IMHO Sunday: Riley yields the power

In my humble opinion, cardinal and gold thoughts on what I see, what I hear, and what I think from Los Angeles:

The power: There’s no question, IMHO, that the man that yields the power – or at least the power equal to anybody else in the future selection of the USC athletic director – is head football coach Lincoln Riley. Given Riley’s success on and off the field during his first season at Troy and the fact that he has restored a positive national respect back to USC, his input into the selection of the next USC AD is not only critical but imperative.

The power – Part 2: It would be extremely foolish not to have Riley be part of either the search committee or at the very least a lead consultant before any decision is made. Riley could also give input into potential candidates he knows that would be a wonderful edition to both the athletic department and his football program, as well.

You can bet Lincoln Riley will have a big say in who is hired for the USC athletic director position.
(Photo above by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The power – Part 3: It’s natural to say that a football coach is going to make the call on the next athletic director, but it’s also natural to say that USC football is the straw that stirs the athletic drink. I think that Carol Folt understands that perspective, which is a reality by the way. However, I think that Riley is a team player as he has proven in his attendance to other sporting events on campus to gain the trust of all involved.

The power – Part 4: Obviously, the quicker this athletic director position can be filled the better. With decisions needing to be met with the Big Ten, selecting the right person is critical. Finding a person that doesn’t need a lesson on the importance of USC football is also important at the highest level. As mentioned, I would think that Lincoln Riley has a mental rolodex to give some candidates he thinks would benefit all the stakeholders in the athletic department.

The power – Part 5: Obviously, USC president Dr. Carol Folt is again under the microscope for all the wrong reasons. More than ever, she needs to make the right call and make sure there are skeletons in the hiring closet. Some have suggested that her job could be on the line if this AD selection goes awry. Already the local media has questioned how the alleged Mike Bohn harassment issues could have slipped through the cracks. Whether that was Folt’s fault or the search firm’s fault remains to be uncovered. What is not up for dispute is that Folt signed off on it.

USC president Dr. Carol Folt will be under intense scrutiny on whom she hires as her next athletic director.

The power – Part 6: It figures that Lincoln Riley, a smart dude to begin with, knows that getting the AD selection right is essential not only to his happiness but those colleagues he works with at USC. He also knows that when things go right at USC it’s the best of the best and when things don’t, it’s really an unpleasant experience.

The power – Part 7: Just who Lincoln Riley would like to see as his future boss remains to be transparent. What he does know is the man that brought him to USC from Oklahoma, his biggest supporter and booster, Mike Bohn, is now history. In fact, the two men that brought him to the West Coast from the Heartland, Bohn and assistant Brandon Sosa, are no longer part of the university. Might Riley put in a good word for Sosna if the current Detroit Lions executive wants to return and lead the Trojans athletic department? I would imagine that Riley would be one of the first ones to know.

Is former USC Athletic Department Chief of Staff Brandon Sosna, now with the Detroit Lions, a strong AD candidate?

The power – Part 8: The Trojans are in a window of opportunity to make some things happen in the athletic director derby. The academic school year is completed for most and there is a small lull in the action. If a qualified candidate wants to make a move to L.A., now would be the time. It depends how fast USC wants to move on this issue. IMHO, they should move mighty fast because they don’t have a choice.

Summation: As far as executing filling the athletic director’s position, USC is in a good way. In terms of sports and coaches, they are well stocked. In term of perception prior to the Bohn episode, things were looking good. Now, it appears, there has been some damage, but it can be fixed in an expedient manner. And the guy that can help make that happen is Lincoln Riley.

Here are some more potential AD candidates:

Greg Byrne – Alabama

Greg Byrne
(Photo above by A.J. Mast/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Jen Cohn – Washington

Jennifer Cohen
(Photo above by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Mack Rhoades – Baylor

Mack Rhodes
(Courtesy of Baylor Athletics)

Russ Bjork – Texas A&M

Russ Bjork

Kim Heaton – Ohio State

Kim Heaton

Jeremiah Donati – TCU

Jeremiah Donati

Heather Lyke – AD University of Pittsburgh

Heather Lyke
(Photo courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh)

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The David Shaw quotebook…

David Shaw
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The former Stanford head coach gives his assessment of Caleb Williams and makes comparisons with his former Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck.

“There’s only one 10 out of 10 that I have seen and that’s Andrew Luck. When Trevor Lawrence came out, I thought he was the best since Andrew. Caleb Williams is the best since Andrew. If he’s not a 10, he’s a 9.9999999… He’s special. To me, it’s Andrew one in this generation and Caleb Williams two. I don’t know if there is a close number three. This guy is different.

“His (Williams) improvisational skills are to the level of Patrick Mahomes. You get mesmerized watching this guy play… His accuracy, his athletic ability, his strength. You’re going to take a guy who has Andrew Luck’s accuracy, but he has the build of the behemoth of a quarterback in Philadelphia (Jalen Hurts). He’s not going down easy.

“It’s not just about his speed. This guy has natural ‘make you miss’ ability. What I love most about him, that most of the great ones have — he plays the game with a sense of calm. He knows he’s better than you. He’s going to run just fast enough that you can’t catch him.”

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From the press box…

(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Nobody asked me…but: I must admit that Folt or her advisors put together an interim leadership team that should be of great help while waiting for the announcement of a permanent athletic director. A number of the interim team have Big Ten experience and athletic director and conference leadership backgrounds.

Nobody asked me…but: Since I have a master’s in athletic administration and having vast knowledge of USC athletics, I am considering applying for Mike Bohn’s former position. 

Nobody asked me…but: To underscore the stunning resignation of former athletic director Mike Bohn, The Times reported this past week that four sources with knowledge confirmed that last year Bohn had signed a contract extension, which USC did not report.

The L.A. Times reported that recently resigned athletic director Mike Bohn had signed a contract extension last year.

Nobody asked me…but: Apparently there was quite a toxic atmosphere, according to On3 and The Athletic, at Cincinnati before Mike Bohn came to USC. How was it that nobody saw it during Bohn’s USC vetting process? The same alleged conduct at USC was also an issue at Cincinnati. At Cincinnati, according to documents, Bohn was also to have made alleged racially insensitive comments.

Nobody asked me…but: I wonder what is going on in the minds and thoughts of Mike Bohn and his family.

Nobody asked me…but: Raise your hand if you saw this Mike Bohn situation unfolding? I will say this, it wasn’t a surprise from those in the know.

Did anybody see the Mike Bohn resignation coming before last Friday?
(Photo above by Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Nobody asked me…but: Given the circumstances, I would think USC would want to hire somebody with a football and Big Ten background, which could lead to the doorstep of current Washington State athletic director Pat Chun, who applied the last time for the vacant USC AD position and received favorable reviews.

Nobody asked me…but: Until I see in writing that Pat Chun is not applying for the USC AD position, I consider him a strong candidate.

Nobody asked me…but: You don’t think that schools that compete with USC in recruiting aren’t going to use the Bohn situation to their advantage? Of course not.

You can bet that USC adversaries will use the Mike Bohn resignation as a negative recruiting tool against Lincoln Riley’s program.
(Photo above by Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Nobody asked me…but: Do you how difficult it was for me as a lifetime USC fan to go to a high school (Alhambra HS) and have as your fight song the Notre Dame Fight Song?

Nobody asked me…but: With BetOnline announcing it was making USC a 30-point favorite over San Jose State in the season opener and a 35.5 favorite over Nevada in the second game of 2023 with both games in the Coliseum, I think we can all sleep better in the “off-season.”

Nobody asked me…but: Given my choice, I’d rather have a 1 p.m. USC at Notre Dame kickoff (South Bend time) than the recently announced 7:30 p.m. A day game at ND is just spectacular, a night game is just plain cold.

It’s a 7:30 p.m. kickoff time in South Bend, Indiana, when the Trojans play at Notre Dame.
(Photo above by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images)

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The post-game show…

(Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)

The CFP semi-finals: Athlon’s 2023 College Football writes that this season’s CFP Final Four will be USC and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and Michigan and Alabama in the Rose Bowl. On this prediction, the Trojans can get to the Rose Bowl by being the No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Just don’t be No. 4 as they are now.

Bad commentary: In an article on the Mike Bohn resignation, former Trojans standout tight end Alex Holmes was none too happy about how it all reflects so poorly on his alma mater. Holmes told the Athletic, “You’re an elite university and the biggest money driver at the school, and you just can’t get this right? How can you have this level of incompetence?”

Former Trojans tight end standout Alex Holmes is not pleased with how the Trojans have handled some of the decision making.
(Photo above by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Bad commentary – Part 2: More Alex Holmes Athletic quotes: “It’s been almost 20 years of one mistake after another after another. It’s so disappointing. Pathetic. The thing is, all of us are numb to it by now. It’s par for the course.”

Petros comments: Regarding the Bohn situation, popular L.A. sports radio personality and former USC tailback Petros Papadakis said, “It’s embarrassing. These things just pile on each other. My God, it’s like non-stop.”

Former USC running back and sportscaster Petros Papadakis (above) calls the Mike Bohn resignation “embarrassing.”

Read all about it: The 2023 Athlon College Football Preview is now at newsstands everywhere.

2023 Athlon College Football

Quarterbacks celebration: The House of Victory, the NIL collective for USC, is having a “QB U” fundraiser on Monday, June 19, at the Hotel Vea in Newport Beach, California. Billing the event as an “evening of current and past icons,” celebrated Trojans quarterbacks Carson Palmer, Rodney Peete, Paul McDonald, John David Booty, Max Browne will represent the past and representing the current Trojans will be 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, Miller Moss, and Malachi Nelson. Cost to attend the affair is $20,000 a table or $2,500 per person. To purchase a table or ticket, contact info@houseofvictory.com or visit givebutter.com/QBU.

Quarterbacks celebration – Part 2: One name missing of all the listed quarterbacks that will be in attendance for the House of Victory’s “QB U fundraiser is Matt Leinart. We suspect that Leinart must have had a previous commitment or engagement for that evening.

Former Trojans Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer will be in attendance for the House of Victory fundraiser on June 19. (Photo above by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Thanks: A special thank you to radio host Jake Wimberly for having me on his popular ESPN affiliate show down in Mississippi. Jake, whose show “The Drive” on The Zone 105.9, covers all sports but specifically the Southeast Conference. He wanted to inquire about the Mike Bohn situation and its effects on the USC program.

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The Call-in Show…

Caller No. 1: Mr. Greg, how does the Mike Bohn fiasco compare to recent or past blunders?

Caller No. 1 while this is bad, it isn’t as bad because the athletic department and the teams are operating at a high level of success. The new AD will inherit athletic programs that are doing quite well as opposed to when Mike Bohn arrived at USC when the athletic department and programs didn’t resemble the athletic greatness of USC.

Caller No. 2, GK, do you have a personal choice you’d like to see as our new athletic director.

Caller No. 2, just somebody of high caliber, integrity, and knows how to maintain a storied athletic program. I don’t care if it’s a male or female, but somebody who “gets” USC. They should hire somebody with previous athletic director experience because of the situation the way it currently is.

Washington State athletic director Patrick Chun could be a strong candidate for the USC AD position.
(Courtesy of Washington State)

Caller No. 3: Greggie, could the Bohn situation be avoidable?

Caller No. 3, yeah, it’s called vetting. Obviously, based on what has come out since the departure of Mike Bohn, we’ve learned some of the stuff the former AD has been alleged to have done both at USC and Cincinnati have come to light. Not a pretty picture, but perhaps the vetting process needed a deeper drilldown.

Caller No. 4: Katzer, do you think the Mike Bohn collateral damage will affect Lincoln Riley’s football program?

Caller No. 4, only if they hire somebody that doesn’t get along with Riley and doesn’t allow him to run his program the way he sees fit. Lincoln came to USC based on his trust of both Mike Bohn and assistant Brandon Sosna and now both are gone. He knew he had the backing of Bohn and Sosna. You never know how Riley’s relationship with the next AD will be, but a smart AD won’t bite the hand that feeds him.

Don’t expect the resignation of Mike Bohn to slow down Lincoln Riley’s football program.
(Photo above by Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports)

Caller No. 5: Coach, I know you’ve worked with a number of athletic directors at the Division 1 level in one form or another. Is there one that stands out to you that you enjoyed working for or liked just being around?

Caller No. 5, that’s a great question. Certain athletic directors belong in certain places but get called to a higher level and it doesn’t always work out. One of the great athletic directors I had the pleasure of working for, most of you would mock him, and I would totally get it. That being said, I really enjoyed working for Dan Guerrero when he was the AD at UC Irvine. Just a great guy. In hindsight, he should never have taken the UCLA job but did because he played baseball for the Bruins. In subsequent years, he said he was most happy at UC Irvine. There were a lot of reasons “Danny” didn’t quite work out the way most expected, but he was honest, caring, and a real down to earth guy who I will always appreciate.