Ryan Kartje5
kartje talks about USC coach Lincoln Riley
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00:00 It hasn't gone over that well, as you might imagine.
00:06 It's interesting because, you know, when Lincoln Riley came to USC, he had a reputation at
00:11 Oklahoma for, you know, being paranoid.
00:14 Not that that's that much different than, you know, most college football coaches, but
00:20 he seemed to be on the higher end of that.
00:22 And you hear a little bit from the media there about, you know, his sort of feelings about
00:27 the media and sort of seeing them as a necessary evil, if you will.
00:33 But when he came here, the thought was, well, he understands that L.A. is a little different.
00:41 You know, you can't get away with just sort of limiting access.
00:44 This is a program that Pete Carroll, I mean, the reputation was that he let anyone in.
00:51 You could come off the street and watch practice, like, at any moment.
00:55 So, you know, the folks here have gotten pretty used to that idea.
00:59 And I think, you know, it's totally fine if you start to close that down if you're winning.
01:06 No one really starts to complain about it other than maybe us reporters.
01:11 No one really wants to hear us complain.
01:13 But when you're losing, suddenly it's a symptom of, you know, the program sort of going downhill.
01:21 And I think that's really where people's heads have started to go lately.
01:26 I mean, the week of the Arizona State game, when he suspends Luka Evans, fellow reporter
01:32 of mine.
01:33 Now, there is some more nuance to that situation just with certain media rules.
01:39 But it was obviously an overreaction and was then changed by Lincoln after the reaction
01:47 was so strong.
01:48 And, you know, this week when he didn't allow players to come out and speak, I was told
01:55 it was the first time in 20 years that anyone had ever seen players not be allowed to speak
02:01 after a game.
02:02 Now, I understand that the team was heartbroken after that loss, difficult defeat to deal
02:09 with.
02:10 But that said, I think the whole mission of college sports and the media is that you sort
02:16 of get these guys prepared for those moments.
02:18 And Caleb Williams, especially, is a guy who's going to face a lot of scrutiny when he's
02:23 with a bad team next year as their lead quarterback.
02:27 So I think there was a learning experience that was kind of lost there.
02:31 But on a bigger, more macro note, it really seems like Lincoln Riley has kind of dug in,
02:39 like I was saying, with this sort of us versus them mentality.
02:42 There's been a lot of language about, you know, inside these walls and people outside
02:47 don't get it.
02:48 And, you know, again, that works if you're winning.
02:53 And when you're not, it starts to become, you know, a flaw.
02:58 And I think that's kind of where we're at right now is that, you know, it looks like
03:02 Lincoln is sort of tightening the ship and no one is eager to defend him, really, in
03:10 the media at this point, given how things have gone.
03:14 But, you know, again, I think these are things that can be fixed with winning.
03:19 But that said, I just I don't know that the mindset of the team right now is at its most
03:25 healthy.
03:27 And I'm curious because Lincoln Riley's never really had to deal with that sort of thing.
03:32 At Oklahoma, he won most of his regular season games.
03:35 There weren't many two game losing streaks, if any, that didn't extend into the postseason.
03:41 So this is a new challenge for him.
03:45 And I think, you know, he's a smart guy.
03:47 I think, you know, he's also a stubborn guy, but he's a smart guy.
03:50 And I think, you know, he'll figure out figure that out.
03:54 And I don't think this is a situation in which, like the fans are suggesting, like, this is
03:58 the beginning of the end or anything.
04:00 I know there's been a lot of talk recently about where you go to the NFL and and all
04:05 that.
04:06 And he made kind of a comment after the game suggesting he was going to be there for the
04:10 long haul.
04:11 And I think that was, you know, purposeful that he made that comment.
04:17 But I don't think he's going anywhere.
04:19 And I think USC fans are just going to have to sort of settle into some of these bumps
04:23 in the road, because the reality is this was a team that was four and eight before he took
04:27 over.
04:28 And last year, Caleb Williams saved them in a lot of a lot of situations so that those
04:34 situations aren't quite happening as much this year.
04:38 And I think it's just going to take some time for for people to get used to it.
04:42 But I I would hope that we don't have another game in which players are kept from speaking
04:47 to the media.
04:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]