Riley Reaction

Having the past 24 hours or so to soak in the fact that Mr. Oregon State, Mike Riley won't be pacing the sidelines anymore in Corvallis I have come to one basic thought. It was probably time for him to do or go somewhere else and for the University to inject some new thought and blood into Oregon State Football.


I've always been a Riley "guy". To me, he did a lot with very little. He never had the big time recruits that other schools land, didn't have the budget to do what he probably wanted to do, and wasn't as successful as he wanted to be in terms of wins. He was the master of finding lesser known recruits, such as Jacquiz and James Rodgers and make them successful on the Pac-12 level and on the professional level. He develops players, especially running backs and quarterbacks and will continue to do that in Nebraska.


He has a very calm demeanor and is very approachable to anybody. This is one of the reasons that he is considered "The Nicest Guy in College Football". The reason he was hired in Lincoln is that he is the antithesis to Bo Pelini and his aggressive, antagonistic style of coaching and handling people around the program. It's not because of his winning percentage. If Riley was averaging 9 wins a year in Corvallis, he would still be in Corvallis more than likely.  I believe that the fans of Nebraska and the administration wanted somebody that would be more like legendary Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne. Riley fits that criteria exactly. I wonder if he averages 9 wins, how much the fans will put up with that?


Nebraska is a storied program. I will grant people that, but it is not the Nebraska your dad, or even me grew up with. The Huskers were always known for playing tough, rough, physical football and for winning conference titles and National Championships. They don't do that anymore. It's a different program and a different landscape in college football. High school players don't look at Nebraska the same way they did in the 70's and 80's. Lincoln, Nebraska is far from anything for the modern athlete who likes to be around the hustle and bustle of cities. Riley, to his credit is a pretty good recruiter and will try and recapture some of that lost magic and get some of those big recruits to come and play for The Big Red Machine.
As for Mike Riley leaving Corvallis. It's going to be a little weird not seeing him around campus or on the sidelines. The one feeling I've always had is that a coach really shouldn't stay past 10 years. Otherwise his style, both on and off the field get a little stale and in todays climate of college football where you are only as good as your last win, coaches are doomed from the moment they step on campus.
What should the Beavs do? I think they go with a young coach. Riley is 61 and the play calling did get a little predictable. I think they call up Scott Frost (Oregon OC), Mike Norvell (ASU OC), Jonathan Smith (Beaver alum, Washington OC), Justin Wilcox (USC DC), or Fresno State Head Coach Tim DeRuyter. Any one of these guys will infuse some new ideas and enthusiasm into the program and get a fan base excited about the team. I believe a lot of the vocal criticism toward Riley in the past few years is due to fact that the Beavers rival, the Oregon Ducks, have become such a relevant power in college football the last half decade or so. If you want to call that jealousy, go ahead, because to me, that is exactly what it is. Beaver fans want what the Ducks have, but I'm not sure that it will ever get to that level. We shall see.
In the end, I see Oregon State acting relatively quickly with their coaching search. I see them going young and allowing a coach to grow with them and having a coach infuse the program with new ideas and enthusiasm. It's going to be very interesting to watch what happens from Corvallis. The Beavers will make a good choice for their next coach and the program will continue to make positive strides towards becoming a strong Pac-12 North contender.