After three seasons in charge of USC, coach Lincoln Riley’s status is questionable enough that at least one surprising school has reportedly reached out to gauge his availability.
The UCF Knights reached out to Riley about him potentially taking their head coaching position, according to Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo of The Athletic. Riley is not believed to be interested in the move.
This is an extremely ambitious swing from UCF as they look to replace Gus Malzahn, who left to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. A pursuit of Riley would likely require UCF to spend millions of dollars, both to buy Riley out of his USC contract and to sign him to a new one.
The fact that UCF even made such an inquiry is a clear signal of just how much Riley’s stature has declined over the past few years. After going 55-10 in five seasons at Oklahoma, he is an underwhelming 25-14 at USC, and questions have begun to circulate about his job security. Alumni are not pleased with the lack of progress, especially since Riley is on a reported 10-year contract worth as much as $10 million annually. That contract, and the subsequent cost of firing him, is the biggest reason he probably isn’t going anywhere.
UCF is in the hunt for a new head coach after a 4-8 campaign, their worst season since 2015.
