USC’s Riley back, being treated for pneumonia

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNOct 25, 2023, 07:29 PM ET

USC coach Lincoln Riley returned to practice Wednesday following a two-day absence as he continues to be treated for pneumonia, a USC spokesperson said.

Until Wednesday, Riley had been resting at home on doctor’s orders and assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons had taken over the head-coaching duties. Riley, 40, also missed his weekly appearance on the in-house YouTube show “Trojans Live” on Monday.

Simmons has coached alongside Riley since 2015, when both began stints at Oklahoma. They both left the Sooners in 2021 to coach at USC.

“The guys have handled things in a pretty professional way,” Simmons said Tuesday. “This is Coach Riley’s team. … It’s not like he’s gone forever.”

Simmons had balked at the idea that he would be calling plays during Saturday’s matchup against Cal in Berkeley, and Riley’s return will relieve Simmons of head-coaching duties. It also means former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will return to his role as offensive analyst. During Riley’s absence, USC had worked with its compliance office to make Kingsbury a countable assistant coach who would be allowed on the field for games.

USC, which was ranked sixth in The Associated Press preseason poll and had College Football Playoff aspirations, is coming off back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah in the past two weeks. The Trojans head to Cal this upcoming weekend before hosting undefeated Washington the following week.