Everything about Lincoln Riley's coaching career has been accelerated. He started coaching at 20, as an undergraduate assistant at Texas Tech. His first full-time assistant coaching role came at 24, as the wide receivers coach for the Red Raiders. He was a coordinator by 26, as part of the fallout from Leach's firing at Tech.
Riley became a Power 5 head coach by 33, and seven years later he's 69-13 with six straight AP Top 12 finishes, three Heisman Trophy winners, and a whole lot of points.
The Muleshoe, Texas, quickly established himself as one of the top offensive minds in the game, which put his career on the fast track. And because his career has been so accelerated, Riley suggested in a recent interview that his retirement might be accelerated, too.
"I'm on the clock," Riley said on "In Depth" with Graham Bensinger. "I don't know how I'll feel in a few years, when I became a head coach so young – I became a head coach at 33 – my mindset was always like, 'If I can make it to 50.' Because there [are] other things I want to do."
Riley said the desire to experience different things in life was what pushed him from Oklahoma to USC in 2021.
"I don't even know exactly what they are. I don't know that I have the list right now," Riley said. "But I just know there's other things I want to do and experience. And I may have a different tune when I get to 49, but I don't care a lot about legacy. I don't care, in terms of like how many games you won. I've never cared about that. Whenever I'm on my deathbed, I don't think I'm gonna give a damn about how many games I won, or if I have a statue."
One can see how Riley's career path has shaped his desires.
His first mentor and boss, Mike Leach, passed tragically at 61. The reason he became a head coach at 33 was because his then-boss, Bob Stoops, retired at 56.
And with a contract reportedly totaling $110 million and a $17 million piece of Southern California real estate, Riley will undoubtedly be able to afford to call it quits whenever he wants.
Let's just hope Riley doesn't retire before we get at least one USC vs. Oklahoma game.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.