The meltdown has already started at Southern California

[Mojave Gator]

Lincoln Riley making excuses as USC wastes Caleb Williams' talent with 2023 flop


Two things that I could have told them in anticipation of their current situation, from following Oklahoma:

1. Riley ain't all that. He had Baker Mayfield basically drop into his lap, and after that Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts, largely on the perception that he worked miracles with Mayfield. When he had to develop a quarterback on his own without previous outside help, we got Spencer Rattler. Caleb Williams is a freakish athletic talent, a la Anthony Richardson, so I don't know how much that Riley has actually done to develop him.

2. Alex Grinch is one of the worst defensive coordinators in the country. Riley has some kind of pathological devotion to him (much like Dan Mullen had with Todd Grantham, and Grinch reminds me a lot of Grantham). Not only did USC hire him, they bought out his contract at Oklahoma. What I predicted at the beginning of the season is coming to pass. USC is now encountering teams that are too good for them to hang 40 points or more on, sometimes their offense isn't at its peak, and their defense stops nothing. Losses are the inevitable result. Utah was starting a third string quarterback, yet they were able to drive most of the length of the field in less than two minutes with an offense that is not predicated on quick strikes. They also greatly exceeded many of their season highs in offensive production. The Trojans allowed 48 points to Notre Dame, who needed only 251 yards of total offense to score them (the offense set the Irish up, and the defense wasn't up to the task).

[tapsgator]

I think Riley is a good OC because he had success under a Defensive minded head coach (unlike Mullen who was babysitting and then copying a system), and I will give him a little credit for Williams and moreso for benching Rattler in favor of Williams at OU. That said, I'll mitigate any praise because Williams isn't really a freak athlete like Richardson who came in raw and needed to be coached up to produce (I would have been curious to see what a real, invested offensive staff could have done with AR), Williams was basically raised to be a star QB. He's a latter day Marinovich that hasn't gone off the rails. Yet. He compares himself to Mahomes, paints his nails, and became part owner of a male grooming company, so I could see a major car crash incoming when he hits the NFL because I'm not sure any of that plays, and he does not look like a leader of grown men when things aren't going well. Personally I wouldn't take him 1/1 but I'm sure someone will because he's the safe pick, and it's always better to miss on the guy everybody said was a can't miss than swing for the fences if you are more concerned about job security than winning titles which most GMs holding the #1 pick are. He has been disinterested this year and the production in big situations is lacking. I doubt he'll even be invited to New York.

247sports.com/college/usc/article/the-making-of-a-heisman-winner-caleb-williams-usc-trojans-football--200048437/

I haven't watched enough to speak on the DC hire, but it tracks for sure. I really don't get the blind loyalty in the face of overwhelming evidence to support making a change at coordinator, but it's the death knell for a ton of college coaches for whatever reason. At this point I'd say hiring coordinators (especially on the other side of the ball) is probably second only to recruiting in terms of dictating success for a head coach and it may be close enough to be 1a rather than 2. If it's not working you have to make a change, those who do sometimes turn it around, those who don't are generally gone in 6 months-2 years depending on how good the other unit is.

[Mojave Gator]

Riley is just what you said - a great coordinator. His play design is outstanding, and he has a firm understanding of what his players can and cannot do. He often does the unexpected, which drives defensive coordinators nuts. Given the keys to the kingdom, however, cracks appear in the foundation. His Oklahoma teams were frequently involved in scoring fests. When they lost, it was usually because his defense needed to hold the opposition to less than 35 points. Oklahoma's defenses under Alex Grinch got worse every year that he coached them, and if the offense sputtered at all, they were screwed. History is repeating itself.

[Rock Gator]

What is it with coaches who have a hard-on for one coordinator, and nobody else? Look, I get it - you came this far with *this guy*, but he's screwing the pooch and you're about to screwed right next to the pooch. And you can't figure that out? Saban may be past his time, and certainly past his prime, but he never sits on a bad coach to the detriment of his team, and his own job.
RG

[Mojave Gator]

USC got rescued today by Cal self destructing with a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter. They still came within a two point conversion of losing. Alex Grinch's defense held an offense who couldn't move the ball against Auburn to a mere 49 points.

[tapsgator]

Oct 28, 2023 18:03:18 GMT -5 Rock Gator said:

What is it with coaches who have a hard-on for one coordinator, and nobody else? Look, I get it - you came this far with *this guy*, but he's screwing the pooch and you're about to screwed right next to the pooch. And you can't figure that out? Saban may be past his time, and certainly past his prime, but he never sits on a bad coach to the detriment of his team, and his own job.
RG

What's even weirder is that it's such a clear mark of delineation between good and bad coaches and usually some pretty immediate results follow. Spurrier moving to Stoopes, Kirby moving on from Monken, Dabo firing his OC after 1 year despite being good friends with him when it became obvious that he was a better fit for a Sunbelt position or an analyst at Bama where he couldn't do much damage. Forget that guy's name but I bet he had a really consistent hairstyle.

[Mojave Gator]

DC Alex Grinch was fired on Sunday after USC surrendered 52 of the mere 101 points that they have given up in the past two games.

[Rock Gator]

Well, somebody didn't wait until a bad coordinator cost them their job. Good on Lincoln Riley.

[Mojave Gator]

Nov 7, 2023 14:45:51 GMT -5 Rock Gator said:

Well, somebody didn't wait until a bad coordinator cost them their job. Good on Lincoln Riley.

My guess is that he was told that Grinch was gone and wasn't given a say. Left to his own devices, I doubt that Riley would have fired him, even though USC seemed to reach a new low defensively almost every week.

A friend who is reasonably close to the SC program told me that they don't tackle in practice. I found that astonishing.

[SoTxCaiman]

Nov 7, 2023 22:47:49 GMT -5 Mojave Gator said:

A friend who is reasonably close to the SC program told me that they don't tackle in practice. I found that astonishing.

Unlike the Gators who save not tackling for gameday!

[Mojave Gator]

It's all about pacing yourself. Got to keep those guys fresh.