Riley Shelf Life

1995 Redux said:
This day and age you don't get 4 years, you get three. Luckily for Bo he competed and almost won 2 conference titles in those 4 years and also got to at tile game the 5th year and did everything but compete in that one. 3 years is enough to get your guys in the program, teach the guys you have what you want them to do, and to establish your identity. After 3 years if you are still treading water and not improving, you may be replaced. That's the culture now. Some guys are lucky to get three, looking at you Charlie Weiss.
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What is this based on?

The two most recent high profile examples I can think of -- Brady Hoke and Will Muschamp -- both had four years. Muschamp had a bad, bad season before his 4th, and hung around. Hoke won a BCS bowl in his first year and it didn't spare him because the outlook had changed by the end of the 4th.

Bo's situation was unique, but not only did he get 6, he got 7 -- despite a list of disheartening incidents off the field. Nebraska was quite patient and generous with him, at least to give him that last last chance. If Riley turns out to have a much better impact on program culture, while still recruiting at a high level, I would really hope Nebraska is at least as patient and generous with him.

 
From the looks of it, the 16' recruiting class looks strong. I'd hope he'd get enough time with this class taking them through their junior year. I'm guessing he'll get at least five years unless he pulls out a 3-9 type season. If things don't pan out, Eichorst will be hitting the streets first.

 
Ultimately time will tell. But as it stands right now, I think he is a good fit for the Huskers. A change was sorely needed. So I think he get's 4 years. That gives him time to work with the current players he has and then incorporate the players they are recruiting. The biggest question will be if the players buy into Riley and Company whole heartedly. In particular, the players that have leadership roles and responsibilities. So if Riley is a good head coach and the talent is on the field, I do not see why the Huskers can't be a top 15 team again, consistently. Because that would mean they are legit big 10 contender.

 
I am hoping for improvement, but I am not sold on Riley. He had some big upsets, but lost some easy games. The worst part to me is his last few seasons are some of his worst, with the defense being very poor. I hope the resources at NU allow him to be successful. I really do not want another 10 years of 9-4 seasons. I would rather he fail quickly and be replaced as opposed to doing just well enough not to get fired.

 
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On how many seasons he gets, two thoughts:

Qb play will affect Riley's chances (and people's perception of him) more then anything else; and his preferred offensive system will have to be tweaked to fit our current qbs. This is not Riley's fault, but will nevertheless effect his chances dramatically.

The amount of time he is afforded (only an issue if he encounters challenging seasons here) will be affected largely by who is the AD. If a new one is hired, he has less lead way. If not, he will be given a more then fair chance to prove himself.

 
skullNbones said:
It seems a lot of people on here are quick to choose a side. I think most people are optimistic and already have jumped on his bandwagon, but there are a few who seem to think it was a bad hire and don't think MR will succeed.

Where do you stand? How many seasons does he get?

I am cautious. I am still in a wait and see approach.

I definitely like the culture he is building as well as his staff.

Ultimately though, he better compete for a conference title within 2 years. Just my humble opinion.

What say you?
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First of all, you quit bashing the new coach...give him some time.

My question would be, if he has great success yet due to his age, how long would he stick around to try and keep winning? Similarly, if he can't move is forward w/in the first 2-3 yrs would he decide to hang it up, citing age/family/fatigue?

 
Since we play in the worst division out of the power 5 conferences, he's got 2 years to make it to the Conference championship, and 5 to bring one home. At that point, we'll be at 2 decades since our last conference championship. If it doesn't happen by then, we've got some major soul searching to do.

 
These conversations seem premature. Let it play out a little before we put deadlines on a coach who hasn't coached a game here yet.

My general belief is that a coach deserves 4 years to see his vision. If a coach is catastrophically bad then it can be less. I'm not worried about being that bad with Riley. I think Riley is going to leave the program in better shape than where he found it. Hopefully he wins big along the way.

 
saunders45 said:
Since we play in the worst division out of the power 5 conferences, he's got 2 years to make it to the Conference championship, and 5 to bring one home. At that point, we'll be at 2 decades since our last conference championship. If it doesn't happen by then, we've got some major soul searching to do.
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You seemed fine with giving Pelini another year (8th) even though he hadn't accomplished that. Let's not blame Riley for failures of past coaches.

 
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I think we just need to evaluate where the program is instead of setting benchmarks just yet. I'm pretty sure saunders wanted Bo gone by the end, for what it's worth.

On the flip side, it's been 15 years since Nebraska won even a conference championship. That's the kind of program Riley is inheriting. The players were taught to celebrate 9 wins, and also taught that Nebraska history, fans, and past players were all forces against them. That's the culture he is inheriting. If Riley brings Nebraska back to a program that regularly dominates its own division, that would be nothing short of a transformation. Right?

Our anemic division has been there for the taking in recent years, which is what makes it all so disappointing. Let's not forget, Kill and Fitzgerald are very highly thought of coaches that haven't taken it to the next level at their programs, but Gary Patterson was once in those shoes at TCU (arguably more of a sleeping dragon than the likes of Minnesota). Wisconsin has a proud tradition, a new coach, and are incumbent top dogs in the West. If Nebraska can transform in four years, there's no reason these programs can't, either, and really change that "anemic state of the B1G West", which is of course cyclical.

Still, if Riley's tenure is to be viewed as a total success, he'll have to bring home the hardware at some point.

 
I expect Riley to exceed peoples expectations and have a good first year. I think we have a favorable schedule this year so if he wins lots of games now it will help him in the future when we play those tough teams in the coming years. I still believe though that Riley will be able to beat the powerhouses in the B1G and be competitive in those big games. I am willing to be patient for now because he has not played one game yet, I don't have a timetable for him as he needs some time to get his guys to get us to greatness. My prediction is after the Riley tenure Nebraska will be respected like it used to be again.

 
+1 Zoogs and Alwayshusking.

I agree with the points both of you made.

These ultimatums and demands by the fan base seem ridiculous. If nothing else, premature. Riley has inherited a unique situation here I believe. Yes, Nebraska is still a great program with elite resources, but I think the culture and mentality that was harvested by the last staff is really an intangible that will play a role here moving forward.

While it may be early to be setting ultimatums,(if we should even be doing so at all), I do agree that only a trophy will truly make things appear to be going in the right direction.

I'd sure like to see Nebraska add some trophies to the case.

First and foremost though, I'd just like to see the players playing with some passion and pride again. Maybe the guys develop an attitude where effort is a priority. I've questioned this recently. I'd like to see a team that doesn't settle for less than what they are capable of.

Honestly though, most importantly, I just want to see improvement throughout a football season/players career/coaching career. How Riley's first year will go? I'm not sure yet. Like I said, as good a situation this is, he's got obstacles to climb. I won't judge him on year one. But year two, three, four.....I won't be counting wins/losses necessarily, I'll be watching for players and a team that is getting better, executing their assignments, and playing good football. It felt like here recently, we seemed to watch the same team get the same results, and usually in the same manner year after year.

As I always preach around here, we seem to forget that the other teams in this conference are working just as hard/or harder to get better also.

Wins take care of themselves if you're taking care of the details. Bo alway's preached about the little things, and I think it became very evident that behind the scenes, there were a lot of little things that were not being taken care of.

 
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I see Riley turning the program into a top 20 and conference contender fairly quickly. Starting with this year. I like the incoming talent. I think we'll be very good but not great, a step above previous administration then reigns will be turned over to ?i see a step in the right direction anyway, just not instant national title contender. I think its headed the right way with Riley though

 
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