‘‘Tis the season.

I wrote about the chaos in college football a week ago. Nothing changed this week. More chaos.

Chaos causes unrest. Unrest makes administrators and athletic directors antsy. Heads begin to roll.

The first victims came this past week. Mike Locksley was mercifully relieved of his duties at Maryland. Next up was Dave Doeren at NC State. Doeren became doomed the second his veteran quarterback fumbled in the end zone while trying to take a safety to end the game against Vanderbilt a few weeks back. The latest victim was Dave Aranda at Baylor. It wasn’t that long ago that Aranda was a name mentioned every time there was a vacancy in the coaching world. After a steady decline year after year, it is now Aranda looking for work.

These are tough decisions that athletic directors have to make. It isn’t as simple as just looking at the results on the field. In today’s world of coaching there are always buyouts, some more restrictive than others. Then there is the idea of possibly watching your current roster be gutted. Many current players and most incoming recruits will start shopping around for other opportunities. Of course, you also have to be prepared for a potentially arduous coaching search.

Football is nearly every school’s big money sport. Making a rash decision to fire a coach, or conducting a poor coaching search can bury your program.

Look no further than Pat Kraft at Penn State.

Last year, right about this time, Kraft fired then head coach James Franklin. Franklin was less than a year removed from reaching the CFP semifinals, but never won big games. Their season was spiraling, so Kraft made the move. Firing Franklin wasn’t the problem for Kraft. Running his mouth and conducting a long drawn out coaching search that never seemed to have much direction was his gigantic mistake.

Kraft hired Matt Campbell at the eleventh hour, putting Campbell behind the eight ball in forming a roster that was predictably ravaged in the portal. Campbell is off to a lackluster start, creating early angst and apathy among Nittany Lions fans. Kraft is on shaky ground in Happy Valley.

This year, all eyes may soon fall on Los Angeles and USC athletic director Jen Cohen.

The Lincoln Riley experiment is in its fifth year, and it is failing. Failing miserably. Last Saturday night in Madison, Wisconsin, Riley’s tenure hit rock bottom.

Coming off a bye week, USC put on its worst performance of the Lincoln Riley era. The Trojans rushed for -17 yards. Senior quarterback Jayden Maiava was pressured relentlessly, and he played more like a freshman. The offensive line resembled a leaky sieve. They scored one touchdown, aided by a ridiculous sideline interference call on a Wisconsin assistant coach. It was the only reason they weren’t shutout.

Oh, and a little reminder that Lincoln Riley is a self proclaimed offensive guru and quarterback whisperer.

How did USC’s defense do with ahem Hall of Famer Gary Patterson coaching them up?

 


Yes, you saw that correctly. Wisconsin put four receivers out to the left side. USC countered with the Hall of Fame strategy of putting two defenders to that side. Odd that they weren’t able to stop that play.

See, Lincoln Riley hired an old friend to come in and coach his defense. He did so presumably because that worked so well when his friend Alex Grinch was his defensive coordinator.

The fact is that nothing Riley has done since arriving at USC five seasons ago has worked well. He even managed to turn Caleb Williams from Heisman Trophy winner his first year to 6-6 and running for his life in his second year.

Riley came from Oklahoma after growing up in Texas. On paper it looked like a great hire, but it really was a square peg in a round hole. Then there is the fact that he went from coaching in the defense optional Big 12 to the bully ball Big Ten. Just a bad fit.

Boosters, former players, and others close to the program have never warmed up to Riley. Warm chit chat is not Riley’s thing. To top it off he has become increasingly defensive and any fan interaction looks forced.

The school gave Riley everything he asked for. He lives in a gigantic million dollar beach home, he was given every assistant coach he wanted, a sparkling new football facility was built, and they even moved the baseball field around at Riley’s behest.

There has been absolutely zero return on investment.

Going past this year —or maybe even past next week— with Riley as head coach doesn’t make sense. Former players Keyshawn Johnson, LenDale White, Rodney Peete, Sua Cravens, and Matt Leinhart have all eluded to different degrees that a change is coming and a change is necessary. Marcus Allen, one of the most influential and prominent alumnus witnessed Saturday night’s disaster in person.

It is becoming more of a matter of when, not if.

The elephant in the room is the astronomical buyout that would be owed Riley if he is terminated. It is possible that Baylor could swoop in and help USC out, much the way Virginia Tech helped make the buyout of James Franklin more palatable for Penn State. If not, there are plenty of rich, fed up donors at USC that want a change. USC leads the country in billionaire alumni.

The money that it will cost USC to rid themselves of Riley may pale in comparison to the lost revenue via playoff cash, ticket sales, media money, and more. Plus there is the continued hit to a reputation and grand history that has spent the better part of 20 years going down the tubes. Lane Kiffin got unceremoniously tarmac’d and is now a top ten coach(albeit a jerk). Steve Sarkisian drank his way to an embarrassing pink slip and is now the coach of a top 15 program coming off a playoff appearance. Ed Orgeron wasn’t given the keys because he didn’t speak like a USC coach then went on to win a national title at LSU. Clay Helton stood mouth agape on the sidelines for far too long at USC then went…well, okay, so that one hasn’t haunted the program. Now, Lincoln Riley has managed to not raise USC’s level one bit from Helton.

You could argue Riley is the third worst coach at USC since 1980. Paul Hackett is always number one on that list. Ted Tollner is two, and even he won a Rose Bowl. Helton, too, won a Rose Bowl and reached the Cotton Bowl the next year. Riley went to the Cotton Bowl in year one where he lost to…..Tulane.

This was the year for Riley and USC. He said himself that this was his most talented roster since arriving in LA. Riley essentially called this a playoff or bust season. Then a once formidable schedule was made much easier. Oregon is way off their usual pace and played the final three quarters versus USC with a backup quarterback. Washington is awful, as is Penn State. Wisconsin can’t throw the ball. Ohio State will come to town with a backup quarterback who looked flat out frightened when he came on to play in the last game. Indiana is offensively challenged. UCLA, though surprising, will be playing with a backup quarterback the remainder of the year. The stars were aligned.

In typical Riley fashion, USC lost by two scores to Oregon, got humiliated by Wisconsin, barely held on to beat Washington, and struggled mightily with lowly Rutgers.

It is clearly over. It won’t change. It would be silly to believe it will.

Lincoln Riley is soft.

Lincoln Riley builds soft teams.

He got by in the Big 12 like that, but it won’t work in the Big Ten.

The worst visual for Riley is that those hated Bruins across town are 7-0 and ranked higher than any USC team under Riley. UCLA went to James Madison —following the lead of new national darling Indiana— to snag a coach that looks like he was built for Hollywood. Those optics are brutal for USC and its fan base. It will get amplified if/when UCLA beats USC and goes to the playoffs.

I think Jen Cohen is a quality AD. Along with GM Chad Bowden, Cohen should be able to keep key players in place while a coaching change takes place. Not keeping some of their star young players would be disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing as watching Lincoln Riley continue as head coach at USC.

I think Cohen is up to the task and smart enough to realize it has to be done. As long as Cohen doesn’t pull a Pat Kraft, this is the obvious move to make.

As obvious as a tiny play sheet stuck to the nose on your face.

Tweet of The Week

A perfect example of why the NBA is unwatchable.

 

And to show the officials were being equal —equally bad— they returned the favor to the Heat.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

If you don’t laugh out loud at this clip you may not be human. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has more fun on TV than these four gentlemen.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

Some NFL quick thoughts…

  • I will say that Aaron Rodger’s will do what it takes to win. The Steelers have a rather favorable schedule going forward.
  • NFL officials are just awful.
  • Green Bay may want to bring kickers in for a tryout.
  • Did JJ McCarthy just win an NFL game?
  • Are the Giants going to win the NFC East?
  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba can’t be covered.
  • When Miami beats you the rule is your head coach is immediately placed on the hot seat.
  • I thought the Texans had an elite defense.
  • The Ravens are whining that they need Lamar Jackson back. The backup threw for 298 yards. He was the least of their problems.
  • The Bengals offense should look like that on a weekly basis.
  • The Cleveland Browns are 5-2. Let that sink in.
Just my two cents…