“It’s an unhappy marriage,” is how one individual with direct ties to the USC football program described the Lincoln Riley-USC relationship in the aftermath of the Trojans’ uninspiring, undisciplined beatdown at the hands of then-unranked Wisconsin.
Another individual with direct insight into the program offered an even more ominous assessment:
“Let him lose to Ohio State, without a quarterback, and things are really going to get uncomfortable,” the person told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s already clear this isn’t a fit for either side.
“And both sides know it.”
And the schedule offers little relief.
In
addition to this weekend’s showdown with No. 2 Ohio State in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Trojans still must make a cross-country trip Nov. 14 to face defending national champion Indiana.
Then, of course, there’s the money.
An individual with knowledge of the contract terms told USA TODAY Sports that USC would be on the hook “for around $57 million” if it elected to fire Riley.
There is, however, another wrinkle.
After USC dismissed Mike Bohn, the athletic director who hired Riley, and lured Jennifer Cohen away from Washington to lead the athletic department, Riley’s contract stipulates his buyout to leave USC would be waived.
That potentially creates a much cleaner path to a breakup if Riley decides he wants out.
More than one individual told USA TODAY Sports over the weekend that “honestly, that’s probably what’s best for everyone.”
USC is 6-2, placing the Trojans' hopes of a College Football Playoff berth into serious jeopardy. It follows a string of disappointing seasons that saw USC fail to reach double digit wins since Riley's first year in 2022, when the Trojans went 11-3 and narrowly missed a CFP berth after a loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC football, Lincoln Riley headed for a breakup? ‘Both sides know it’
