ESPN Analyst Suggests This Big 12 Coach Should Replace Lincoln Riley At USC

At this point, I might as well just make this a weekly column. Paul Finebaum is at it again, talking about the USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley. I wrote just last week about how his obsession with SC has become “weird” but now it is downright laughable.

On yet another appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Finebaum turned from his usual shots at Lincoln Riley, and now focused on who he thinks should replace him at USC next year (Riley is not going anywhere barring a sub-4 win season, by the way).

Paul Finebaum Suggests Deion Sanders Should Replace Lincoln Riley

Finebaum has now come out multiple times and said that he believes Riley will be out as the coach of the USC Trojans after the 2024 season. Now he offers a succession plan in the form of Deion Sanders…

“Stephen A, I get where you’re coming from, but to me, it’s about trajectory. And I think he’s lost the momentum. He had that town. Stephen A, you live there a lot of the year. You have to win in LA otherwise, yes, you lose badly. And I think he’s losing badly. And, instead of harping on Lincoln Riley, I’ve decided to come up with a solution. I thought about this the other day. And I believe the answer after this season is Deion Sanders, he’s going to be tired of Colorado because quite frankly, it’s not prime time.”

“He’s done as well as he can with his son and Travis Hunter, and all the Stephen A’s and Shannon Sharpe appearances. But that’s gonna dry up this year because they’re not going to be that great. But you put prime in Tinseltown, and I think you have one of the great combinations in history. We just got through talking about, or you did, LeBron. LeBron has owned that town as many others before him. And I think Deion Sanders as the coach at Southern Cal is the answer to the problems. Lincoln Riley is a good coach. He’s got a great resume. Deion Sanders just exudes exactly what that community is all about. He takes the recruiting there, which Lincoln had and then lost.”

Related: USC Trojans 2025 Recruiting Commits

“But I think he sustains it, especially now today, the Big 10 media days are going on with Southern Cal and can you imagine a year from today, Deion Sanders walks into Big 10 media days? Everybody else get out of the way.”

Besides the obvious holes in the financial situation, this thought process is not only laughable but from a football standpoint, in no way, shape, or form, would it be an upgrade.

Take nothing away from Sanders, who is not only a football legend, but a great motivator, and has made Colorado football relevant again, even if for nothing done on the field. He is an electric figure in college football , and could very well bring the Buffaloes back to their winning ways.

But as it stands right now, he is coming off of a 4-win season, and Finebaum himself said they are not going to be very good again this year. So if he wins 4 games again this year, he will have as many wins in two seasons that Lincoln Riley had in the worst season of his career (that included a bowl win)?

Looking at the “trajectory,” as Finebaum put it, according to On3.com , Colorado has the 57th-ranked 2024 recruiting class and currently has the 75th-ranked 2025 recruiting class . So, not really sure what positive trajectory he is referring to. They also have 42 incoming transfer portal players, which we all know is not a sustainable way to build a program.

Say what you want about Lincoln Riley, and he has a ton to prove this upcoming season, but suggesting the idea of replacing him with a coach who has yet to actually prove anything, is certainly…a stance.

More must-reads:

• Top 5 Most Controversial USC Trojans Of All Time
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