Milt Tenopir on Riley

Husker_x said:
I think the reason for optimism is a little more straightforward than a comparison of Riley to Osborne. Although you have to admit, the similarity is a little eerie.

At the end of the day . . . Bo Pelini was an average head coach running a historically blue chip program with vast resources and support. When he failed to stay competitive with teams in our division (not exactly an impossible task considering what Ohio State did to Wisconsin in the B1G Championship), he pointed the finger at everyone and anyone in sight. His claims about lack of support sounded desperate to the point of absurd, and it was clear his heart had not been in the thing for some time (the thumb be damned).

So for me the question is pretty simple. Is Mike Riley and this staff capable of using the resources we have in such a way to compete for our division most years if not every year? I don't think it's one of the harder jobs in the country. It's not even the hardest job in the conference. He inherited talent. The guy who coached Eli Manning for a year is going to be recruiting quarterbacks for us. I think within two or three years we should be making an appearance in Indy.
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Good post. I think we are 3 years away (Conf Championship and NC playoff talk). MR gets a good QB in here - the missing component on O (besides OL consistency which I expect to improve greatly under the new OL coach). It would be nice if MR could secure a great JC QB who could step in right away or one of those 5 year senior transfer guys like Wilson was for Wisc. I think a aspiring QB would like the opportunity to be coached by a guy who improved Eli Manning's game. -- Maybe 2 years if we can retain VV and Collins on D and DPE - who will be a star.

 
We've got a lot of suppositions and I'm apt to glom on to those and start chugging koolaid. I'm a koolaid addict in general. But really, all we know for certain is the Riley isn't Pelini.

I hope and pray to the PigSkin Deities that come November, I'll be buying Koolaid for anyone that will listen.

 
I agree Riley will get his guy. The style of offense and instruction will sell itself. The line of great quarterbacks many would love to follow is enticing alone . The husker line tradition and historical running game will aid to serve offensive balance and protection for the qb.

Shoot I have been to Lincoln a few times it is a great city. The strength of the alumni base and fans alone can help sell recruits if the don't make the league.

Instruction, style, supporting cast , tradition, and contacts should open some eyes. Nebraska is up there like USC, Miami, and Michigan it would be foolish not to think so.

 
I'm not sure I follow along with Riley being like TO. At first glance, I get what he's saying that they're similar in how they conduct themselves. However, they really aren't very similar with regards to coaching at all. Riley has a resume built from various foundations coaching both collegiate ball to professional. TO started and finished his coaching career at Nebraska. Riley has a slaying the dragon reputation beating big time programs with a significantly less athletic team. TO beat a lot of big time programs. However, I can't ever remember a time when he beat a team that was superior in every way to his team.

In terms of how coaching careers were started and how they progressed, Riley and Frost have a lot more in common than Riley and TO. TO played offense in college, and he always coached on the offensive side of the ball. Riley and Frost have coached both.

 
Not a slam in any way, just an observation:

Tom Osborne often seemed like a coach on his way to a quadruple bypass.

Mike Riley carries a lot less baggage.

Both are nice guys who value integrity, but they appear to be very different people and likely very different coaches.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Not a slam in any way, just an observation:

Tom Osborne often seemed like a coach on his way to a quadruple bypass.

Mike Riley carries a lot less baggage.

Both are nice guys who value integrity, but they appear to be very different people and likely very different coaches.
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They are both nice guys that aren't screamers. That is really the only comparison as far as I see. Riley is much more outgoing and at ease in front of a microphone than TO ever was. I doubt MR is nearly the innovator that TO was on the offensive side of the ball.

 
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