Riley commits to USC amid reported UCF interest: 'I'm home'
Lincoln Riley remains committed to USC.
The Trojans head coach said Wednesday that he has no intention of leaving the team despite reportedly generating interest from at least one school looking for a new sideline boss ahead of the 2025 season.
"Tell them I'm a USC Trojan," Riley said, according to Ryan Young of TrojanSports.com. "I'm at the place I want to be, so it's a non-starter, a non-issue. I'm home."
UCF was interested in the 41-year-old, inquiring about Riley's availability as the Knights begin their search for a new head coach to replace Gus Malzahn, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales, and Ralph Russo reported earlier Wednesday.
Malzahn recently left UCF's head coaching job to become Florida State's new offensive coordinator.
Riley has spent the last three seasons with USC after joining on a 10-year contract in November 2021. He reportedly makes around $10 million annually.
UCF representatives reportedly contacted Riley's camp last weekend but didn't hear anything from the head coach that suggested he was willing to leave USC.
The Knights wouldn't have been in a position to offer Riley a contract as lucrative as the one he signed with the Trojans, note Feldman, Morales, and Russo.
Two sources said even if Riley had an interest in making the move, it would require some payout of his current deal with USC to make up for what he would be giving up in the transition - like a professional sports trade where one team pays a chunk of a player’s remaining salary on a large contract and the receiving team picks up the rest.
Malzahn earned $4 million at UCF in 2024.
Riley didn't meet expectations in Year 3 with the Trojans, who went 6-6, down from a 7-5 regular season in 2023. He posted an 11-1 record in 2022 before losing to Utah in the Pac-12 title game and Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. Riley's buyout if USC were to fire him is reportedly around $90 million, the second-largest in college football.
Riley has posted a 25-14 record with USC after going 55-10 across five seasons at Oklahoma.