Then he spoke of USC, where he was an assistant in the mid-1990s. "I loved 'SC. I grew up a Pac-10 gym rat and saw all the games. . . . It was a privilege to get to go there and coach."
There is another factor: With the Chargers at 1-12, his job is in jeopardy. But if the Chargers guaranteed him another season, would he prefer to stay?
"I want to coach this team," he said, "and I want to feel good about it."
The wild card in all this speculation remains Charger President Dean Spanos, who can keep Riley in San Diego or agree to let him go.
Spanos has previously said he will not address the issue until after the NFL season. His reluctance might have something to do with the fact that a previous Charger interim coach, June Jones, unexpectedly left to coach Hawaii in December 1998.
Out of town on family business, Spanos was unavailable for comment. But Riley will have the opportunity to speak with him when he rejoins the team in Baltimore on Friday.
"[Riley] has a contract," spokesman Bill Johnston said, repeating the team's stance. "He's our coach. We expect him to be our coach."
Though Charger officials expressed surprise that their coach had been contacted by USC without their knowledge, Riley did not see any harm in informal discussions.
"When you get a phone call and go forward, or talk to people, I don't think there's anything wrong with that," he said.
Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this article.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Coaching Classified
Of the 20 Division I-A schools that had to fill football coaching positions, six have yet to do so:
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School Former Coach GEORGIA Jim Donnan NORTH CAROLINA Carl Torbush SAN JOSE STATE Dave Baldwin TEXAS CHRISTIAN Dennis Franchione USC Paul Hackett WAKE FOREST Jim Caldwell
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HIRED: BYU and Oklahoma State officially fill vacancies. D5.
