Now more than four years in, it seems safe to say that Lincoln Riley’s tenure as USC’s head coach has been an up-and-down one. In his first season, the Trojans put together a remarkable turnaround, improving from four wins in 2021 to 11 in 2022. After consecutive massively disappointing campaigns in 2023 and 2024, the Trojans rebounded to 9-4 this past year, but still ultimately fell short of the College Football Playoff once again.
So based on this, where does Riley rank among college football coaches nationally? In a recent story, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic gave his ranking of the to 25 coaches in the sport. Feldman put Lincoln Riley just inside the top 20, with USC’s head coach coming in at No. 19. Here is what he had to say about Riley:
“His track record with quarterbacks is eye-popping,” Feldman wrote. “He’s also 90-28 as a head coach, and even though his USC tenure has felt underwhelming, he’s still produced teams that have finished in the top 20 in seven of his nine seasons. Things seem more stable now in LA, but it’s still a curious dynamic.”
Feldman’s colleague, Stewart Mandel, also released his own set of rankings. Mandel is a bit lower on Riley, putting him outside of the top 25 altogether.
Riley certainly has plenty of doubters entering the 2026 season. It will be up to him and the Trojans to prove them wrong and finally but together the type of season that USC fans have been waiting for for quite some time now.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Where does USC’s Lincoln Riley rank among college football coaches?
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
