After spending five seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley bolted for the University of Southern California in 2021.
During his tenure with the Sooners, he won four straight Big 12 title games and went 55-10. So, when he left, fans were understandably upset.
But some took it way too far.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley yells to his team before a play during the first half of a game against TCU Oct. 16, 2021, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams, File)
Riley revealed that shortly after he took the Trojans job, Oklahoma fans tried to break into his house on multiple occasions.
“Yeah, I had … a lot of different people trying to break into the house the days after it happened,” Riley said on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”
“And 95% of the fans and people out there at Oklahoma or anybody else are great. You typically always have that percentage that at times take it too far. Obviously, this was one of those instances.”
Riley wasn’t concerned about his home. He had bigger things to worry about.
Southern California coach Lincoln Riley speaks during Pac-12 media day July 29, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
“I didn’t care about the house. I didn’t care about anything else, just [my family’s] safety,” he said, revealing someone got access to his 9-year-old daughter’s cell phone number. “We wanted the girls to be able to finish out school because the semester was almost over. And as that stuff transpired, we said, ‘No, we gotta get them the hell out of here as fast as we can.'”
Riley’s wife, Caitlin, said the family hired armed security, and the family received suspicious packages from unknown people.
Riley led the Sooners to three College Football Playoff appearances but never managed to win a game in the tournament. His teams saw the emergence of two Heisman Trophy winners, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Both were No. 1 NFL draft picks.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley during a game against the California Golden Bears Nov. 5, 2022, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In his first year with the Trojans, Riley went 11-3, losing in the Pac-12 Championship to Utah for a chance at the CFP. Their quarterback, Caleb Williams, won the Heisman and is the favorite to go first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
