On Riley: my read on Riley is that his ultimate goal is to get to the NFL, and it would be a real good bullet point to say that he "rebuilt" USC in just a few years. It's also why Caleb Williams to USC makes sense - Riley gets a QB he is familiar with and can mold into a top QB pick, and then can sell himself as a tandem package at the next level. And even if Saban is potentially retiring at some point in the future, Riley is likely not a name for that job - Alabama would want someone with SEC experience already (Dabo is the obvious name people point to, but I would think Kiffin or Jimbo are the actual names to watch here).

As for Aranda, few things. One, he still hasn't actually signed an extension, and all reports are that Baylor is planning to offer one at some point in the near future, which are the same reports that existed back in November. Second, yes the SEC is the money conference currently, but I think you grossly underestimate how other jobs are perceived. UCLA, despite the last 20 years, is still a solid job thanks to the intangibles (good pay, prime location, lack of pressure from fans). Remember: UCLA was in a bidding war with Florida for Chip Kelly, and Kelly ultimately chose the Bruins over the Gators. We've discussed the fact that the Pac-12 has been a weak conference for a few years, but it's still a P5 conference, and it would be easier to get to the playoffs by winning the Pac-12 than it would be in a stronger Big 12. Hell, Lincoln Riley was going to become an SEC coach, but he decided trying to compete and win a weaker Pac-12 was a better choice.

Baylor is honestly a tougher job going forward. The SEC is going to have greater access to Texas recruits going forward, which will hurt Baylor, and the conference will be overall stronger than the Pac-12 with the addition of the 4 good AAC squads. Despite Chip Kelly's struggles, Aranda would have greater access to talent at UCLA, and subsequently would have a better shot at competing for playoffs here as well. Hell, with competent defensive coaching this year, UCLA would have easily been a top 15 team, and that's despite four years of Chip Kelly.

I guess my overall point is that UCLA has options if it were to move on from Kelly, despite how late in the process it appears to be.