Lincoln Riley's cowardly handling of Desmen Stephens debacle is a fireable offense

"Because he's on our football team." That was USC head coach Lincoln Riley's answer to a reporter's question as to why linebacker Desman Stephens stayed on the Trojan sideline after being ejected for targeting. Stephens hit Oregon quarterback Dante Moore in the head while he was sliding, resulting in the Ducks having to send their starter to the hospital.

Riley also claimed he didn't see Stephens celebrating the ugly hit on the field or on the sidelines, even when Moore was still dazed on his back. Say what you will about the hit itself. Targeting? Late? Whatever. But Stephens gloating like he just made a game-winning stop when a guy is near-unconscious is unacceptable behavior.

Los Angeles Times columnist Mirjam Swanson described the whole thing perfectly as "a symbol of unrepentance and a lack of accountability. Of crass classlessness. A symbol of USC football."

Regardless of whether Riley actually cared about the hit, if he was a real leader of young men, he would've sent Stephens to the locker room. Rather than chalking it up to discipline, he should've been trained in crisis management and the first step in this case would've been to remove the distraction. All folks on the internet could do was point out Stephens (No. 8) dancing, smiling and dapping up teammates literal feet behind Riley.

If he was told to stay on the sideline and was seen still wearing his pads and helmet, that's one thing. But the evidence points to him being allowed back on the sideline after heading to the locker room and changing out of his equipment. There was an intentionality behind the decision to permit him back on the sideline.

USC has a culture problem with Lincoln Riley, and it needs to end

Saturday's tolerance of Stephens' unsavory behavior isn't the first time something like this has happened under Riley at USC. In 2024, linebacker Mason Cobb took out a Rutgers player after leading with the crown of his helmet. While the player was being tended to on the field, Cobb could be seen smiling and using the Steph Curry "night night" celebration.

Football is a physical game and people get hurt, but it's also about mutual respect. If coaches tolerate players treating injury-inducing hits like touchdowns, the ripple effects will trickle down to younger generations. That's no example to be setting, especially in the chaos of the college athletics landscape to begin with.

Even if you want to remove this episode from judgment of Riley's tenure entirely, fine. Then let's take a look at the football: Saturday's 41-27 loss was the program's fifth straight to Oregon and the third consecutive loss with Riley at the helm. He's now fallen to 6-14 against ranked opponents while leading the Trojans. He may not get fired immediately, but that felt like a must-win game that was tied in the fourth quarter and wound up being a two-touchdown final deficit.

Riley's fate won't be decided until the end of this season at the earliest. The fallout from Stephens' hit will blow over and the focus will return to winning football games. Yet the school must be mulling whether a $60-80 million buyout after five years is a worthy price for moving on.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow