Trojan Talk: Give Lincoln Riley credit where it's deserved

Lincoln Riley has taken a lot of deserved heat from a fan base with diminishing patience after watching his Trojans post diminishing records the last two years.

There are fair criticisms that remain to be addressed with Riley's game management decisions -- like needing to commit to the run when it's clear to everyone else to be the most effective component of the offense, dialing up less fade passes to receivers who don't particularly excel at contested catches, etc. -- and perhaps with roster management and recruiting as well, though the realities of NIL and lack of clarity on such matters make it hard to evaluate each departure or recruiting loss fairly.

Anyways, topics for another day ...

One area where Riley deserves credit -- and a reason why there should remain plenty of optimism in his ability to guide this program forward -- is in staff building and hiring decisions.

The latest power moves, of course, were hiring longtime NFL defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to coach the linebackers and hiring general manager Chad Bowden, considered one of the top player personnel guys in college football, away from rival Notre Dame.