Lincoln Riley sums up his offense in two words

Lincoln Riley was getting touted as an upcoming offensive mastermind in the college football landscape going back to his days as the offensive coordinator for Ruffin McNeil’s East Carolina team, and he’s continued to adapt at all of his stops along the way.

Now, Riley is one of the hottest names in the sport and is leading a USC Trojans football program — that when successful — has proven it can be a powerhouse, despite residing across the country from the SEC and Big Ten, which have held the top teams in the nation for more than a decade.

“I hope at the end it’s really two words, hope it’s really good and really successful and helps us win a bunch of games” the new Trojans’ front man said of the goals for his offense at USC.

When asked to describe his high-powered “air-raid” offense, the former Oklahoma head coach gave an interesting response.

“It’s hard to say, it’s definitely versatile,” Lincoln Riley added.

“The air-raid stuff came from our time back at Texas Tech and over the last few years, we have had the highest amount of carries of any team in the country. We’ve run the ball at a high level for a long time, and so I don’t know if air-raid really fits anymore, to be honest.”

Lincoln Riley then provided a master class in breaking down all the facets of the truly successful offense he is trying to build in L.A.

“What we try to build, I think there are two parts of it for us,” Riley began. “We want to find out what our best personnel is and use it to attack with our strengths. And then the other goal for us, is you want to build an offense that is able to win a lot of ways.

“Can you move the ball down the field 80 yards with not much time left? Can you get in four-minute mode and run out the clock against a tough opponent and not let their offense a chance to get it back? Can you pick up tough goal line plays, can you convert on third and long?”

For Riley, it’s about adapting to his team’s strengths so he’s always prepared for any opponent and what defenses will throw at the Trojans.

“You get played differently, different teams will attack you different ways and do you have answers, knowing the game will be different each week? Hopefully we build for versatility to attack different ways and to win different ways,” Riley added.

Lincoln Riley discusses breaking old habits while establishing new culture

Riley will always be remembered for his sudden exit out of Norman. The young offensive mastermind — who was hand-picked by OU legend Bob Stoops himself to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to competing for regular titles — to take on the job of revamping USC football.

The new Trojans head coach caught up with the media after a recent spring practice and was asked if there has been a focus on re-teaching to break the bad habits players from previous staffs, high school coaches or transfers have shown.

“I don’t know if we necessarily go into it with the mindset that we are trying to break bad habits,” Lincoln Riley said. “Like a guy could have good habits, but maybe, we just want him to have a different set of good habits, you know? I don’t know that it’s always that clear-cut, like oh that was bad and it’s good now. I think for us, we got to clearly articulate everything we want these guys to do.”

The USC Trojans head coach didn’t sugarcoat anything. While he’s one of the youngest head coaches in the sport, Riley put out an old school brand and style when talking about the culture, expectation and message he’s relayed to his team.

“And we have to articulate not only how to do it, but what the expectation level is,” Riley added.

“I think once you establish that, then guys have to make a conscious decision, they’re like ‘I’ve been with the staff a little bit so I know they are going to hold me to it and then it’s just a decision am I going to make it or am I not?”