USC firing Lincoln Riley? NCAA sanctions allow contract escape

The NCAA sheriff passed a law in Southern California on Wednesday, and the next three weeks have become crucial for coach Lincoln Riley.

In the simplest terms, the NCAA gave USC a free pass to fire Riley and escape his own mega contract.

The NCAA ranked the school on trial for one year, and fined $50,000 for on- and off-field coaching by non-coaching staff analysts.

Possibly even more damaging for Riley, whose teams have lost nine of their last 12 games: Southern California agreed with the NCAA that Riley had violated “head coach responsibility” rules. This means the school can fire Riley for cause and not have to pay off tens of millions in contractual obligations.

That’s right, fire Riley and don’t owe him a dime.

I don’t want to get into the semantics of why the charge of “head coach responsibility” isn’t as damaging because the rule gained more teeth in 2023 (two years after the Trojan horses hired Riley). All you need to know is that there is now an exit for USC in this growing mess.

No more former players Riley rips and the social media program. No more old Big Ten punching bags stealing USC’s conference thunder.

No more days of a top five program in all of college football being in the middle and losing to the Minnesotas and Marylands of the world.

WEEKEND FORECAST: Expert picks for every Top 25 game in Week 12

BIZARRO WORLD: Tennessee heads into the Georgia showdown with an improved defense

“You see the level of punishment that has been imposed,” Riley said. “If it’s something serious, they’re going to suspend the head coach.”

This, all of it, is the core of the problem with Riley in Southern California. Every problem is not as big as it seems. Or it’s not his fault.

Can’t anyone stop on defense? No problem, we’ll rent one new coordinator.

Can’t you win games with one possession? No problem, we are just one handful of plays away from being undefeated.

Can’t you win games consistently in the Big Ten? We knew this one difficult transition.

Can’t recruit the fertile geographic footprint of Southern California? The shortages when we arrived required recruiting from the transfer portal (which was also disastrous).

There is always an excuse, always a way out. The latest: QB Miller Moss keeps throwing the ball to the other team.

So now UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava is taking over (he probably should have played sooner) to make amends in what has become an untenable situation.

Not only is the season over for the Trojans, the remaining three games are against teams that need it more.

Nebraska hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2016, and this week saw a change in offensive coordinator. The Huskers need one win to become bowl eligible.

Crosstown rival UCLA, which defeated USC by 18 points last season, has won its last three games after finding its footing under first-year coach DeShaun Foster.

Rival Notre Dame can’t afford another defeat if it expects to reach the College Football Playoff.

Riley is 23-13 at USC without a conference championship, and the coach he replaced (Clay Helton) was 26-10 in his first 36 games — with a Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl victory, and a Cotton Bowl appearance.

The highlight with Riley: 11 wins in 2021 and a loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.

Southern California is a private school and details of Riley’s reported 2021 $110 million deal have not been publicly released. But every coaching contract contains a clause specifically requiring dismissals for cause if the program is placed on NCAA probation.

A sports agent familiar with college coaching contracts who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter said USC would have been foolish not to include the specific NCAA clause. Without this, Riley could ignore NCAA rules without consequences.

This wouldn’t be the first time a university has used NCAA violations to get out of a contract. Tennessee in 2020 nearly invited the NCAA to investigate its program under former coach Jeremy Pruitt, who was accused of giving recruits cash in paper bags. Among other things.

Tennessee didn’t want to pay Pruitt $12 million in walk-on money (a pittance by today’s standards), and used the NCAA clause in his contract to fire him for cause – then accepted an $8 million fine,

Pay $8 million to the NCAA all at once. Paying a coach $12 million not to coach is where you draw the line.

This brings us back to Riley, who had one win in the College Football Playoff in Year 1, dropped to eight wins in Year 2 despite having the best player in college football (Caleb Williams), and won five of seven league games this season has lost. in USC’s first season in the Big Ten.

Southern California did not suspend Riley after the NCAA violations. But that doesn’t mean the Trojans can’t fire Riley if another disappointing season turns out poorly.

Especially now that it has a Get Out of Jail Free card.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.