CFB insider gets blunt on Lincoln Riley's hot seat rumors amid rising concerns over USC's performance

The last two years have been quite tumultuous for Lincoln Riley since USC struggled to keep up with the competition. After the conference realignment pushed the Trojans to join a highly competitive Big Ten, things have changed a lot.

They could only record a 7-6 season in 2024, with fans raising concerns over the team's outlook, apart from the quarterback position. Traditionally, the Trojans are known for developing QBs, but football being a team sport, one cannot win championships with just one position. This led fans to brew hot seat theories for Riley, and insider J.D. PicKell claims such comments are baseless.

The On3 analyst mentioned that it is essential to consider live gameplays before jumping to conclusions. Box scores and stats can be misleading sometimes because the way the Trojans played last season was quite phenomenal.

Riley improved the defensive unit by hiring defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, defensive line coach Eric Henderson and assistant head coach Rob Ryan to the staff.

“Right now, it's unpopular to say that Lincoln Riley is a good head coach in the world of college football, and I guess that's just my feel on this,” PicKell said on his podcast on Friday. “I don't know if that's how it actually is when it comes to different parts of the West Coast.

“Maybe some people are a little more positive on a Lincoln Riley front, but I think that's kind of how people feel based on what happened last year. But my rebuttal to that would be, well, you're saying they're in a middle of a packed Big Ten team, right?

“It's probably the basis you're standing on to Lincoln Riley not being a great head coach of college football. OK, did you watch the games? There's a difference between box score scouting and then actually watching the games themselves.”

Lincoln Riley will have Jayden Maiava in the pocket

After Caleb Williams’ departure to the NFL, Jayden Maiava was given the responsibility to take over the QB1 role. Last season, he racked up 1,201 passing yards for 11 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. He also posted a QB rating of 72.3, per ESPN.

Now it's time for Maiava to buckle up and improve upon the 7-6 record the Trojans recorded last season. The Big Ten transition has been a difficult one for the team, especially due to the highly competitive nature of the conference. Expect nothing less than a nine-plus winning game season in 2025.

USC opens its season against the Missouri State Bears on Saturday, Aug. 30, at LA Memorial Coliseum. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on BTN.