It was really hard to avoid thinking about Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch during Super Bowl LVII. The entertaining, high-scoring battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles certainly brought to mind a number of games USC played in last year. People might perceive this as a judgment or a condemnation of either Riley or Grinch (if not both), but it’s primarily just a reflection of reality.
This was, in point of fact, the kind of game USC played in many times last season.
The Trojans could give up 35 points and yet win because they had the superior quarterback and the best player on the field, Caleb Williams.
The Chiefs gave up 35 points but still won because they had Patrick Mahomes operating behind a strong offensive line with lots of different skill players who made plays. That sounds a lot like a Lincoln Riley offense, correct?
Riley’s influence on this game could also be seen and felt in the form of Eagle quarterback Jalen Hurts, who played well in defeat. Riley coached Hurts in 2019 at Oklahoma, and the Eagles’ advancement as a franchise was tied to their ability to tap into Hurts’ skill set and maximize it. Lincoln Riley’s work with Hurts at OU helped the Eagles to see what was possible with their second-round draft pick.
Super Bowl LVII also showed two defenses which were simply outgunned. There was rarely a sense that the defenses had the upper hand in this game, or that a team with a lead had the game under control. That was the Alex Grinch flavor which visited this contest in suburban Phoenix, a Pac-12 city.
Quite clearly, the Eagles need to get better defensive players in the transfer portal … errr, uhhh, I mean the NFL draft and free agency.
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