Colin Cowherd Claims USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley Need New General Manager

The USC Trojans had a disappointing season in 2024, and Colin Cowherd is calling for some changes to made to coach Lincoln Riley's program. Does USC need to replace general manager Dave Emerick to help with recruiting high school and transfer portal players?

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd spoke frankly about the state of the USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley's podcast his show, the Colin Cowherd Podcast. After a finishing the 2024 season with a 7-6 record, Cowherd called for some change at USC.

"Lincoln Riley's here. He's got a long contract. They put 300 million into the facilities, the collective's up to 18 million, they can buy some of the best players," said Cowherd. "In my opinion, the need for this program is a general manager, above everything. The current people in place are allies of Lincoln Riley. To me, that's not good enough."

Many have questioned if USC would ever fire Lincoln Riley, but the Trojans coach reportedly has one of the highest buyouts in the country. Cowherd seems to think that the Trojans will have to figure out a way to win with Riley instead of firing him.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Currently, Dave Emerick holds the title of general manager at USC. Emerick and Riley worked together under coach Mike Leach while they were at Texas Tech. Emerick worked for Leach for over 10 years, including stints at Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State.

When Riley hired Emerick as USC's general manager, the Trojans had already received commitments from quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Jordan Addison out of the transfer portal. Emerick and Riley brought in defensive lineman Bear Alexander from the Georgia Bulldogs, but Alexander transferred to the Oregon Ducks after two seasons.

According to reports from the summer, USC tried to hire away general manager Courtney Morgan from the Alabama Crimson Tide before the 2024 season. However, Morgan decided to stay in Tuscaloosa and signed a three-year contract with an average salary of $825,000.

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As Cowherd alluded to, the role of a general manager is becoming increasingly important, and the salaries for the job are increasing accordingly. Oregon's chief of staff Marshall Malchow reportedly earns $550,000 annually while other schools like LSU and Texas A&M spend over $370,000 on a personnel coach.

After the 2024 season, the USC program lost 19 players to the transfer portal. The Trojans' 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 17 by 247Sports. Five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet and five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart are the headliners of the top-15 class.

Centennial Huskies Quarterback Husan Longstreet (4) catches the ball at Liberty High School on Sept. 21, 2024, in Peoria. / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Riley has proven his ability to recruit some of the country's most talented prospects to Southern California, but the Trojans have struggled to sign the top recruits out of California itself. In 2025, Alabama signed three out of the top-10 prep athletes in California. USC's only commit from the top 10 was Longstreet.

While criticizing the job that Emerick has done at USC, Cowherd threw out a familiar name as a potential general manager for the Trojans. Chris Petersen had a successful coaching career with stints at Boise State and Washington before stepping down from the Huskies job after the 2019 season.

"If you want to compete with the big boys, you have to go hire a former NFL general manager, you know, there's a lot of people. You could hire Chris Petersen and just say, Chris, you're the general manager, run the program. That'd be one of the first guys I called. Not sure he has any interest. He now works at Fox as a broadcaster, but that's the number one need of the program. To get to the big boys, you gotta get a general manager and the current people in place to me aren't at the level necessary," said Cowherd.

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