By Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo
UCF has inquired concerning the availability of USC coach Lincoln Riley because it searches for a substitute for Gus Malzahn, three individuals who have been aware of these conversations instructed The Athletic on Wednesday.
There was no indication Riley is thinking about making the transfer, the individuals stated. He’s three seasons right into a reported 10-year contract that pays him about $10 million per 12 months.
The individuals spoke to The Athletic on situation of anonymity as a result of all of the discussions had been non-public and UCF was not publicly revealing particulars of its teaching search.
Riley’s contract isn’t publicly out there as a result of USC is a personal faculty, however extracting him from Southern California — if he needed to go away — would seemingly price tens of tens of millions of {dollars} for both the Trojans or the varsity seeking to rent him away.
Representatives from UCF reached out to Riley’s representatives final weekend to inquire about his curiosity in making a transfer throughout the nation, one supply stated. Any discussions about adjusting the phrases of Riley’s contract can be between him and USC, sources stated.
The primary supply added that UCF has not obtained any phrase from Riley’s camp that he’s thinking about leaving USC, and the varsity remains to be a number of candidates to fill its head teaching emptiness.
Firing Riley, whose win whole with the Trojans has decreased in every of his three seasons, would price USC about $90 million, in response to one of many sources. If Riley had been to go away for an additional faculty, he would owe USC nothing. However UCF isn’t in place to duplicate the deal Riley has at USC. Malzahn made $4 million in 2024 at UCF.
Two sources stated even when Riley had an curiosity in making the transfer, it could require some payout of his present cope with USC to make up for what he can be giving up within the transition — like an expert sports activities commerce the place one group pays a bit of a participant’s remaining wage on a big contract and the receiving group picks up the remaining.
Riley was employed at USC by former athletic director Mike Bohn, who resigned amid controversy in the spring of 2023. College president Carol Folt oversaw the rent as nicely and can retire this summer time, which suggests two of the primary events concerned in bringing Riley to USC will likely be gone.
Jen Cohen, the previous Washington athletic director, was employed in August 2023 to steer the athletic division. She inherited Riley and his contract.
She’s within the unenviable place of getting an underperforming soccer program however a coach who is just too costly to maneuver on from. Within the spring, Cohen navigated a fragile state of affairs with males’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, whose tenure had run its course however his observe document was too good to justify a firing. He ultimately took the SMU job, and Cohen employed Eric Musselman from Arkansas to switch him.
Even with a suitor for Riley, getting out from underneath his deal seems to be harder.
Malzahn left UCF after 4 seasons as head coach to grow to be offensive coordinator at Florida State. The Knights have gone 10-15 general and 5-13 in league play of their first two seasons within the Massive 12 after making the transfer from the American Athletic Convention. UCF obtained solely a partial share of Massive 12 income final 12 months, about $18 million, and is scheduled to obtain about $19 million for the 2024-25 fiscal 12 months.
The quantity jumps to a full share in 2025-26, which needs to be about double these figures.
Riley is 25-14 at USC since being lured to Los Angeles from Oklahoma after the 2021 common season. It was a seismic transfer for the Trojans, swiping away a coach who had a 55-10 document in Norman and two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
The Trojans went 11-3 in Riley’s first season with one other Heisman winner in Caleb Williams, the star quarterback who adopted the coach from Oklahoma to USC. However the outcomes have been trending within the unsuitable path since.
USC went 8-5 in 2023, its last season within the Pac-12, and wrapped up its first common season within the Massive Ten with a 6-6 general document (4-5 in league play).
After the 2023 season, Riley told The Athletic that he “didn’t come right here (USC) for some short-term factor and so long as SC continues to offer us the assist and the issues we have to proceed to construct this, this was not a two-year rebuild.”
Recruiting hasn’t lived as much as the excessive expectations that got here with Riley’s rent. USC continues to regress on the sector every season, and this system doesn’t seem to have a lot path transferring ahead, making the outlook for Riley look hazy at finest.
(Photograph: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Photographs)
