In case any of you were holding out hope that USC head coach Lincoln Riley would fire strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie, we’re sorry to inform you that Wylie will be with the program in 2024.
Wylie made extensive comments Monday night about his vision and plan for USC football, a clear indication that Riley had absolutely no desire to fire him. Wylie is very much on board for the 2024 season.
USC was a soft team in 2023. Bennie Wylie has to bear some of the responsibility for that, shared with Riley himself. Riley has said that he wants USC to be bigger and tougher up front, which could be read as an indication that Riley isn’t entirely satisfied with what Wylie is doing and has done up to this point at USC. There are echoes of last offseason, in which Riley knew Alex Grinch wasn’t cutting it as defensive coordinator but was willing to give him one more chance to fully prove himself.
It could be the same with Wylie heading into 2024 and the Big Ten. Either USC improves and validates both Wylie and Riley together, or the Trojans get shoved around by opponents and show that Wylie is just not the man for the job.
Is it reasonable to give Wylie one more chance heading into the Big Ten? Yes … but that should also come with hot-seat-level pressure. If Wylie fails in 2024, he shouldn’t be around in 2025.
#USC strength coach Bennie Wylie: "There's a ton of teams that are already in that conference that are big and fast. We can do the same thing, so it's not optional. It's non-negotiable. You don't get an opinion. You get to lift. You get to eat. And that's it." https://t.co/5aLxcHszK9
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) December 5, 2023
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