SEC Network commentator takes another shot at Lincoln Riley
It's a pattern: Paul Finebaum did not hold back again on Riley's tenure at USC. In the latest USC Trojans Sports Illustrated article, Nathan Fusco relayed Finebaum's exact thoughts on Riley.
"ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum didn't hold back in a recent unprompted tirade against USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. Speaking on the Dari Nowkhah Show on Tuesday, Finebaum slammed Riley's performance over the last two seasons at USC and questioned the Trojans coach's impact despite his success at Oklahoma.
'But I want to say one thing before I go,' Finebaum said. 'The thing I'm most excited about is the Big Ten media days because I want to hear Lincoln Riley try to explain his last two years. Because I can't think of anybody whose coaching has been more fraudulent since his first year with Caleb Williams. And I say that as somebody who admired what Lincoln Riley did at OU.'
'There is something wrong with this guy, Dari,' Finebaum added. 'I know we're at the end of the segment, but I did want to close on that note. I am underwhelmed and can't think of a coach in modern times who's making the kind of money he's making who has done less.'
'It's hard to imagine a coach doing worse with this level of talent and opportunity,' Finebaum said on his show. 'They just happen to have a fraud as their coach.'
Finebaum continues to highlight that Riley, in his opinion, is one of the most overrated coaches in college football. If bulletin board material was one of Riley's strategies, he would have a ton of it just off Finebaum's quotes about him. The Trojans are going into this season with high hopes and high expectations, looking to prove people like Paul Finebaum dead wrong.
With the schedule this upcoming season, plus top offensive talent and a dream recruiting class for 2026, Lincoln Riley has everything at his disposal to prove Finebaum wrong and have a great next two seasons.
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