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With head coach Lincoln Riley leading the USC football team this upcoming season, it's important to look at the people that came before him in the same position, one especially is Pete Caroll. As Riley prepares the USC football team for the 2025 season, he would also speeak about Carroll being in the College Football Hall of Fame.
There is an obvious connection here as Carroll, current head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, was in the same position with the Trojans from 2001 to 2009. Riley would say he should be in the aforementioned Hall of Fame, even though he acknowledged that he needs one more year to be eligible, according to On3 Sports.
“I first wanted to say last year at this event in Indianapolis, I spoke on (myself and many others) spoke on Mike Leach’s candidacy for the [College Football] Hall of Fame,” Riley said Thursday. “At that point, I know a lot of us expressed that some people’s impact on college football goes beyond maybe any prerequisites for an honor like the Hall of Fame. I know a lot of [the media] covered that and wrote stories and reported on that and obviously that was very, very successful.”
“Also, would like to stay in that lane and really advocate for the candidacy of Pete Carroll into the College Football Hall of Fame,” Riley continued. “I know he’s one year short on the requirement, but it’s hard to imagine a guy that’s had an impact like coach Carroll had on college football. It’s difficult for my colleagues and I to imagine a Hall of Fame that exists without him and his impact.”
USC football's Lincoln Riley speaks more on Pete Carroll's impact
With fans and the college football world giving their bold predictions for the USC football team, as the season approaches, Riley would make sure to say how much Carroll's time in the sport meant to him.
“I don’t come to you as the head coach at USC just solely for that reason,” Riley said. “But as a fan of college football and somebody that watched coach Carroll’s teams and the way he interacted with his players and the way he impacted our sport. Just something I believe is the right thing to do, and it would be great for our game.”
At any rate, Riley looks to follow in the footsteps of Carroll and represent the Trojans as they open the season on August 30 against Missouri State.
