Coach That Lincoln Riley Fired Lands New Role originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Lincoln Riley delivered one stunning change during the spring by firing Bennie Wylie. The USC head coach and the strength and conditioning coordinator held a lengthy relationship — including Wylie becoming one of Riley’s first USC hires in 2022. 

Wylie has since found a new role. Although it’s a non-college football one. 

Wylie is back in the state of Texas. This time he’s taking over the strength department for Huntsville High School, with Football Scoop reporting the move. 

He’ll be working with a school that boasts an enrollment of approximately 1,900 students. He’s also going to be close to a school he knows quite well.

Huntsville High is located nine minutes driving distance from Sam Houston State University. SHS is Wylie’s alma mater — where he played from 1994 to 1997. 

Wylie, though, will be taking a step back from college and working with younger prospects. 

He joined the University of Texas in 2011 as the Longhorns’ strength and conditioning coach. Mack Brown helped facilitate his hire to the staff. But before that he held stints with the University of Tennessee and Texas Tech University — serving as head strength and conditioning coach. 

Wylie even delivered a brief NFL run. He was named assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 1999 to 2002. His alma mater handed him his first S&C role in 1998 on an interim basis. 

He first linked with Riley in 2018 while at the University of Oklahoma. Wylie joined a staff that won three Big 12 titles in ’18, 2019 and 2020. He later joined the USC staff in Dec. 2021 after Riley’s agreement to coach the Trojans. 

Riley pulled the stunner by firing Wylie in May — following the completion of spring practice. 

Related: ‘Worst Case Scenario’ for USC Involves Key 2025 Returner Not Being ‘The Answer’

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.