Lincoln Riley doesn’t have a complicated checklist at USC. The brass in Los Angeles has a bottom-line expectation: deliver a national championship, or the experiment is a failure.
In a season where Riley will be bombarded with hot seat talks through and through, and more ferociously than he was last season, Cohen’s remarks become a benchmark for Riley.
“The expectation has always been the same,” Cohen told the Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje. “That’s the thing; that’s the reason why I came here, is that the standard is high. We do expect to make the playoffs. We do expect to have a championship run. We do expect to be competing for championships every single year.”
“I think that’s what’s awesome about USC, is that that’s what we all expect of it. And I know that I’m not the only one that expects that. I know our fans expect that. I know that he expects that.”
Lincoln Riley on Hot Seat?
GettyUSC AD Jen Cohen lays down the expectations for head coach Lincoln Riley amid head coach talks.
When USC put pen to paper with Riley back in 2021, it was as if they landed a goldmine. Part of that proved to be true when he went 11-3 in his first season with the Trojans. Ever since, the expectations have been the National Title.
Things haven’t gone as planned, though. He went 8-5 in 2023, bottomed out at 7-6 during USC’s Big Ten debut in 2024, and only managed a modest rebound to 9-4 last season, not giving one double-digit win season.
“There’s no doubt that this last year’s been frustrating, and that’s because we tried to fly a plane and build a plane at the same time. So it’s certainly not going swimmingly, right?” Cohen told The Times last week.
Last season, USC lost five of it’s final 6 regular season games. And that was when they had geenrational No.1 overall talent like Caleb Williams and an offense that scored that at will.
Why Riley Has a Serious Shot At Winning in 2026
GettyUSC AD Jen Cohen lays down the expectations for head coach Lincoln Riley amid head coach talks.
2026 is even better for Riley, though, since USC clinched the No. 1 overall high school recruiting class in 2026. The massive, 35-man class, stacked with 22 blue-chip recruits is the first non-SEC program to finish on top of the 247Sports Composite rankings since 2008. So enough talkent for Riley to win the National Championship twice.
“And so I really like this team. I really like the kids that we brought in. I love the returners. I love the leadership of this team,” Cohen added.
USC AD Reveals Expectations From Lincoln Riley in 2026 Amid Hot Seat Talks