Lincoln Riley says OU football fans threatened family's safety after he took USC job

Southern California head football coach Lincoln Riley says Oklahoma fans threatened his family's safety after he left the Sooners to take the job with the Trojans at the end of the 2021 season.

Riley spoke to Graham Bensinger on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" about concerns for his family after there were numerous break-in attempts at his Oklahoma residence.

Riley coached OU for five seasons, leading the Sooners to three College Football Playoff appearances. He left the Sooners for USC the day after they lost to rival Oklahoma State in November 2021.

Riley's wife, Caitlin, told Bensinger that the family had to hire armed security after the burglary attempts.

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"Yeah, I had multiple … had a lot of different people trying to break into the house the days after it happened. And 95% of the fans and people out there at Oklahoma or anybody else are great," Lincoln Riley said. "You typically always have that percentage that at times take it too far. Obviously, this was one of those instances."

Riley also received suspicious packages from unknown people, who also got access to his 9-year-old daughter's cell phone number.

"I didn't care about the house. I didn't care about anything else, just their safety," Riley said. "We wanted the girls to be able to finish out school, because the semester was almost over. And as that stuff transpired we said, 'No, we gotta get them the hell out of here as fast as we can.'"

Riley led USC to an 11-3 record and a Cotton Bowl appearance in his first season with the Trojans. This season, USC is 3-0 behind reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and is ranked fifth in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC's Lincoln Riley says OU football fans threatened family's safety