Colorado football beat writer proposes coaching trade with USC

On Si's Mark McIntosh believes the Colorado football program would be wise to consider Lincoln Riley if Deion Sanders were to take his job as head coach of the USC Trojans, as Paul Finebaum has suggested.

"Buff fans certainly hope (Deion doesn't replace Riley at USC)," McIntosh wrote. "I just thought of something. Rick George is bold and talented. He’s the 'Athletic Director' of the Year according to his peers in the profession. Ricky G, if Sanders bolts for the City of Angels, hire Riley."

Riley would be the second-fiddle to Coach Prime in this case despite a far more impressive career résumé in coaching. As Finebaum pointed out, though, Riley has lost momentum in L.A. after an 8-5 2023 season.

"I think he's lost the momentum he had in that town," Finebaum said Monday with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's First Take (h/t BuffStampede). "You have to win in LA or otherwise, you lose badly. Instead of harping on Lincoln Riley, I've decided to come up with a solution. Maybe he does well, maybe he doesn't, but the answer is really moving forward, and I believe the answer after this season, is Deion Sanders. He's going to be tired of Colorado because quite frankly it's not Prime Time. He's done as well as he can with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, but you put Prime in Tinseltown and you have one of the greatest combinations in history."

Lincoln Riley would be a great hire for Colorado football

Going from Karl Dorrell to Coach Prime to Riley would prove how real the "Prime Effect" is.

CU was never in a position to nab a big-name coach from Oklahoma or USC before Sanders elevated the program. Now, it appears as though Colorado will be a destination school even after Deion leaves the Rockies.

Riley would be a great hire. Full stop. It's just that few in Boulder would want to see him essentially traded for Deion.