Whether they wanted to be or not, the USC Trojans and Oklahoma Sooners jobs are going to be linked together. After all Lincoln Riley bolted for the Trojans job following the 2021 season allowing Brent Venables to leave Clemson to take over the program.
Fast forward to Sunday and both hires are looking very poor at this point. Riley has built a reputation on high-powered offenses and producing Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks. But beyond that he leaves a lot to be desired in terms of postseason success. He is just 2-4 in bowl games and 1-4 in New Years Six/College Football Playoff games.
On the plains of Oklahoma, we have the Sooners that aren’t having much fun these days on the football field. Venables’ team has lost back-to-back games where they gave up 34+ points while only scoring in the single digits. On Saturday they threw the first passing touchdown since the Sept. 21 matchup against Tennessee in the SEC opener.
His calling card is defense but apparently the offense is optional. It is hard to keep teams off the scoreboard when your offense is among the worst in the Power Four at 4.1 yards per play. That is just ahead of Kennesaw State and Stanford. That puts your defense at a disadvantage when they are constantly on the field after short drives. It is easier to swallow when you are putting points on the board.
Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables Record
Lincoln Riley: 22-12 (14-9)
Brent Venables: 20-13 (11-11)
Riley was hoping to revitalize the USC program but it feels like Clay Helton never left the sidelines. The Trojans did enjoy an 11-2 record before blowing the lead against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, seems to be a recurring theme for USC. Riley is just 11-9 over his last 20 games which won’t sit well with the locals. Especially when you consider that the head coach is making $10 million this season according to the USA TODAY Sports’ coach salary database.
Venables was coming into the season off a 10-win campaign but lost in the Alamo Bowl. He is still looking for that first postseason win. Outside of last season, Venables is a combined 10-10 in 20 games. He does have some impressive recruiting classes for Oklahoma but ask Hugh Freeze what top recruiting classes and no success on the field will get you? A lot of angry locals.
Bottom line is that the coaches are performing under their salaries.
Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables Buyouts
Riley is employed by USC which is a private university and doesn’t have to release his salary information. We have no buyout information at this time for Lincoln Riley.
According to the database, Venables buyout number is set at $44.8 million. That number increased by almost $15 million when Oklahoma gave him an extension after the 10-3 season.
These two “Blue Blood” programs have looked nothing more than pedestrian in two of the three seasons and that falls squarely at the feet of the head coach.
In the Lincoln Riley-Oklahoma divorce, everyone lost.