Barry Switzer thinks he knows why Lincoln Riley surprisingly left Oklahoma to take the USC job in late 2021.
Riley was in the middle of a 10-2 season with Oklahoma in 2021 when it was reported that he would be leaving the Sooners to take the USC job. Oklahoma later had Bob Stoops coach them for the bowl game — which they won — after Riley left that season.
So why did Riley leave for the Trojans?
During a recent appearance on OutKick show “Don’t @ me with Dan Dakich,” Switzer said that he believes Riley left because the coach was not consulted about the Sooners’ move to the SEC.
“I think it’s because Lincoln wasn’t involved in the decision to go with the SEC. They didn’t even ask him about it. And next thing he was like us, we just heard about it,” Switzer told Dakich.
Oklahoma and Texas formally accepted invitations to join the SEC in late July 2021, a month before the start of the football season.
Maybe he was upset about not being consulted about the move, but it’s quite plausible that Riley just didn’t want to coach the Sooners in the super conference. The SEC had already been recognized as the top conference in college football. They conference will only get tougher with Oklahoma and Texas joining.
Though Riley left to take what appeared to be an easier job, USC announced in 2022 that they would be joining a Big Ten that has also gotten stronger with the additions of the Trojans, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
Riley went 11-3 in his first season at USC. But his 8-5 season last year had fans frustrated and calling for the coach’s firing.
