By Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo
UCF has inquired about the availability of USC coach Lincoln Riley as it searches for a replacement for Gus Malzahn, three people with knowledge of the discussions said The Athletics on Wednesday.
There is no indication Riley is interested in making the move, the people said. He is three seasons into a 10-year contract that pays him about $10 million per year.
The people spoke The Athletics on condition of anonymity because all discussions were private and UCF did not disclose details of its coaching search.
Riley’s contract is not public because USC is a private school, but signing him from Southern California — if he wanted to leave — would likely cost tens of millions of dollars for the Trojans or the school that wants to hire him.
UCF representatives contacted Riley’s representatives last weekend to inquire about his interest in a cross-country move, a source said. Any discussions about adjusting the terms of Riley’s contract would be between him and USC, sources said.
The first source added that UCF has not received any communication from Riley’s camp that he is interested in leaving USC, and that the school is still looking for multiple candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy.
Firing Riley, whose win total with the Trojans has declined in each of his three seasons, would cost USC about $90 million, according to one of the sources. If Riley were to leave for another school, he would owe USC nothing. But UCF is not in a position to replicate the deal Riley made at USC. Malzahn made $4 million at UCF in 2024.
Two sources said that even if Riley had an interest in making the move, some payout from his current deal with USC would be needed to make up for what he would have to give up in the transition — such as a professional sports trade involving one team part pays. of a player’s remaining salary on a big contract and the receiving team picks up the rest.
Riley was hired at USC by former athletic director Mike Bohn, who resigned in the spring of 2023 amid controversy. University President Carol Folt also oversaw the hiring and will retire this summer, meaning two of the key parties involved in bringing Riley to USC will be gone.
Former Washington athletics director Jen Cohen was hired in August 2023 to lead the athletics department. She inherited Riley and his contract.
She finds herself in the unenviable position of having an underperforming football program but a coach who is too expensive to move on from. In the spring, Cohen found himself in a delicate situation with men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, whose tenure had expired but his record was too good to warrant a firing. He eventually took the SMU job and Cohen hired Arkansas’ Eric Musselman to replace him.
Even with a suitor for Riley, it appears to be more difficult to get out of his deal.
Malzahn left UCF after four seasons as head coach to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. The Knights have gone 10-15 overall and 5-13 in the league in their first two seasons in the Big 12 after moving from the American Athletic Conference. UCF received only a partial share of the Big 12’s revenue last year, about $18 million, and is expected to receive about $19 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
This number increases to a full share in 2025-2026, which should be about double.
Riley is 25-14 at USC since being lured to Los Angeles from Oklahoma after the 2021 regular season. It was a seismic move for the Trojans, wiping out a coach who had a 55-10 record in Norman and two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
The Trojans went 11-3 in Riley’s first season with another Heisman winner in Caleb Williams, the star quarterback who followed the coach from Oklahoma to USC. But since then the results have been going in the wrong direction.
USC went 8-5 in 2023, its final season in the Pac-12, and finished its first regular season in the Big Ten with an overall record of 6-6 (4-5 in league play).
After the 2023 season, Riley said The Athletics that he “didn’t come here (USC) for anything short-term and as long as SC continues to give us the support and the things we need to continue to build this, this wasn’t a two-year rebuild.”
Recruitment has not lived up to the high expectations that accompanied Riley’s appointment. USC continues to regress on the field each season, and the program doesn’t seem to be showing much direction, making Riley’s prospects look hazy at best.
(Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)