Lincoln Riley eager to return USC Trojans to winning ways

Standing connected the apical rim of the venerable Coliseum connected a 76-degree autumn Monday, Lincoln Riley took a glimpse down him astatine the Los Angeles panorama stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Hollywood motion to the gleaming downtown skyscrapers.

“Wow. Is this real?” Riley asked. “Unbelievable.”

Southern California appeared to beryllium asking itself the aforesaid rhetorical questions aft a astonishing 36-hour courtship ended with Riley successful complaint of restoring the Trojans to a spot atop the assemblage shot world.

Riley arrived successful sunny Los Angeles 1 time aft helium agreed to permission Oklahoma pursuing 5 palmy seasons successful charge. He addressed his caller players connected field earlier receiving his authoritative invited astatine the Coliseum successful what helium called “a surreal moment.”

“It was pugnacious to permission the spot I was,” Riley said. “At the aforesaid time, I knew this was the close thing.”

The respected 38-year-old manager who went 55-10 and won 4 Big 12 titles with the Sooners said helium didn’t hesitate erstwhile forced to marque a swift determination to articulation the Trojans, who expressed their fervent involvement successful him soon aft helium arrived location Sunday greeting from Oklahoma’s constrictive nonaccomplishment to Oklahoma State.

“I telephone plays successful a batch little than a day, and those are life-changing decisions, too,” Riley said. “This 1 felt similar I had an eternity.”

Riley said helium ne'er spoke to immoderate different schoolhouse astir its opening, and helium insists helium was blessed successful Norman. But the accidental presented by this caller situation connected the West Coast was excessively fascinating to resist.

“My intentions were surely not to permission Oklahoma,” Riley said. “They weren’t. Just the much I learned astir this, the much my excitement built. It conscionable felt similar the close spot astatine the close clip for the adjacent section successful my life, my family’s life. Is determination a small spot of shock, adjacent now? Yeah, I deliberation determination is. But the excitement outweighs that.”

Riley declined to accidental whether helium thought helium had a amended accidental to triumph a nationalist title astatine USC than astatine Oklahoma, which is headed to the SEC wrong a fewer years.

“I don’t privation to compare,” Riley said. “I deliberation we had our chances and we were darn adjacent there, and if we bash what we should here, we’ll person chances here.”

A long-proud shot schoolhouse mired successful a decade-plus of disappointment and embarrassment celebrated the accomplishment of Riley, who was attracted by his caller school’s history, alumni base, facilities and the recruiting opportunities successful talent-rich Southern California.

He besides took an contiguous radiance to the venerable Coliseum, which was packed with fans during Pete Carroll’s tenure earlier the past 12 years of decreasing success.

“This spot is going to beryllium full,” Riley said. “This is going to beryllium the mecca of assemblage football.”

Athletic manager Mike Bohn effusively praised his caller hire, calling Riley “our apical campaigner and 1 of the champion coaches successful each of football.”

“It says that USC is the premier destination for the champion and brightest,” Bohn added. “It sends a large and almighty connection to the assemblage shot satellite that this sleeping elephantine is wide awake, lasting up and warring on.”

USC (4-7, 3-5 Pac-12) finishes its 2nd losing play successful 4 years astatine California connected Saturday night, and Riley plans to walk this week “working successful the shadows” to debar being a distraction to interim manager Donte Williams’ team. A nonaccomplishment would permission the Trojans with their archetypal eight-loss play since 1991, but their roster is inactive studded with elite endowment — and Riley knows a fewer things astir some recruiting apical players and improving veterans.

Riley declined to marque immoderate promises astir erstwhile the Trojans volition beryllium rubric contenders successful the Pac-12 oregon the country, but near small uncertainty astir his expectations.

“In this time and age, I deliberation it tin hap quickly,” Riley said. “There’s a batch of bully things going connected successful this programme close present that we tin physique on. You tin crook implicit rosters successful a batch of ways, and we’ll beryllium precise originative and intentional astir that.”

Riley confirmed Oklahoma assistants Alex Grinch (defensive coordinator) and Dennis Simmons (receivers) volition articulation him astatine USC, on with manager of operations Clarke Stroud and spot manager Bennie Wylie.

Although helium expressed admiration for the enactment of USC’s existent unit nether hard circumstances, helium didn’t perpetrate to retaining immoderate existent coaches, including Williams, who’s known arsenic 1 of the West Coast’s apical recruiters.

“We’re evidently going to person a batch of large candidates that privation to travel and manager with america here,” Riley said. “There’s respective truly bully ones close here, truthful I’ll sojourn with those guys.”

Riley besides said helium was alert of the betrayal felt by radical astir the Oklahoma programme by his abrupt move.

“People are going to accidental what they say, and I recognize that,” Riley said. “I anticipation they admit each the bully memories we had there, and what an unbelievable tally we had. When I deliberation backmost connected my clip there, I’m going to retrieve each the large things we did there.”

After Riley delivered his opening remarks and the USC set serenaded him erstwhile again, helium stood up again with Bohn, schoolhouse president Carol Folt and Rick Caruso, the billionaire president of USC’s committee of trustees.

As cameras clicked and journalists jockeyed for presumption astir them portion helium held up a jersey, Riley quipped: “So this is what LA feels like.”