"You're not an offensive coordinator, you're a head coach": CFB analyst justifies claiming $30M worth Lincoln Riley is overpaid

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is the sixth best paid coach in college football. The results, however, haven’t been up to par with what the coach is earning in Los Angeles.

On Sunday’s edition of “Crain and Company”, the crew went through the 10 best paid head coaches. Asked who was overpaid from the top 19 list, analyst Blain Crain’s answer was the $30 million worth (according to Celebrity Net Worth) Lincoln Riley.

“I think Lincoln Riley is one of the best when it comes from a playcalling standpoint, being creative schematically on offense, but you are not an offensive coordinator, you are a head coach," Crain said.

"And I feel like what he’s done from Oklahoma to USC, he’s been trending down since then. They haven’t had a great season. They haven’t won really important games,” he added.

(from 1:44 mark onwards)

Riley currently makes $10.1 million a year, but the USC program has stagnated under his watch. In fact, it could be argued that they have taken a step back, as their record has worsened in each of the last two seasons, going from 11-3, in 2022 to 8-5 in 2023, down to 7-6 last year.

USC also had to go through a difficult transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, where they also have to face tougher travel conditions and play against tougher teams.

Crain believes Riley’s stock has gone down considerably since taking the job in Southern Cal, and while results aren’t a disaster, they are also disappointing for a team spending so much on a head coach.

“USC doesn’t seem like they’re getting better. It seems like they’re just sitting here. They’re not rising, they’re not falling. And to make $10.1 million a year, you have to do more than that to me,” Crain said.

Georgia's Kirby Smart is the highest-paid head coach at $13.2 million, followed by Ohio State's Ryan Day ($12.5 million) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney ($11.5 million).

California 4-star linebacker to visit Lincoln Riley’s program

Four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili from Orange Lutheran, is reportedly set to visit USC this week. According to SI.com, the defender will also visit Oregon and Oklahoma as he continues to ponder his next step.

“USC made an impression on me and I would say they’ve made their way up my list,” Ili said via On3.com. “This visit did help them. I enjoyed being there and hearing what they had to say.”

Ili is expected to meet with Lincoln Riley, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and defensive ends coach Shaun Nua. Southern Cal and Oregon have been going against each other trying to recruit in the West Coast and the linebacker is the latest example.

The Trojans have already gotten 12 commitments and their 2026 class is currently the top ranked in college football in these early stages. The class is headlined by five-star athlete Xavier Griffin, who could play linebacker in college.