John McKay, John Robinson and Pete Carroll all won national championships in their third seasons as the head coach of USC football. McKay’s first season was in 1960. He won it all in 1962. Robinson’s first season was in 1976. He won it all in 1978. Carroll’s first season was 2001. He won it all in 2003. That’s pretty remarkable.
What would be even more remarkable is if Lincoln Riley can win the national championship in Year 2.
On Trojan Conquest Live at The Voice of College Football, Rick Anaya mentioned several coaches who were able to win national championships in their second season at a school. That list of coaches mentioned by Anaya, plus a few others from the history books in the Associated Press Poll era (which began in 1936), appears below: