Coaches in the hot seat: USC’s Lincoln Riley could be in trouble despite a massive number of buyouts

In the U.S. Senate on Monday, lawmakers took turns talking about the state of college athletics ahead of a vote on the Protect College Sports Act.

Nearly everyone, from Democrats like Maria Cantwell to Republicans like Ted Cruz, from bill supporters like Chris Coons to bill opponents like Cory Booker, mentioned to the thousands watching CSPAN and dozens of House members a nagging problem gripping the industry: the millions that universities are spending to lay off college football coaches.

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“In 2025 alone, 15 fired coaches got buyouts worth a quarter of a billion dollars,” said Booker, who filed an amendment (which failed) to cap coaching buyouts at an amount no more than one year’s salary.

“Two hundred and fifty million dollars paid to coaches for not coaching,” he continued. “And you hear people running here lobbying saying we have a financial crisis in college sports!”

As the college coaching firing cycle draws closer, it could start at any time! — buyouts due to coaches could once again climb to record numbers.

Or maybe they won’t?

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“This may be a year where buyouts will save a number of coaches,” said one industry player.

Maybe.

After all, university officials have proven in the past that no buyout is too costly to pay a coach who loses too many games. Last year, as was cited on the Senate floor, universities committed a record one-year amount of more than $220 million in buyout payments. And even though not all of these amounts were or are being paid (some were mitigated by other salaries), the schools agreed to pay the amounts if their fired coach never found another job.

In fact, the second, third and fourth largest buyouts in industry history occurred in the middle of last season: Brian Kelly ($53 million), James Franklin ($49 million) and Billy Napier ($21 million).

What awaits you this year? Well, the buyouts of two coaches, based in Tallahassee, Fla., and Los Angeles, total about $110 million alone. But at least a half-dozen other coaches are under scrutiny heading into the fifth week of the season.

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Let’s take a look:

Lincoln Riley, USC

Redemption: approximately $60 million

Many in the industry thought Riley entered this season in need of a trip to the playoffs. But after a modest performance at Rutgers and a home loss to Oregon — which played the second half without star quarterback Dante Moore — a playoff berth doesn’t seem likely. The schedule is busy. They host Ohio State on Halloween and travel to defending national champion Indiana. Road games against Penn State, Wisconsin and UCLA also pose problems. The buyout may be high, but it’s unlikely to preclude a decision by AD Jen Cohen, whose frustrations must be great given the resources invested in the program. Would Cohen, the former AD in Washington, knock on Kalen DeBoer’s door?

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Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Redemption: 22-24 million dollars

The Gamecocks could be headed for a third losing season in the last four years. The blowout loss at Alabama and the ensuing drama involving standout rusher Dylan Stewart doesn’t help the cause of Beamer, who is three games above .500 in his sixth season in Columbia, South Carolina. Is this a profession in which you should expect a championship every year? No, but even in the sport’s new era of roster spending, the Gamecocks expect, at the very least, to stay out of the SEC basement. And even if they don’t spend top-10 money, they do distribute enough to guys like Stewart and QB LaNorris Sellers, whose decline has left fans dismayed.

Mike Locksley, Maryland

Redemption: 8 to 10 million dollars

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The last thing Mike Locksley needed was what happened last week in College Park. First-year coach Bob Chesney brought his UCLA Bruins to town and crushed the Terrapins, 54-3, in a game in which Locksley’s group averaged 2.3 yards per play. Last December, AD Jim Smith, then six months into the gig, decided to keep Locksley for another season despite having 4-8 consecutive seasons. It made sense. A native of the DMV area, Locksley scouted local high schools for talent and landed some solid gate players. On the field, Maryland has won two of its last 17 Big Ten games. The plug could be quickly pulled here. The Terps are at Nebraska on Saturday.

Bill Belichick, North Carolina

Redemption: 10-12 million dollars

No, Dublin’s win over TCU didn’t quell the buzz around Belichick’s tenure in Chapel Hill, especially after blowing a fourth-quarter lead at Clemson. Notre Dame is on deck this Saturday and it could get ugly. Sure, it’s only his second year, but the results don’t bode well for the future, on and off the field. General manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, Bill’s son, both resigned amid investigations into things that were, let’s just say, not great. Entering his second year, athletic director Steve Newmark wants to see improvements and progress from year one. Can the Tar Heels show it against the Irish?

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Mike Norvell, Florida State

Redemption: 45-50 million dollars

Firing your boss, in this case athletic director Mike Alford, normally doesn’t bode well for many coaches. But was Alford’s firing the result of university administrators blaming football problems on the AD? Is Norvell out of the woods? Unlikely. But some at FSU believe the coach can still survive by winning enough this year (can he reach seven Ws?). The buyout figure is high enough to pose a problem for a department that recently spent hundreds of millions on facility renovations.

Others to watch

Dave Doeren, North Carolina State: He’s won at least eight games in five of the last six years, but everyone, at some point, overstays their welcome. The late-game disaster at Vanderbilt could continue. His buyout is worth around $10 million to $12 million.

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Sonny Dykes, TCU: After back-to-back nine-win seasons, the Horned Frogs appear to be headed for a tough year. That trip to 2022 for the championship game seems light years away. Can they turn the situation around? Dykes’ buyout is unknown because TCU is a private school, but it is likely worth more than $25 million.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers: Nobody has more friends in New Jersey than this guy, but Schiano’s Scarlet Knights are 1-3 after going 5-7 last season. Does Rutgers have the money to write the big check? His buyout is worth around $19 million.

Deion Sanders, Colorado: The Buffaloes haven’t been the same since losing Heisman winner Travis Hunter and QB Shedeur Sanders. Their victory at Georgia Tech masked real problems at Baylor and Northwestern. His buyout amounts to approximately $25 million.