UCF pursued USC’s Lincoln Riley for HC vacancy; Riley declines

Who would be UCF’s top choice to replace Gus Malzahn as head coach? Apparently, USC’s Lincoln Riley.

UCF reached out to Riley about becoming its next head coach last week in the wake of Malzahn’s resignation but had not gotten a response from Riley’s camp as of Wednesday morning, according to The Athletic. Riley addressed the matter Wednesday afternoon in a press conference, stating that talks of him leaving USC for another program are a “non-starter” and that he’s “at home” with the Trojans.

Meanwhile, Riley is finishing up his third season at USC, which is 6-6 in its first season in the Big Ten. The Trojans are a combined 25-14 under Riley, but have lost 11 of their past 19 games. Two years ago, Riley won 11 of his first 12 games at USC and led the program to the Pac-12 title game, while quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy. 

Riley came to USC — along with Williams — following a five-year stint as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners (2017-21), where he went 55-10 and made the College Football Playoff three times.

USC will find out its bowl game opponent Sunday after the College Football Playoff bracket is revealed. 

The Golden Knights just wrapped up a 4-8 season, their second in the Big 12. They went a combined 28-24 under Malzahn from 2021 to 2024. Malzahn left following the team’s Week 14 loss to Utah to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State.

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