Lincoln Riley has to be one of the luckiest head coaches alive. After coming to South Cali from Norman with a 55–10 record and a natty promise, Riley has failed to deliver so far in his four-year tenure. However, rather than hitting a very expensive buyout, the program has decided to give every resource to take USC back to its relevance. As a result, the Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the class of 2026; with that level of luxury comes immense pressure. The word is, USC’s GM won’t accept anything less than natty next season.

On February 3, USC General Manager Chad Bowden didn’t hold back during a recent media roundtable, admitting he was “sick to my stomach” over the team’s failure to make the College Football Playoff.

“What just happened wasn’t good enough,” Bowden said about their 2025 season. “It’s black or white. Either you’re in the playoffs, or you’re not. You either win a championship or you don’t. I’m sick to my stomach of people who cover us. I’m sick to my stomach for donors.

I’m sick to my stomach of people who might be unhappy with winning nine games, and they should be unhappy. We have to go out and do what we’re supposed to do. It’s USC, and USC expects to win championships, and it’ll happen soon enough.”

Even though the Trojans improved to a 9–4 record last season, Bowden isn’t interested in participation trophies or any glorified December bowl. He made it clear that at a blue-blood school like USC, you either win a championship or you’ve failed, period.

This brutal honesty has put Lincoln Riley in an uncomfortable tight spot as he prepares for the 2026 season. While Riley is famous for his offensive genius, experts like Colin Cowherd have noted that the team still lacks the “bully” mentality on defense needed to win big games, especially against heavy-running teams.

They were allowing somewhere around 143.2-ish yards on the ground. However, the good news is they brought Gary Patterson out of retirement. He has cracked the No. 1 total defense five times during his 21 years of HC tenure at TCU. USC is expecting a return on investment as soon as possible.

With a massive coaching buyout rumored to be around $90 million and over $300 million recently invested in state-of-the-art facilities, the university’s leadership is demanding results that match the price tag.

A huge part of the drama centers on NIL money. USC currently has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2026, which reportedly cost a whopping $9 million to pull together. Bowden has been the mastermind behind this spending spree, using the “money era” of college sports to land the best talent in the country.

Some analysts argue that the current NIL system is actually protecting Riley because the school is spending so much on player contracts that they might not have the financial liquidity left over to pay off Riley’s massive contract if they wanted to move on.

Interestingly, Bowden’s comments were intended to show accountability. By publicly admitting he feels “sick” for the fans and donors, he has essentially set a “playoff or bust” mandate for the upcoming year.

As we move into the 2026 season, there are officially “no more excuses” left. The Trojans have a brutal schedule featuring heavyweights like Ohio State and Oregon.

As much of a curse as NIL is for Lincoln Riley, there are some blessings that come along with it.

Lincoln Riley’s controversial NIL shade

On February 2, USC coach Lincoln Riley discussed how NIL is changing the game and creating more equal opportunity than ever before.

“I think the parity—I think it’s what you said,” Lincoln Riley said. “It’s stories that wouldn’t have happened before that are happening now. I mean, now, you know, now there’s not just one part of the country paying players.

Everybody’s able to do it. And it’s a great thing, because it created a much more level playing field, and it’s given schools the opportunity to really compete if they want to invest.”

He basically said that the “secret” is out: it’s not just one part of the country paying players under the table anymore. Now that everything is out in the open and legal, schools all over the map can step up and compete if they’re willing to put up the money.

He even threw shade at the SEC by saying ‘one part of the country is paying players,’ as they are currently in their longest national title drought since the early 2000s. The SEC hasn’t won a natty since Georgia in 2022. Because of this NIL rule, now every other program is finally catching up. That didn’t go well with some SEC fans in the comments section.

Even though he’s a fan of the new system, Riley admitted it’s still a work in progress and has some kinks to iron out.