Josh Pate floats cryptic rumor linking Lincoln Riley that has USC fans on edge

Josh Pate is stirring the pot again and Lincoln Riley is in the thick of the stew.

The ESPN college football analyst was on the 'The Locker Room' podcast with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. He was asked if he had any sort of feeling about the job openings in college football and that's when Pate decided to drop some not-so-subtle hints about the USC coach.

"So let me just put this on your radar. Let's just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC," Pate said. 

There's a little creative editing in that clip, but the show did end on that statement (you can watch the full show here). Before Pate dropped that bombshell, he also talked about the potential of Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham leaving his alma mater if the price was right.

So what's the hot rumor with Riley?

Nothing yet and there's no need to read anything into what Pate is saying right now. Pate isn't necessarily one to throw out a bunch of fire without some form of smoke somewhere in his circle. The obvious link is Riley and LSU. 

​Riley was thought to be LSU's top candidate for the job opening back in 2021 after the school and Ed Orgeron parted ways. At the time, Riley was the head coach at Oklahoma and in the first days of speculation it seemed like him going to LSU was a done deal. But then Riley came out publicly and said he wasn't going to LSU. The school decided to hire Brian Kelly and Riley shocked many when he left the Sooners to head to USC. 

Now the LSU job is open again, and it makes sense that there would be some rumblings about Riley. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, be reminded that Riley is making a LOT of money at USC and the Louisiana Governor just held a press conference last week about the need to stop giving football coaches big contracts. 

​So if not LSU, then who?

​Again, whoever is interested in Riley is going to have to at least match the massive contract he's getting at USC and I don't see that happening. Not at LSU, not at Florida and not at Penn State. None of those schools give him any better of a chance to win than USC, and Riley isn't deserting the top recruiting class in the country. 

USC's biggest competition for Riley remains the NFL and, as of right now, that doesn't seem to be in the cards.