Huskers hire.... Mike Riley?

[NickTheGreat]

Not the type of hire I was figuring, but it could work out well for them.

Of course I hope it doesn't and they lose every game every year. But that's just me

 

[isukendall]

A few thoughts on this....

Maybe I am lacking typical football coach logic, but I think this is a good hire for Nebby. They got rid of Bo because he couldnt beat any top tier teams.....but also he had turned on the fans and supporters. I dont blame them for getting rid of him, from a PR standpoint. Mike Riley is a definite step up in terms of PR for fans, and the community, I believe. Oregon State has a pretty good program, and lots of butts in Reser Stadium every weekend (I live close to Corvallis). Their program right now is pretty stagnant with Oregon obviously dominating the state in terms of big wins and competing for national championships regularly. Sean Mannion is gone this year, and the Beavers will probably struggle this next year or two.

I see it as a good hire, and like others have posted....who do the husker fans want? Jim Tressel? Nick Saban? Mike Ditka? I think they are going to be pleasantly surprised, as the Big 10 and Nebraska football budget is going to be a step up for Mike Riley (Pac 10 > Big 10 competition wise, and bigger $$ I am thinking for budget). I think he will do well, even though its not obvious to many right now...

After talking to some OSU friends about Riley (who I admittedly knew next to nothing about), this hire makes a lot more sense, for the reasons highlighted above. Pelini didn't fit into the mold of what Nebraska and their fan base expects of their coach, in terms of loyalty to the program, the community, etc.

A good read on this topic, and a similar perspective, here:

 

[awd4cy]

Paul Rhoads wouldn't have a job right now if he wasn't considered a nice guy. Neither would Ferentz.

It's more important than you think. You can act like Saban and keep your job, but people won't tolerate it long if you don't win.

It's true, but doesn't make them a better coach. If Nebraska is happy with a "nice" guy after having a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 seasons, then I guess that's all that matters.

 

[ISUCubswin]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

 

[dualthreat]

Didn't oregon state have an 11-1 Fiesta bowl thumping of notre dame season during the 3 years Riley left oregon state? Then they hire him back and fall back to mediocrity?

 

[Cy$]

If you look at Riley's results lately, it's head scratching.

12-13 last 2 seasons (OK, not terrible)
2-12 in last 14 conference games (pretty bad)
No conference or division championships (not gonna sit well if that continues at Nebraska)
Since 2009, only won more than 7 games once (meh)
4-21 against top 10 teams, 14-41 against the top 25 (not very good even for OSU standards)
Best Bowl game they went to was the Alamo (meh)
Riley is very pass happy (like another former Nebby coach, not sure if that type of style would work at Nebraska)
He was supposedly on the hot seat at Oregon St.


He had a good run from 06-09, but it's a "what you did lately" business.

 

[dcxme1183]

I'll go on record and say it's a good hire.

Oregon State is a horrible job, like Iowa State. To have that record over the last 14 years is actually pretty solid IMO. He seems to do a good job of building up/developing teams and QB's especially.

Nebraska isn't going to recruit 5 star players, they haven't for years now. They need a coach who can take the 3/4 star guys and coach them to beat Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State. Bo couldn't do that. Bo beat teams he was suppose to and that was it.

He was 2-2 against Michigan State including a win against then #9 Michigan State in 2011. No, he wasn't perfect against them, but to say he couldn't do it is a little silly. Yeah, he was 1-2 against Ohio State and Wisconsin, but that's a pretty small sample size.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Nebraska fans:

He was offered the USC job twice and turned it down!

No, he was asked to interview for the USC job once, turned it down because the Chargers threatened to fire him, and he was interviewed to replace Pete Carroll the next time around, and ended up signing an extension with Oregon State instead. So, therefore he likely wasn't going to get the USC job, because USC >>>>> Oregon State.

 

[CycloneErik]

Dead man walking.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Didn't oregon state have an 11-1 Fiesta bowl thumping of notre dame season during the 3 years Riley left oregon state? Then they hire him back and fall back to mediocrity?

They actually fell back to mediocrity the following year while Erickson was still the coach.

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[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Dennis Erickson[/FONT][/TD]
[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]7[/FONT][/TD]
[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]5[/FONT][/TD]
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[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]2000[/FONT][/TD]
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[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]267[/FONT][/TD]
[TD][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Insight Bowl[/FONT][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
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[/TABLE]
Face it - it will probably never be better than it was in 2000 for Oregon St, regardless who the coach is.

 

[AdamJGray]

He was 2-2 against Michigan State including a win against then #9 Michigan State in 2011. No, he wasn't perfect against them, but to say he couldn't do it is a little silly. Yeah, he was 1-2 against Ohio State and Wisconsin, but that's a pretty small sample size.

Good call. I thought he was 1-3 against MSU.

The last 2 Wisconsin games are fresh on my mind too. Those were absolute beat downs.

 

[ISpyCy]

Lincoln sports radio is on the verge of implosion right now...

 

[nfrine]

It would be great to see Bo interview for the Oregon State job now...HuskerNation would go off-line.

 

[KnappShack]

LOL and WTF

Perfectly said

 

[KnappShack]

Somehow the Huskers just made the Bill Callahan hire seem sexy

 

[Clonefan32]

In some situations, this is probably a great hire. I just don't get why you'd fire your 9-win-per-year coach for this guy. The only reason you'd fire a guy like Pelini is because you want to take the "next step". What exactly is it about Riley that screams "next step"?

 

[kingcy]

Paul Rhoads wouldn't have a job right now if he wasn't considered a nice guy. Neither would Ferentz.

It's more important than you think. You can act like Saban and keep your job, but people won't tolerate it long if you don't win.

Why do you think Ferentz is a nice guy?

 

[kingcy]

I'll go on record and say it's a good hire.

Oregon State is a horrible job, like Iowa State. To have that record over the last 14 years is actually pretty solid IMO. He seems to do a good job of building up/developing teams and QB's especially.

Nebraska isn't going to recruit 5 star players, they haven't for years now. They need a coach who can take the 3/4 star guys and coach them to beat Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State. Bo couldn't do that. Bo beat teams he was suppose to and that was it.

It maybe a good hire.

The problem is Nebraska thinks they are a big time program, yet they hire a guy that has never contended for a conference title.

 

[Clark]

Why do you think Ferentz is a nice guy?

because he is?

 

[brett108]

I'll go on record and say it's a good hire.

Oregon State is a horrible job, like Iowa State. To have that record over the last 14 years is actually pretty solid IMO. He seems to do a good job of building up/developing teams and QB's especially.

Nebraska isn't going to recruit 5 star players, they haven't for years now. They need a coach who can take the 3/4 star guys and coach them to beat Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State. Bo couldn't do that. Bo beat teams he was suppose to and that was it.

If the team you take over has not had a winning season in three deaceds, and you manage to post a plus 500 record for the next decade in a half with the notable bad starts, you are a pretty good coach. He is OSU's Bill Snyder. They will fall back into the whipping boy after he leaves.