Decline of Riley & Gundy in 2024 Fueled by a Lack of Accountability

Lincoln Riley and Mike Gundy came into the 2024 college football season as celebrated coaching figures poised to make a big splash in their respective new-look leagues.

Riley was lauded as an offensive prodigy at Oklahoma, hailed as the mastermind behind explosive offenses who seemed destined to do the same at USC.

Gundy, entering his 20th season at Oklahoma State, had crafted a borderline elite reputation, with a resume boasting a conference championship, a few Big 12 division titles and a Fiesta Bowl win in a career-best 2011 season.

Both appeared on the cusp of reaching even higher — but as the season winds down, each finds himself struggling through a rare losing season and an even rarer test of personal accountability.

Lincoln Riley: The Lamborghini That Stalled

When Riley arrived at USC, expectations were sky-high. In his first season, he brought in eventual Heisman winner Caleb Williams and led the Trojans to 11 wins, nearly capturing a playoff spot. By 2024, however, Williams has moved on to the NFL, and Riley’s Trojans have limped to a 4-5 record.

The shine has worn off of USC head coach, Lincoln Riley, in Year 3 leading the Trojans.

This includes losses to Minnesota, Maryland, depleted Michigan and Washington teams, and Penn State — all by one score — despite a much-improved USC defense under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn.

Riley's once-electric offense is now stalling at the worst moments, and his ongoing refusal to replace the turnover-prone Miller Moss with the mobile and promising transfer Jaden Maiava has frustrated USC fans. This is the same fanbase that once mocked Oklahoma fans for their criticisms of Riley, but they are now equally relentless in calling out the Trojan head coach for his failure to advance the program.

Riley’s excuses about facilities, NIL resources and the schedule the team faces in the Big Ten — which doesn’t even include top contenders Oregon or Ohio State this season — are even falling flat with those in the USC fan base who used to stand as the coach’s staunchest defenders, with former Trojan players openly mocking Riley on Social Media at an increasingly high rate.

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In one tweet, former Trojan Great LenDale White lamented that USC "can't even get in the Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles Bowl" after dropping to 4-5 on the season, and the scathing critique also extended to Riley’s play-calling and Moss’s three-interception performance against the Huskies, with White arguing that Riley’s hefty contract hasn’t brought the results USC fans expected.

White’s tweets echoed sentiments of Riley’s growing list of detractors claiming the coach’s success is inflated, calling him a “glorified QB coach” who “ran” from Oklahoma and even claiming Riley is “stealing” money from USC, with his massive 10-year, $110 million contract. 

White went on to suggest Riley “donate [his] salary to help recruit that coaching job” since he “ain’t helping s***” in his current role.

I’m gonna be completely honest Lincoln Riley should be embarrassed. They should probably do him like they did Lane Kiff.

— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) October 19, 2024

Frustrated by the state of USC football, White went so far as to campaign to replace Riley himself, saying, “Pay me to be mediocre. I swear I can do it.”

Lincoln u are fucking stealing from USC. Donate ur salary to help recruit that coaching job u doing ain’t helping shit

— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) November 3, 2024

Critics point to his tenure at Oklahoma, where he inherited a powerhouse program from Bob Stoops. His initial success — three Big 12 titles and playoff berths in as many seasons — masked deeper issues. Under Riley, Oklahoma’s defense and strength and conditioning program became notorious liabilities, and his last season saw the Sooners finish a disappointing third in the Big 12 with late-season losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State leaving OU fans questioning Riley’s effort to win the program’s 7th straight conference title (5th under Riley).

Rather than adapt to the challenges faced by Oklahoma in an impending move to the SEC, Riley left for USC, presumably hoping for a softer path to success. Now, he faces the same issues he left behind, with fans and media questioning whether his high-flying offense can withstand the pressure of elite defenses in one of the country’s two power conferences, with the Trojans, crosstown-rival UCLA, Washington and Oregon entering the Big 10 this season.

Riley’s refusal to diversify his play-calling was perhaps most evident in his overreliance on star quarterback Williams during the eventual Number-1-overall pick’s two years with the Trojans – when the coach criminally underutilized dynamic running back Marshawn Lloyd’s eight-yards-per-rushing-attempt average and instead relied on a pass-heavy scheme and Williams’ ability to thrive off-script.

Riley’s quick-strike attack, while often devastating for opposing defenses, has often been criticized for the strain it puts on his own defense. When the Riley attack is firing on all cylinders, it leads to single-digit-play drives and often severely lopsided time of possession for the opposing offenses – especially those who play at a moderate pace and utilize a balanced or run-heavy attack like the majority of teams in the Big 10. When the offense sputters, the same issue can occur, as three-and-out drives often take less than a minute off the clock.

But Riley, a disciple of Mike Leach, has never concerned himself with playing “complimentary football,” utilizing a more methodical and balanced attack with a goal of shortening the game with longer drives taking precious time off the clock – keeping the opposing offense on the sideline and allowing your defense time to recuperate.

In the Big 12, Riley rarely found himself in danger due to the Sooners’ clear personnel advantage against the rest of the league and the pair of Heisman-winning quarterbacks he inherited, not to mention the elite coaching and support staff – and recruiting machine that was set on autopilot thanks to the culture of success Stoops fostered in his 17 seasons in Norman.

To put it plainly, Stoops left a meticulously maintained super car and the team of mechanics to keep it running at peak condition long after he was gone. In SoCal, Riley was left a project car, and he arrived without the mechanics that could help him do something he never had to do, put the pieces together himself to recreate the Ferrari he drove in Norman.

USC supporters, once thrilled by Riley’s arrival, are now echoing sentiments familiar to Oklahoma fans: Lincoln Riley can scheme offense and help already elite talent flourish, but he is clueless about how to promote and cultivate a program that thrives in playing complimentary football. Even worse? The coach is not only failing to adapt, but he’s an excuse machine who refuses to take accountability for his own failures.

Mike Gundy: The Cowboy Who Lost His Way

If Riley’s success story is marred by excuses and strategic rigidity, Gundy’s has been worn thin by complacency. With a career record of 169-85 entering his 20th season in 2024, Gundy’s reputation as a Big 12 stalwart rested largely on the goodwill of a fanbase that has for so many years appreciated his gritty, homegrown persona.

But that goodwill is waning of late as Gundy’s Cowboys have stumbled to 3-6 in 2024, winless in the Big 12, and without traditional rivals like Oklahoma to blame.

Head coach at Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy, is under fire with his Cowboys at 3-6.

Gundy was just 4-15 against Big Brother Oklahoma — his in-state rival that he’s since refused to schedule, claiming OSU’s non-conference slate is “full for 15 years,” even as the Cowboys added other Power 5 opponents who pale in comparison.

Oklahoma State’s peak season under Gundy was 2011, when the Cowboys captured a Big 12 title and a Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 4 Stanford. But since taking over at OSU in 2005, his record against Power 5 teams with ten or more wins has been a dismal 14-34.

Most of those losses came in conference, so, similar to Riley, Gundy adopted a strategy for scheduling tough non-conference foes – essentially avoiding the practice as often as possible since his Cowboys have just three wins at home against Power 5 opponents with winning records in the previous 19 seasons.

This lack of competitiveness in high-stakes games is a glaring hole in his legacy. And yet, rather than acknowledge the program’s shortcomings, he’s chosen to lash out, labeling disgruntled fans “losers” and blaming social media for the team's woes as a projected season of glory crumbled right out from under OSU.

Gundy’s disdain for criticism has only fueled his reputation as a coach more interested in self-preservation than evolution. His offensive schemes have grown stale, and his hiring practices for assistants reflect his disinterest in taking the program to the next level. OSU’s recruiting is stagnant, and Gundy’s dismissiveness toward criticism suggests he’s increasingly out of touch with the fanbase that has adored him.

Gundy’s decision to criticize fans on Monday for questioning him and his staff came across poorly, especially to those who have defended him through increasing criticism in recent years. His brief, two-sentence apology on Twitter the next day, claiming he didn’t “intend to offend” fans “who have supported us and this program through the years,” failed to resonate with many. Some questioned the sincerity of his words, while others doubted he even wrote it himself.

Linked by Hubris and Fraudulent Coaching Legacies

The absence of accountability is the Achilles’ heel that has exposed the fatal flaws of Lincoln Riley and Mike Gundy as coaches. Their hubris in refusing to confront their shortcomings — instead attempting to blame everyone and everything but themselves — has laid bare the myths of their status as two of college football’s supposed “elite.” Their failure to compete with the sport's top programs is no longer just an anomaly; it’s a reflection of where they truly stand in the coaching fraternity.

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Both Riley and Gundy have shown the ability to leverage inherent advantages and thrive within them, but their successes have been built on circumstances rather than their own brilliance. Riley, for instance, was handed the keys to the Oklahoma Ferrari at a time when Bob Stoops had meticulously tuned the program to attract elite talent and establish a culture of excellence.

This made it relatively easy for Riley, a first-time head coach, to step into a ready-made machine and enjoy immediate success, without having to truly build from the ground up. His offenses were explosive, but the real heavy lifting — establishing a sustained winner — had already been done for him.

Gundy, meanwhile, built a respectable program at Oklahoma State by leveraging his coaching acumen and, more importantly, his personality to align with the deep pockets of billionaire donor Boone Pickens. This combination raised the expectations for OSU football, bringing it up from the Big 12 basement to a level of consistency rarely seen in Stillwater.

But let’s not confuse “respectable” with elite. Gundy’s accomplishments, impressive as they might seem within the context of OSU's history, were built against a low bar.

The Cowboy program was always compared to a bigger, stronger, and more consistent Oklahoma, and fans were conditioned to settle for just enough success to feel hopeful but not enough to be genuinely competitive.

Much of Gundy’s success was aided by a carefully crafted narrative — he was the coach who did more with less. This was enough to placate fans and keep them satisfied, even as OU continued to assert its dominance over OSU. Gundy’s ability to manipulate his non-conference schedule — avoiding tough opponents and picking favorable matchups — enabled him to keep the program ranked just highly enough to regularly finish near the top of a Big 12 conference that was shrinking in both size and national prestige.

But for all the smoke and mirrors, Gundy’s program never reached the peak. The Cowboys won just one conference title in his tenure, and that came in a season when the conference as a whole was at a low ebb.

What Gundy never truly addressed was his consistent failure to beat Oklahoma or Texas, and instead of conducting the necessary self-reflection, he developed a sharp ability to point the blame elsewhere — at media, rivals, and, more recently, OSU fans.

His refusal to assess his own weaknesses — particularly in terms of recruiting, development, and coaching adjustments—has prevented him from taking the necessary steps to elevate his program beyond mediocrity.

Now, with OU no longer a member of the Big 12 and the Cowboys expected to take on a more prominent role in a conference still searching for its identity, Gundy can no longer hide behind excuses. The landscape has changed, and his once-coveted “straight-shooter” persona is now being exposed as a cover-up for his program's glaring deficiencies. His ability to win against top-tier competition has been revealed as a product of his ability to exploit a shrinking Big 12, not a reflection of his coaching genius. And as his team falters this season, it is clear that the reputation Gundy carefully constructed for himself is unraveling.

As Oklahoma State prepares for the future, Gundy will be forced to confront the truth: the “power program” he has claimed to build is nothing more than a house of cards, propped up by convenience and a lack of accountability. The cracks are no longer hidden by the shadows of Texas and Oklahoma. If Gundy is to remain relevant in the Big 12’s new era, he’ll have to own his failures and make real changes — something he has stubbornly avoided throughout his tenure.

In reality, both Oklahoma State and USC must demand more — insisting that these coaches, or perhaps new ones, are fully accountable for both success and failure in their programs.