When Lincoln Riley said Saturday night that he wouldn't be LSU's next coach, Oklahoma fans exhaled.
A day later, Sooner Nation is in shock. Riley is leaving Oklahoma, but not for the SEC. He's headed to USC to be the next Trojans coach, a seismic move in an already historic college coaching carousel. Riley's hire is massive for USC, the Pac-12 and west coast recruiting, and gives the program a jolt it has been lacking since the Pete Carroll era.
His stunning departure cuts deep for Oklahoma, which brought Riley in to galvanize its offense and then promoted him to follow a Hall of Famer in Bob Stoops.