As Week 9 in college football gets underway, several coaching job openings have already emerged across the country. The shakeup began as early as Week 3, with UCLA firing DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech parting ways with Brent Pry. Since then, the turnover has continued, with Penn State’s decision to fire James Franklin and Florida’s dismissal of Billy Napier standing out as two of the biggest openings so far.
This coaching cycle is shaping up to be one of the wildest we’ve seen in quite some time. And we haven’t even reached November yet. More high-profile jobs are expected to become available before the season ends. This doesn’t even account for potential vacancies created by coaches leaving their current positions to take over these openings.
One coach whose job security some speculate about is Lincoln Riley at USC. After a disappointing loss to Notre Dame last weekend, the Trojans appear on pace to miss the 12-team College Football Playoff. Despite that, one former college football coach doesn’t believe Riley’s job is in jeopardy this year.
**Urban Meyer Says Lincoln Riley Will Not Be Fired at USC**
Urban Meyer spoke on the *Triple Option* podcast, addressing the rumors surrounding Riley’s status. Contrary to what some might believe, Meyer insists that Riley is not at risk of being fired this season.
“No chance,” Meyer said emphatically. “No chance. No chance.”
“You’re right,” Meyer continued. “OK, we presented the picture, but now let’s go deep. Like I said, I can probably do this better than most. All right, you make a decision. You go back in your office. You have a Rolodex on your phone now; it used to be a Rolodex. Do you start calling the Bs, the billionaires, or the hundreds of millionaires, and say, ‘All right, here we go, I’m going to make a decision. I need a check for $20 million.’”
Meyer highlights that making a coaching change at USC is no simple task, especially if the school wants to move on from Riley. The USC head coach signed a 10-year, $110 million contract with a buyout clause reportedly around $80 million — making it the largest contract in college football history.
**Lincoln Riley’s Performance at USC**
Coming off an impressive 55-10 record over five years at Oklahoma, Riley has struggled more at USC, posting a 31-16 record so far. While he never lost more than three games in a season in Norman, Oklahoma, he has now lost five and six games in the last two seasons at USC after an 11-3 debut campaign.
Urban Meyer also shared insight into why schools might be hesitant to make quick coaching changes, especially when it comes with hefty buyouts. He credited ESPN’s Colin Cowherd for bringing this to his attention.
“Actually, Colin Cowherd brought this up to me,” Meyer said. “We were talking one day on air on *The Herd*, and he said — and I’ve done some research on this — he said that you’re going to see the end of the big buyouts. People are going to stick with coaches longer.”
As the college football coaching carousel spins, it remains to be seen how many more changes will come before the season’s conclusion. But for now, Urban Meyer is confident about Lincoln Riley’s future at USC.
https://heavy.com/sports/college-football/usc-trojans/urban-meyer-sends-a-strong-message-about-high-profile-job/
