USC coach Lincoln Riley parts with football sports performance director Bennie Wylie

When Lincoln Riley was hired by USC in the fall of 2021, he brought four staffers with him on the plane from Norman, Okla. Among them was Bennie Wylie, who’d spent the previous four years as Riley’s strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma.

After three seasons together at USC, their collaboration came to an abrupt halt Tuesday as Riley announced USC is parting ways with Wylie, its director of football sports performance, three days after the Trojans wrapped their spring practice.

Wylie‘s exit was “strictly a football decision,” according to a person familiar with the situation not authorized to speak publicly. Wylie, by all accounts, was well liked within the program and beloved by many players who viewed him as critical to their development. But Riley, the source said, felt USC would be better positioned for future success by moving on.

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“We are grateful for the many contributions Coach Wylie has made to our program through the last three seasons,” Riley said in a statement. “He has been an outstanding role model to our young men. This is a difficult decision, but we are committed to positioning our football program to compete for national championships as we continue to move forward into the 2025 season and beyond.”

The timing of Wylie’s exit is peculiar given that USC players already participated in three months of offseason training led by Wylie. According to a source, there were no issues or controversies that prompted his departure.

Wylie, a former running back at Sam Houston State, served as strength and conditioning coach at Texas (2011-13), Tennessee (2010) and Texas Tech (2003-09) prior to joining Riley at Oklahoma in 2018.