Tag: Lincoln Riley

Long before the announcement that Gary Patterson will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the former TCU coach had nothing to prove.

Other than winning a national title, he did everything a man in his position could. Maybe more. He helped transform a university, and elevate a city. Still not enough, because it never is.

He needs to coach, as he continues to try to prove himself when that self-inflicted requirement was met years ago.

Other than playing a lot of golf along with more golf, and hosting a podcast, Patterson’s schedule is as open as you would expect someone who is 65, out of work, with plenty of money. It was no secret that he wanted to coach, but not just any job. It had to be a name.

On Friday, that desire became a reality when USC officially hired Patterson to be the defensive coordinator for coach Lincoln Riley.

Not sure how this going to work between two personalities who are notorious control freaks, but this is a risk Riley had to take, a move that Patterson didn’t need, but still wants.

This could end with a national title, or both men being fired as part of another USC staff cleanout.

Why USC’s Lincoln Riley had to hire Gary Patterson

Since coach Bob Stoops retired and handed the keys to the Oklahoma Sooners to Riley in 2017, the echoing knock on Riley has been a defense that fails some of the best offenses in college football. Take out the 2020 season, which was played under COVID restrictions and made a mess of the entire season, and Riley’s defenses have averaged 77th in FBS football in scoring defense. That’s between 130 and 136 teams.

The ‘25 season was arguably the best defense he’s ever had, and the Trojans ranked 51st in points allowed.

This is a man who coached quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams, all Heisman Trophy winners and the No. 1 overall picks in their respective NFL draft classes; none reached a national title game, or won a playoff game.

Patterson is Riley’s eighth defensive coordinator in 10 years.

Riley’s best season at USC was his first, 2022, when the Trojans finished 11-3. Since then they are 24-15, and don’t look much different than when Clay Helton was the coach.

After Riley’s No. 16 Trojans were upset by TCU in the Alamo Bowl, which required blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, the coach raved about the future of his defense.

“The arrow is pointing straight up,” Riley said in the postgame news conference. “For us right now the opportunity is to make a hire (at defensive coordinator) to go from a very good defense to a great defense. That is the goal. We have the personnel to do it. There is going to be a lot of interest in this job.”

He failed to mention pressure, both on himself and the guy he would hire.

Why hiring Gary Patterson is a risk for Lincoln Riley

Riley will enter the 2026 season coaching to save his job, buyout be damned. USC has yet to appear in a playoff game, and it didn’t hand Riley a monster contract and expensive home to win the Holiday Bowl. Patterson is either his savior, or just another defensive coach who failed him.

Patterson built his reputation as one of the best defensive coaches in the modern era. Riley is betting that some of that will translate to USC, even if there is a risk despite the resume.

Dive into Patterson’s career, and the difference between TCU in Conference USA/Mountain West and the Big 12 is evident.

After Patterson “resigned” from TCU in 2021, there were concerns about him accepting another job, starting with whether he could handle the realities of for-pay players, and the expanded transfer portal. There were concerns how he would handle an assistant role, something he had not done since 2000.

In 2022, mostly as a favor to former TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte, who is in the same role at UT, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian hired Patterson as a defensive analyst. That lasted one season, the year in which Patterson’s former team went to the national title game.

After taking 2023 off, Patterson was a finalist for the head coaching job at Houston, which went to Willie Fritz. In February ‘24, Patterson was hired by Baylor coach Dave Aranda as a “senior level strategic consultant.” That lasted six months before Patterson and Baylor agreed it wasn’t working, and he left.

Much like his time at the University of Texas, the role, and restrictions, at Baylor did not fit.

He has not coached a game since UT’s last game of the 2021 season, the year the Horns finished 5-7. He has not been “just” the defensive coordinator since 2000, at TCU under Dennis Franchione.

Between 2000 and 2021, Patterson built a legacy that will soon be honored in the College Football Hall of Fame, where it belongs. He does not need to save USC to prove anything.

But he wants to coach, and Lincoln Riley desperately needs one to fix his defense, or he’s fired.