Report: UCF has made inquiries about Lincoln Riley for head coaching job

UCF is reportedly swinging for the fences by inquiring about Lincoln Riley for their vacant head coaching job, according to The Athletic.

Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo all reported for the outlet that UCF is interested in the USC head coach. Former head coach Gus Malzahn recently left his post as head coach to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State.

“Representatives from UCF reached out to Riley’s representatives last weekend to inquire about his interest in making a move across the country, one source said,” the report read. “Any discussions about adjusting the terms of Riley’s contract would be between him and USC, sources said.”

According to the report, Riley’s contract is estimated at $10 million a year and is three years into a 10-year deal. USC is a private institution and the contract details are not publicly available.

For Riley to leave USC, it would cost the hiring school, in this case UCF, tens of millions for the Trojans or the other school to pay out.

“The first source added that UCF has not received any word from Riley’s camp that he is interested in leaving USC, and the school is still looking at multiple candidates to fill its head coaching vacancy,” the report said. “Firing Riley, whose win total with the Trojans has decreased in each of his three seasons, would cost USC about $90 million, according to one of the sources. If Riley were to leave for another school, he would owe USC nothing. But UCF is not in position to replicate the deal Riley has at USC. Malzahn made $4 million in 2024 at UCF.”

As far as the money is concerned for Riley, here’s an interesting nugget from The Athletic.

“Two sources said even if Riley had an interest in making the move, it would require some payout of his current deal with USC to make up for what he would be giving up in the transition — like a professional sports trade where one team pays a chunk of a player’s remaining salary on a large contract and the receiving team picks up the rest,” the report read.

Riley is 25-14 at USC, but the win-loss record has regressed each season. While at Oklahoma from 2017-21, Riley went 55-10 and made it to the College Football Playoff three years in a row and won the Big 12 four straight years. The team went 10-2 in 2021 before leaving for the SEC.

Riley was hired by USC ahead of the 2022 campaign and has coached multiple Heisman Trophy winner QBs: Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams, as well as current Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who was a finalist.