Former SEC Coach Wonders Whether Lincoln Riley’s Seat Is Getting Hot as UCLA Blasts USC

ESPN college football analyst Dan Mullen asked one simple question late on Saturday afternoon:

“Are we sure that they have the right coach on the hot seat in LA,” Mullen posted on X.

Mullen’s post was sent in the midst of UCLA blowing the doors off USC, a game which the Bruins won 38–20 at the Coliseum to send the Trojans cratering to a 7-5 record.

All week, the focus was on reports of Chip Kelly’s job security at UCLA, as he entered the game against the rival Trojans squarely on the hot seat.

Following the game, the heat has instead been placed under the seat of Riley, whose USC team has played poorly in his second year as the school’s coach. USC has fielded one of the worst defenses in the Power Five, and has wasted away what is likely to be quarterback Caleb Williams’s last year at the college level.

Here are some of the best reactions to Mullen’s post, which caught steam on social media following UCLA’s emphatic win against USC.

Dan Mullen off the top rope.

(But also a real question that I texted @AriWasserman about 15 minutes ago.) https://t.co/FJL0rkTNQt

— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) November 18, 2023

https://t.co/uSk3xTsWLz pic.twitter.com/DnBJoHQNrZ

— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) November 18, 2023

https://t.co/scin1xhp7U pic.twitter.com/tbRpqqlBQ5

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) November 19, 2023

That's right Dan Mullen https://t.co/EgIB35cYiN

— Jason Kirk (@JasonKirk_fyi) November 18, 2023

Dan Mullen asking the tough questions out here https://t.co/2ihNCe5bsq

— The Solid Verbal College Football Podcast (@SolidVerbal) November 18, 2023

Whoooo https://t.co/dRtPa08A8e

— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) November 18, 2023

Targeting. https://t.co/ValDTixrAZ

— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) November 18, 2023