Longtime L.A. Times writer Bill Plaschke unloaded on USC Trojan head coach Lincoln Riley in a column Friday.
"The greatness is gone. The new tradition is mediocrity. The new heritage is irrelevance."
Harsh words from the front page of the sports section at the paper of record in Southern California. Plaschke has covered the Trojans since 1987, a regular panelist on the "Around the Horn" sports debate show on ESPN, recently canceled.
The veteran beat writer covered three national championship teams during the tenures of John Robinson and Pete Carroll. In all SC won the PAC-10/12 title 16 times since Plaschke hit L.