Media personality Paul Finebaum has used conference media days to spread several hot takes in the last couple of weeks, one of which was he would fire USC head coach Lincoln Riley. On Monday, Finebaum joined ESPN’s “First Take” to provide a solution to the Trojans’ “problem”: hiring Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
Is Deion Sanders USC’s Savior? Paul Finebaum Believes So
After Stephen A. Smith praised Riley and the job he has done in Southern California, Finebaum tripled down on his recent takes on the head coach.
“To me, it’s about trajectory, and I think he has lost the momentum. You have to win in LA, otherwise you lose badly. And I think he’s losing badly. Instead of harping on Lincoln Riley, I decided to come up with a solution. The answer is moving forward, and I believe the answer after this season is Deion Sanders.
“He’s going to be tired of Colordao because, quite frankly, it’s not Prime Time. … You put Prime in Tinseltown, and I think you have one of the great combinations in history. I think Sanders, as the coach at USC, is the answer to the problem. Sanders exudes exactly what that community is all about.”
.@finebaum says Deion Sanders would be the perfect replacement for Lincoln Riley at USC 👀 pic.twitter.com/9HbqEYDG4u
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 22, 2024
Although the Trojans haven’t won a national title in their two years under Riley, they’ve had success. In Clay Helton’s final four years at the helm, USC won just 22 games, culminating in a 4-8 campaign in 2021.
Since Riley stepped foot on campus, the Trojans have won 19 games, including an 11-3 first year, and appeared in back-to-back bowl games, knocking off Louisville 42-28 in the Holiday Bowl last season.
Meanwhile, Sanders led Colorado to a 4-8 record last year, a three-win improvement on the program’s 1-11 outing in 2022. But how the Buffaloes got to 4-8 tells a different story.
They took the nation by storm to open the year, rattling off three non-conference victories over TCU, Nebraska, and Colorado State. Then, they fell flat on their faces, finishing 1-8 the rest of the season.
However, you’d think Finebaum had Riley and Sanders switched in the way he talks about them.
MORE: Deion Sanders on the Defensive Over Recruiting Strategy at Colorado
When asked, “How much does Lincoln Riley have to prove at USC this year?” while on First Take last Monday, Finebaum unloaded:
“I think he has an enormous amount to prove because, quite frankly, I think he’s been a disaster. Let’s go back three years: Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC. What did Lincoln Riley do? He ran away. … I thought last year was one of the worst coaching jobs I’ve ever seen.
“Quite frankly, had I been the athletic director at USC, I would’ve fired Lincoln Riley because he has yet to show, after many years as a head coach, he knows anything about defense — he’s gone through defensive coordinators; he just simply couldn’t handle it.
“And now things are going to be five times worse in the Big Ten. … This is a guy who owned LA for about half a minute, and next year at this time, I think he’ll more than likely be an assistant in the NFL — if he’s that lucky.”
Even after some time to rethink his position and hearing a strong defense from Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Finebaum doubled down last Wednesday, saying, “We all are impressed by what he did at Oklahoma — we’ll give him a parade. But the bottom line is, he ran away from Oklahoma because he was afraid of being in the SEC.
“Last year, we saw a complete and total meltdown, a crash and burn of epic proportions. … They are in the Big Ten, and nobody is going to be talking about them. … I think they are going to run out of patience with him. … I think Lincoln Riley is done at USC.”
While Finebaum spent his time ripping Riley instead of his team, he did the exact opposite with Sanders and Colorado.
“They’re not going to the playoff this year. In fact, I’m not sure Deion Sanders is ever going to the playoffs because I don’t think he has the patience to stay at Colorado long enough. … Sanders is the best salesman I’ve ever seen. I personally love the guy and for what he stands for. The program looking out has a ridiculously inflated view of itself.”
Finebaum went on to call the Buffs “an easy win” and “not everybody’s Super Bowl,” referring to comments star QB Shedeur Sanders made last week. And to conclude his tirade, he made it clear Coach Prime isn’t the issue in Boulder:
“I know the media loves this story. We fall all over ourselves, but Colorado isn’t important in college football. Deion Sanders is … but Colorado is nothing.”
MORE: 2024 Big Ten Power Rankings
Finebaum’s fiery critiques and bold suggestions make headlines, but the reality is Riley has proven himself as a head coach at two elite programs in Oklahoma and USC (74-18 career record with three College Football Playoff appearances and six bowls games), and Sanders has only begun his Power Four journey at a school that hasn’t won double-digit games since 2001.
To paraphrase rapper Jadakiss, Riley and Sanders are in the same game, just different levels.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest news and analysis, rankings, transfer portal information, top 10 returning players, the 2024 college football season schedule, and much more!