Hello, Mike Riley

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I tried to think through the situation if we'd gotten Tressel...or any of the "big" names that were tossed around. I found there was probably more downside than upside.

We'll go with Tressel. He gets a big contract...in the $4 - $5.5 million range. He still has to assemble a staff. He has baggage. That baggage would arrive on campus with him. Knowing that the school will get extra scrutiny from the NCAA, how many big name assistants would welcome that hanging over their shoulders?

Now, put aside Tressel and his issues. Fill in the blank with any "splash" hire you had in mind. They also would command a huge salary. They also would have to bring a staff to Lincoln. They likely would also be high $$ guys if we truly wanted the top all across the board. So you've got a huge amount of $$ tied up in staff, with absolutely no guarantee they can bring their former success to Memorial Stadium. Chances of any coach making any team a perennial top 10 team are pretty small if you think about it. What was successful at Miss State would probably not translate to Lincoln, or to South Bend or to Oregon for that matter. Add to that, that we'd be looking over our shoulder to see who was going to steal these dudes away after one good season. But, chances are, the new staff doesn't perform any better than 9 /4 for a couple of years. I think the fan base would be ballistic, even at a higher level, when the "splash" hire doesn't produce.

Take Riley. Long time experience at many levels of the game...(knows people). Has an outstanding character / reputation as a person. Recruits well. Has shown he can "coach up kids" both on the field and in life. Calm demeanor. Positive attitude. Humble enough to know he needs top notch assistants and not buddies running the trenches. Jeez...aside from red hair, we're describing TO almost. If we look at what he's done in Corvalis, with funding and resources that most junior colleges exceed, he's had brilliant success. Given the opportunity to do those basic things as the "CEO" and bring along some skilled coordinators (the key for sure), and give him access to the resources at Nebraska, he has a higher chance of success than any of the "splash" hires mentioned the last week.

Finally...everyone of the "splash" hires that people were wanting, were at one time "just some coach" that got a chance.

 
I was just thinking back through history and I'm wondering if there was ever a shoo-in home run hire at NU? Did people know the day that Devaney or Osborne were hired that they would be as successful as they became? There were probably bigger names out there when those two were hired, right? Someone shed some light on that for me...

 
ABQ Husker said:
I was just thinking back through history and I'm wondering if there was ever a shoo-in home run hire at NU? Did people know the day that Devaney or Osborne were hired that they would be as successful as they became? There were probably bigger names out there when those two were hired, right? Someone shed some light on that for me...
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TO was on Devaney's staff. In fact, NE fans wanted him fired before he started winning. Mike Riley is a surprise pick and we have the support & facilities he needs to be successful.

 
SouthLincoln Husker said:
ABQ Husker said:
I was just thinking back through history and I'm wondering if there was ever a shoo-in home run hire at NU? Did people know the day that Devaney or Osborne were hired that they would be as successful as they became? There were probably bigger names out there when those two were hired, right? Someone shed some light on that for me...
Click to expand...
TO was on Devaney's staff. In fact, NE fans wanted him fired before he started winning. Mike Riley is a surprise pick and we have the support & facilities he needs to be successful.
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That's what I thought. The only one with a proven track record was Devaney and even then only one of his Wyoming teams was ranked. I'm glad that people are warming up to Riley a bit now, but in reality this hire isn't much different than any other. All of them had doubters. A home run like Tressel would have been unprecedented in NU history, so to have expected that this time was unrealistic.

 
As I watched the Oregon State Beavers get the living crap beat out of them by Oregon, little did I know that the head man leading the Beavers would become Nebraska's next Head Coach less than a week later.

Crazy.

 
ABQ Husker said:
SouthLincoln Husker said:
ABQ Husker said:
I was just thinking back through history and I'm wondering if there was ever a shoo-in home run hire at NU? Did people know the day that Devaney or Osborne were hired that they would be as successful as they became? There were probably bigger names out there when those two were hired, right? Someone shed some light on that for me...
Click to expand...
TO was on Devaney's staff. In fact, NE fans wanted him fired before he started winning. Mike Riley is a surprise pick and we have the support & facilities he needs to be successful.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought. The only one with a proven track record was Devaney and even then only one of his Wyoming teams was ranked. I'm glad that people are warming up to Riley a bit now, but in reality this hire isn't much different than any other. All of them had doubters. A home run like Tressel would have been unprecedented in NU history, so to have expected that this time was unrealistic.
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I was like WTF when I heard, but I went straight to google and started my research. The more I read the more comfortable I got with the hire.

 
AngryHusker88 said:
I support the new Head Coach. I hope to see Mike Riley coaching the bowl game & not Barney Cotton
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It's too big of a gamble. If he loses, the players and fans will question him for 9 months, even though it's not really fair since he will have had 3 weeks to coach them. Let Barney go out with the loss, which wouldn't be a huge deal, or a bit of glory with the win.

 
Moiraine said:
AngryHusker88 said:
I support the new Head Coach. I hope to see Mike Riley coaching the bowl game & not Barney Cotton
Click to expand...

It's too big of a gamble. If he loses, the players and fans will question him for 9 months, even though it's not really fair since he will have had 3 weeks to coach them. Let Barney go out with the loss, which wouldn't be a huge deal, or a bit of glory with the win.
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Right. Riley needs to focus on recruiting and getting his staff together as well as watching film so that he knows what he has.

 
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