USC takes victory lap in announcing Lincoln Riley hire
The USC Trojans are taking a well-deserved victory lap in their announcement of the hire of Lincoln Riley as head coach.
USC officially confirmed the Riley hire on Sunday night, shocking the college football world by hiring him away from Oklahoma. The football team’s Twitter account opened the announcement with quite the pronunciation: “We got our guy.”
We got our guy.
Join us in welcoming @LincolnRiley and his family to Los Angeles!#FightOn✌️ pic.twitter.com/CHnhzHRFT6
— USC Football (@USC_FB) November 29, 2021
USC athletic director Mike Bohn released his own statement accompanying the announcement. Bohn dedicated the hire to current and former players and supporters, and made an even more authoritative remark: “Our time is now.”
USC AD Mike Bohn on the Lincoln Riley hire: “This is for our current players, our former players, our alumni, our fans, and our entire university community. Our time is now.”
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 29, 2021
These aren’t normal statements that accompany a coaching hire, but USC knows it has hit a home run. Riley is one of the game’s hottest coaches. Any school that thought it could get him would have tried. The fact that USC, a program that has struggled in recent years, pulled it off is really remarkable.
One thing is clear: USC does not plan on this being a lengthy rebuild. They have reason to be confident that it won’t be. After all, there is already talk about some stars following Riley to LA.
Photo: Photo: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
