Lincoln Riley Says USC Is 'Where I Want to Be' Despite Playoff Hopes Fading

USC coach Lincoln Riley addressed questions about his future on Tuesday, saying he wants to stay with the Trojans and believes he is the right leader for the program, even as the team's College Football Playoff hopes hang by a thread after a second defeat.

"Listen, if I didn't want to be at this place, I wouldn't have come here in the first place. I've had plenty of opportunities to leave," Riley said after practice. "This is where I want to be. This is the right place for me. I'm the right person to be here. And that's as honest and transparent as I can be with you guys."

Riley is in his fifth year at USC and has not yet taken the team to the playoff or won a conference title. He opened his news conference by stressing that his focus was on Saturday's opponent, Ohio State. When asked whether he might be a better fit at another school, he rejected the idea. He pointed to what he gave up to take the job and said that decision should never be taken lightly, whether it is viewed now or 15 years from now.

The coach also spoke about his relationship with athletic director Jen Cohen, which has drawn attention because she was not the person who hired him. Riley downplayed any suggestion of a disconnect, calling the relationship "fantastic" and saying she has been "incredibly supportive." He described her as "a tremendous AD" and a major part of the program's progress.

That progress is visible off the field. The Trojans landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country this year and opened a new $200 million facility. Results, however, have not matched the expectations Riley has openly embraced. At Big Ten media days, he said USC was more equipped than ever to win, and billboards around Los Angeles before the season carried the message "The time is now."

Instead, USC lost to Oregon in Week 4 and fell 24-7 to Wisconsin on Saturday, the lowest offensive output for any team Riley has coached. His record at the school stands at 41-20. The remaining schedule includes Ohio State, defending champion Indiana and undefeated UCLA, and the Trojans likely need to win out to change the course of the season.

Offensive lineman Elijah Paige backed his coach. "There's nobody in the world that wants USC to win more than Coach Riley," he said.

Riley did not show signs of added pressure. As he has done before, he recalled his early days at Oklahoma, where some people wanted to "run me out of town right away" after his first loss to Iowa State in 2017. By the end of that season, with a Big 12 title and a playoff berth, those same critics were praising him. At USC, that level of success has not yet arrived.

"When you're a head coach of a blue-blood school, you have to be ready to weather the storms, the overly positive or the overly negative," Riley said. He added that the truth typically lies somewhere in the middle, and that his job is "to stay steady."