“Answer after this season is Deion Sanders.” Who could’ve thought that this small statement from Paul Finebaum would start such a massive debate on every sports news outlet out there? On July 16th, Finebaum was quite open regarding his hate for Lincoln Riley from the Trojans. “worst coaching job” and “would’ve fired” were just some of the comments that Finebaum made about Riley. Finebaum went on to state that the Trojans needed Coach Prime. Even on July 21st, Steven A. Smith agreed with Finebaum and claimed he never enjoyed Coach Prime at Boulder and would much rather see him at Trojans.

Now, on Undisputed on July 24th, Keyshawn Johnson finally explains why this would be a terrible idea and never work out. “It’s the weirdest thing ever. His personality is too much for the university. It’s way too much,” Johnson explained. It ain’t no doubt that what makes Coach Prime stand out SO much is his “Prime-Time” personality. This is what makes his team “everybody’s Super Bowl” as per Shedeur Sanders. Through amazing social media marketing and some trash-talking on the internet, Deion Sanders has got way too many eyeballs on him. And this is exactly what the USC Board of Trustees would not want for their program. Although Finebaum claimed that “Deion Sanders just exudes exactly what that community is all about” and Buffs fans know this is true, however, Coach Prime is not someone the Trojans would want to risk it all for. Every team wants to beat the cr*p out of CU and do you know why? It’s Deion Sanders. Not only does he have the potential No.1 QB on his team, but also the best college football player out there.

Also, despite of having a terrible season back in 2023, he still managed to pull views in for the Buffs and you know why? It’s because of this million-dollar empire he has created. He’s the young kid on the block and he has some great visions. This will not work well with USC. Johnson further went on to say, “My whole point is they’ve had that young personality, recruiting, all that. They didn’t like that.” USC would do much better with coaches who do not have loud personalities and definitely do not do the things Deion Sanders does. However, all of this does make you question what’s going on with Riley in the first place.

Too much pressure?

2022. That was the last time the Trojans were even close to being a good team. Lincoln Riley led the team to an 11-3 season and Caleb Williams grabbed the Heisman. Hell, even Paul Finebaum directly claimed that “One of the greatest hires” when Riley was taken up to lead USC. So what went wrong? The defense. It was already a problem back in 2022, however, 2023 saw it implode. The team never recovered from it and went on to lose 5 of its 6 games. If that wasn’t enough, the Trojans lost on their home turf to UCLA with 38-20 on the scoreboard.

However, despite all of that, Riley still went on to claim “We’re at the top of any conference” during Big 10 Media Days. Apparently, this confidence comes from the fact that Riley has “rebuilt” the USC Trojans. The team has improved both its defense and offense. Still, only the 2024 season will tell if any of it has been worth it.