Grateful For Mike Riley

[Huskerzoo]

I have been very concerned with all of the distractions this week and the team. Then, my nerves become calmer when I realize Riley is the coach and what I have seen of his personality over the last 18 - 20 months.

I really hope we finish with a strong season so we don't have to go through another off season of fans claiming he's a horrible coach and we need a change.

Yeah, but we know how it goes. Lose to the Illini this weekend and it will be ugly time again. Riley has no room to wiggle vs these teams this year:

Illini

Purdue (Even though we know that they have higher ranked players at every position)

Indiana

Iowa

If he wins those 4 all will be "fine"

Split with Wisconsin/OSU and he will be great

I unfortunately think you're right. Husker fans right now have no wiggle room for things not going perfectly. Those 4 games I think in our minds are all games we "should" win. I think this season is about winning the games we should win and being competitive in the others.

That said if we escape with a 1 or 2 loss regular season, this season goes down as far more than a small victory for me. I honestly didn't think we had a "complete" team this year. There's still a lot to worry about as our level of competition hasn't been amazing, but I'm curious how this shake of the dice will come out.

I'll also add, I would really love to be a 2 or 3 loss team this season. I think that would get us ranked and be a huge morale booster for us.

 

[NUance]

I like MR's demeanor, but I still don't think he is a good coach. The Huskers should not have had a losing season last year. Callahan started out 4-0 in his second year too. Bo looked like a defensive genius in 2009 when we were one second away from winning a Big XII title. MR was not good at OSU or in the NFL. I hope we don't have another coaching change in the near future, but I don't see MR doing any better than our last two coaches.

Wow. Way to float that out in the punchbowl, man!

 

[BoNeyard]

Let's win this weekend vs Illinois, go to 5-0 and get ready for one fun October!

 

[admo]

I like MR's demeanor, but I still don't think he is a good coach. The Huskers should not have had a losing season last year. Callahan started out 4-0 in his second year too. Bo looked like a defensive genius in 2009 when we were one second away from winning a Big XII title. MR was not good at OSU or in the NFL. I hope we don't have another coaching change in the near future, but I don't see MR doing any better than our last two coaches.

Does history have to automatically repeat itself here? I hope not. And to be honest, I don't think it has to.

In BC's second season, after 4-0 start, he lost 4 out of the next 5. Three of those teams were unranked.

In BP's second season, he started 2-1, and through seven games they were 4-3. And yes, two of those losses were against unranked opponents.

Not such a rosy picture to paint after all.

I think this team is playing good football and that Riley is doing a good job.

 

[BoNeyard]

I like MR's demeanor, but I still don't think he is a good coach. The Huskers should not have had a losing season last year. Callahan started out 4-0 in his second year too. Bo looked like a defensive genius in 2009 when we were one second away from winning a Big XII title. MR was not good at OSU or in the NFL. I hope we don't have another coaching change in the near future, but I don't see MR doing any better than our last two coaches.

Does history have to automatically repeat itself here? I hope not. And to be honest, I don't think it has to.

In BC's second season, after 4-0 start, he lost 4 out of the next 5. Three of those teams were unranked.

In BP's second season, he started 2-1, and through seven games they were 4-3. And yes, two of those losses were against unranked opponents.

Not such a rosy picture to paint after all.

I think this team is playing good football and that Riley is doing a good job.

This team just feels different then those previous Nebraska teams.

During this 4-0 start I keep thinking back to the 2010 team. Where we got as high as #6 that year. However, at the time I was excited about being #6 I never felt comfortable or confident we really were deserving of that rank. This team and program under these coaches has a different feel to it. IF we can get to a top 10 ranking, it will feel like a deserved top 10 ranking.

 

[Elf]

I feel ashamed i was so against the hire and his first season. Since things started turning around last year he has won me over in more ways then one.

There's no need for that. We all were. I have a folder of screenshots of everyone thinking he was essentially a laughingstock, and most of us had hardly any idea who he even was.

While I had no idea who Riley was when we hired him I wasn't against the hire. I figured Eichorst must know something we didn't.

 

[Undone]

Easy to support your coach when he is winning. Let's see what happens when he drops a few games.

The thing is, all we really have the option of realistically doing right now is comparing Riley to his predecessor. We're long past any sort of hypotheticals about who could have been better. And Riley's predecessor did not embrace the privilege of coaching here. And he wasn't the greatest at pointing the thumb.

So while I actually do agree with the point you're making, from what I've seen of Riley so far, I've seen that his response when he does lose actually enables his team to get better. I pretty firmly believe that Mike's ceiling is higher than Bo's, which I currently base off of a much better recruiting buzz. Obviously that's not an objective standard, but if Riley does in fact have a higher ceiling that Bo, then I'm happy.

That's all I can hope for at present.

 

[The Dude]

I think the simple fact that he can function as an emotionally stable adult automatically earns him a little more wiggle room than Bo Pelini.

Certainly from his bosses, probably from the media, and possibly from some of the fans.

I've noticed I'm a little more relaxed watching games on TV when I don't have to watch a middle-aged man have a 3-hour temper tantrum.

Ultimately it will comes down to wins and losses and what, if anything, Riley adds to the trophy case.

 

[Mierin]

I think the simple fact that he can function as an emotionally stable adult automatically earns him a little more wiggle room than Bo Pelini.

Certainly from his bosses, probably from the media, and possibly from some of the fans.

I've noticed I'm a little more relaxed watching games on TV when I don't have to watch a middle-aged man have a 3-hour temper tantrum.

Ultimately it will comes down to wins and losses and what, if anything, Riley adds to the trophy case.

It's less entertaining but so refreshing to see Riley's "upset" reaction. I don't really want Nebraska to be entertaining for the wrong reason.

 

[StumpGunn4]

Being honest I was pretty surprised by his hiring at the start. I thought he wasn't able to adapt to Tommy's skillset in the first season, thus the losses. It seems he really has embraced Tommy for the season and is putting him in better position to make plays compared to last season. (only 1 interception so far through 4 games, 16 total last year)

I am thankful now for Mike Riley and think he will keep pushing the program forward. He also has a great voice/tener for "Im Mike Riley, and there is no place like Nebraska"

GBR

 

[TGHusker]

Mike Riley is that you writing that original post

Good OP NM. I too am more optimistic that this has been a good hire. But it began before the year started. MR being willing to can his DL coach after one year and hire a former NU DL star spoke volumes to me. So did his willingness to bring in the rape victim from his OSU days - that took guts and it said a lot about MR the man- willing to invest in the young men at the risk of personal discomfort. How he reached out to the young lady and how it ended wt her speaking proudly of MR said all I need to know about the man. Do the character things and then it rubs off on the players and you will start seeing it on the field as players want to play for a coach like that. Will we get to a NC game under MR. Who knows, but we are already better having him in our program.

 

[teachercd]

It surprises me how some people seem to actually be upset/embarrassed because they see another human being acting "crazy" on TV.

I guess I don't upset that easy. But I guess I should realize a lot of people do, this post will probably upset some people and lord knows other posts upset people.

Sometimes, to hop in the way-back-machine, I think people need to take a chill pill.

For those of you that say you get upset/embarrassed...you don't really mean it, do you? Like, you are not really sitting there at home turning red faced with embarrassment or seething with the feeling of being upset.

 

[Mierin]

It surprises me how some people seem to actually be upset/embarrassed because they see another human being acting "crazy" on TV.

I guess I don't upset that easy. But I guess I should realize a lot of people do, this post will probably upset some people and lord knows other posts upset people.

Sometimes, to hop in the way-back-machine, I think people need to take a chill pill.

For those of you that say you get upset/embarrassed...you don't really mean it, do you? Like, you are not really sitting there at home turning red faced with embarrassment or seething with the feeling of being upset.

There are lots of levels of embarrassment and upsetness.

I didn't so much care that Bo was "embarassing" but that I thought his attitude affected his players' ability to stay focused on the game. But I feel like this stuff should be left out of the current topic...

 

[teachercd]

It surprises me how some people seem to actually be upset/embarrassed because they see another human being acting "crazy" on TV.

I guess I don't upset that easy. But I guess I should realize a lot of people do, this post will probably upset some people and lord knows other posts upset people.

Sometimes, to hop in the way-back-machine, I think people need to take a chill pill.

For those of you that say you get upset/embarrassed...you don't really mean it, do you? Like, you are not really sitting there at home turning red faced with embarrassment or seething with the feeling of being upset.

There are lots of levels of embarrassment and upsetness.

I didn't so much care that Bo was "embarassing" but that I thought his attitude affected his players' ability to stay focused on the game. But I feel like this stuff should be left out of the current topic...

Correct...and if you are posting about how upset you were/are and or how embarrassed you were/are...it is a pretty high level. If not, I would hate to see what a high level looked like...

Probably look like Bo!

 

[Mierin]

There are lots of levels of embarrassment and upsetness.

I didn't so much care that Bo was "embarassing" but that I thought his attitude affected his players' ability to stay focused on the game. But I feel like this stuff should be left out of the current topic...

Correct...and if you are posting about how upset you were/are and or how embarrassed you were/are...it is a pretty high level. If not, I would hate to see what a high level looked like...
Probably look like Bo!

I don't think posting about it means someone has... high level embarrassment.

I mean, people post the littlest crap that annoys them on the internet. Message boards are partially for complaining about things no one in real life really wants to hear from anybody because they're not that important