$110 million head coach faces major pressure ahead of next college football season

A head coach at a major college football is under pressure heading into the 2026 season.

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after the game against the UCLA Bruins | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2025-2026 college football coaching carousel was an abnormally busy cycle. From the end of September to the first two weeks of December, no fewer than 15 different Power Four programs made a coaching change.

The chaos of the last head coaching carousel figures to make for a quieter coaching carousel next offseason. However, multiple programs that are still growing are frustrated with their head coaches going into 2026.

Brad Crawford of CBS Sports compiled a list of 25 college football coaches to monitor before the 2026-2027 head coaching carousel. The first name on Crawford's list was Lincoln Riley of USC.

"There's pressure coming off a 9-4 finish to make something happen as a (College Football) playoff entrant in 2026," Crawford wrote.

"Riley's buyout at USC is one of college football's highest, but there's a reason he was labeled the 'biggest wildcard' last cycle. There was real belief Riley could leave USC in early November, but the Trojans finished strong and signed the No. 1 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite."

As a head coach, Riley has established a reputation as one of the premier offensive minds in college football. Prior to his first head coaching job at Oklahoma, Riley coached in the air raid under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and coordinated the air raid under Ruffin McNeil at East Carolina.

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Riley first worked at Oklahoma as Bob Stoops' offensive coordinator for two seasons. Riley was Stoops' successor to the head coaching job in 2017, guiding the Sooners to three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances while boasting a pair of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

Riley's last two seasons as Oklahoma's head coach were not as enjoyable as the first three. While the Sooners were 19-4 and hovering near the top of the Big 12, discontent began to grow with Riley, the play of quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Sooners' inability to defend. Riley left Oklahoma for USC after the 2021 season, taking quarterback Caleb Williams and several others with him.

In 2022, the Trojans won 11 games, and Williams won the Heisman Trophy. However, USC missed the College Football Playoff; the Trojans suffered losses to Utah in both the regular season and Pac-12 Championship, losses where they were let down by the defense.

In 2023, these defensive failures made USC fall from a College Football Playoff contender to a 7-5 regular season, something that forced Riley to part ways with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

USC is 16-10 under Riley since joining the Big Ten, finishing 7-6 in 2024 and 9-4 in 2025. If USC needs to make the College Football Playoff for Riley to stay there, a 10-2 regular season is needed at minimum. The Trojans will play each of the Big Ten's three 2025 College Football Playoff participants, hosting Oregon and Ohio State while traveling to Indiana.

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts in the first half against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images