It is hard to say Lincoln Riley is not one of the best college football coaches in the country. He has a very polished resume. The only problem is that his resume stems from what he did at Oklahoma. He has now been the coach of the USC Trojans for four years. He is still waiting for a big season at USC.
To make things tougher for Riley, he now coaches in the best conference in the country. Many of his opposing coaches are ranked among the best of the best. Much higher than where he currently stands.
In a recent article Tom Fornelli has Lincoln Riley as the 17th best coach in college football in his top 25 coach rankings. Here is what he had to say on where Riley currently stands among top coaches.
“Riley’s star continues to fade among our panel, but there’s still far too much respect for what he accomplished at Oklahoma to ding him too much. He was considered a top 25 coach by every one of our 10 voters, but I don’t know if that’ll still be the case next year if USC doesn’t make a serious playoff push in 2026.”
Lincoln Riley’s resume keeps him afloat as a respectable coach in college football. He needs success at USC to propel him to the level at which his opposing Big Ten coaches are. Regardless, Riley will get his respect, but it is time for him to prove he still belongs with the big names. His success at Oklahoma can only get him so far.
