Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley is a college football head coach leading the USC Trojans football program in the Big Ten Conference. A former quarterback at Texas Tech, Riley learned the Air Raid offense under coach Mike Leach before transitioning into coaching. He earned his first offensive coordinator role at East Carolina at age 27, where the Pirates, utilizing a spread offensive scheme, set more than 50 team and individual school offensive records. His teams produced the top five passing seasons in school history.

Riley was hired by Bob Stoops as the offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. In his first season, he led the Sooners to the seventh-ranked offense in the country and guided the team to the College Football Playoff, earning the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. After serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Riley became head coach following Stoops' retirement. At the time, he was the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Riley became the fifth coach in FBS history with no previous head-coaching experience at a four-year college to win at least 12 games in his debut season. His Sooners posted a 37-7 record in league play and won Big 12 championships in his first four years, making him the first person to win outright FBS conference crowns in each of his first four seasons as a collegiate head coach.

Riley has coached three Heisman Trophy winners—Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, and Caleb Williams at USC—and a Heisman runner-up in Jalen Hurts. He is the only head coach to mentor three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and the only coach to have three quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. Riley holds the record for the most No. 1 overall draft selections in the common draft era, highlighting his impact on player development and offensive innovation in college football.

After his tenure at Oklahoma, where he won 85 percent of his games, led the Sooners to four Big 12 titles, four New Year's Six bowls, and three College Football Playoff appearances, Riley was hired by USC. His Trojans achieved notable wins over Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and UCLA, and finished in the top five nationally in third-down conversion percentage, as well as first in the Big Ten in passing offense and total offense. Riley was named a George Munger Coach of the Year Semifinalist. With a career winning percentage among the best in college football history, Riley is recognized for his offensive strategy, quarterback development, and success in major college football conferences.