It’s easy to forget now because of what’s happened since his arrival, but Lincoln Riley was supposed to be a sure thing.
This was a coach who developed two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, led Oklahoma to 55 wins in 65 games, and took them to College Football Playoff three times.
He was the no-brainer of all no-brainers, a hire universally praised. The coach who was going to make USC matter again on a national scale — be a present-day Pete Carroll.
Instead, with a record of 6-14 against ranked teams, he has resembled a West Coast version of James Franklin.
