USC Football: Lincoln Riley Reveals Team Will Add Additional Coach Under New NCAA Rule

James Brizuela | Aug 7, 2024

Dec 27, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (right) celebrates with wide receiver Makai Lemon (24) after the Holiday Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA made a big change regarding the 2024 season for football programs. Initially, there was a hard limit on the amount of on-field coaches that teams could have. Only 11 coaches were allowed, which included the head coach and 10 assistants.

Now, the amount of on-field coaches has been lifted, and teams can essentially have an unlimited amount of coaches help out on game day.

The result of this new rule means that coaching staff can become far more specialized, and the USC Trojans are set to take advantage of that.

Head Coach Lincoln Riley spoke to reporters about the change, and how the Trojans plan to utilize this new rule by adding a much-needed coach.

Lincoln Riley was asked by @AntonioCMorales about the NCAA removing staff coaching limits.

“It’s kind of like, finally. The NCAA has been behind the times so far on that rule.”

Said title changes will come. And yes — USC will officially have a special-teams coordinator pic.twitter.com/p2Lqf60CNl

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 7, 2024

"We have a few things internally that we have restructured and we are using people in different ways. As those come about and we get to the right point we will announce those," Riley stated.

It appears that Coach Riley has already been breaking down the staff a bit more in terms of adding more roles or specializations.

“It’s kind of like, finally. The NCAA has been behind the times so far on that rule," Riley added.

It does seem a bit ridiculous that football programs were only allowed 11 coaches on game day. There are a multitude of positions on both sides of the ball that would benefit from having more coaches to guide them as they attempt to get crucial wins.

"We will have some title changes. Some before the season, some after," Riley added.

Riley also laughed off the question of a special team coordinator but also shook his head yes regarding this coaching position.

Special teams play an integral part of football in the NFL, so it is strange that the role has not been identified and explored at the collegiate level.

Kick offs and punting can help offenses gain a much better position, while also helping defenses keep their opponents from having to march down a longer field. There are players at the professional level who are hugely important to special teams, and that should also be the case for the NCAA.

With these more specialized roles incoming, there might be a massive change in how coaches prepare for their opponents.

With the Trojans heading into the Big Ten Conference this season, it will be interesting to see how they also handle having more coaches and being able to strategize more deeply on every aspect of football.