I'm given up full time quarterback duties to staff this year, which was a big move for me. It's allowed me to be more present in other areas," Riley spoke to Big Ten Radio's Ben Hartstock on Tuesday.

In his two seasons with USC, Lincoln Riley has a record of 19-8 overall and led the Trojans to an appearance in the 2022 PAC-12 Championship game, which they would lose to the Utah Utes.

Even with Caleb Williams on the team, the team struggled to defeat tougher opponents and to defeat those that should be easily defeated considering the size and caliber of the USC program.

But these kinds of performances will not be acceptable in 2024 if the Trojans are going to have a successful season. They have moved from the Pac-12 conference to the Big Ten conference and will have to face and compete with the likes of the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Lincoln Riley thinks USC are one of the stronger teams in the Big Ten

Lincoln Riley is confident that his USC team will succeed in the Big Ten. In fact, Riley believes that the Trojans are already one of the better teams in the conference.

"We are at the top of the Big Ten, We’re at the top of any conference. I don’t ever look at ourselves as below anybody," he told at Big Ten Media Days.

"And never will. Listen, two years ago, look where Ohio State and Oregon were. Look what they took over. Look what we took over. It takes time. I’m not a magician. I can’t wave a magic wand and everything be perfect right away. But find one area where we haven’t made progress. It’s coming. Nothing is going to stop it.”

At the end of the 2023 season, the Trojans were unranked. In contrast, the Big Ten had three teams in the top 20, with one of them being the national champions.

However, the rosters in 2024 are somewhat different from last year, and in the first year of the expanded conference, anything could happen.

Maybe Lincoln Riley could lead his Trojans to a championship game and revive what has been a struggling program.