So who the heck is Mike Riley and what has he ever done as a coach!?

It's funny...

I was just watching the civil war game last weekend and thinking, "See? This is why we fired Pelini. Even lowely Oregon State can knock off top-ranked teams or at least battle them tough."

Low and behold their coach is now our coach. The Saban comparison is an interesting one, especially since Riley has been offered the USC job twice and the Alabama job as well.

This is a risk to be certain, but I for one am not scared of taking the risk. His resume is underwhelming but his upside looks promising at best and unknown at worst. Regardless of his skills elsewhere, it's pretty obvious this guy can coach a hell of a gameplan.
Every hire was going to be a risk. This is the top level of college football, baby. You can't know anyone is going to win a conference championship. Will Charlie Strong at Texas? Jim McElwain at Florida? Chris Petersen at Washington? James Franklin at Penn State?

Nobody has any idea.

But the amount of respect Riley seems to universally enjoy for every aspect of him - as a coach, as a recruiter, as a person - makes me think this isn't just a terrific match, but also just who we needed right now.

I think we made a better hire than the Gators and the current hot name in coaching, too.

 
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He a allegedly covered up sexual assault of a girl named Brenda Tracy.

Hes a horrible recruiter.

Edit:Maybe coverup is the wrong word, but the article I read is disgusting.
Word around the Pac-12 is he's one of the best recruiters, and a lot of coaches there are glad they no longer have to compete with him. Oregon St. is never going to pull in the 4 or 5 star recruits, Riley finds the diamonds in the rough, and is a great developer of talent. There's almost as many Oregon St. players in the NFL as there are Husker players.

 
I'd say coming from the Iowa State of the PAC 12... he's done pretty well (beat UCLA when we couldn't, some other notable wins, which Bo never could pull off)... I mean how tough must it have been recruiting talent there?

This guy has all sorts of experience, presumably bringing a staff which is just as experienced... do you dreamers really think Frost (or did someone say Rathman? lol) was going to step in and 'build' on what Pelini had? (more likely regress further.. a crap shoot at best, Frost has more likely just been riding coat tails of Helfrich)

I think this was good hire.

 
Every hire was going to be a risk. This is the top level of college football, baby. You can't know anyone is going to win a conference championship. Will Charlie Strong at Texas? Jim McElwain at Florida? Chris Petersen at Washington? James Franklin at Penn State?

Nobody has any idea.

But the amount of respect Riley seems to universally enjoy for every aspect of him - as a coach, as a recruiter, as a person - makes me think this isn't just a terrific match, but also just who we needed right now.

I think we made a better hire than the Gators and the current hot name in coaching, too.


History will tell us how this works out, but if nothing else, kudos to Eichorst for knowing what and who he wanted from the very start and going after that person and blocking out the noise from idiots like you and me.

 
Every hire was going to be a risk. This is the top level of college football, baby. You can't know anyone is going to win a conference championship. Will Charlie Strong at Texas? Jim McElwain at Florida? Chris Petersen at Washington? James Franklin at Penn State?

Nobody has any idea.

But the amount of respect Riley seems to universally enjoy for every aspect of him - as a coach, as a recruiter, as a person - makes me think this isn't just a terrific match, but also just who we needed right now.

I think we made a better hire than the Gators and the current hot name in coaching, too.
History will tell us how this works out, but if nothing else, kudos to Eichorst for knowing what and who he wanted from the very start and going after that person and blocking out the noise from idiots like you and me.
No kidding
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I'm impressed that Ore St actually beat both a #1 and #3 USC team and a #2 Cal team in the past ... then beat #11 Ariz St this year. How many top 10 teams did NU beat in the last 7 yrs?

 
Oregon State fans are rejoicing. Most thought they were stuck with him until he retired. Good lord, how far we have fallen.

Just an example written 2 days before today.

http://www.buildingthedam.com/2014/12/2/7324643/things-mike-riley-should-do

"For starters, a second consecutive collapse down the stretch, which has produced the worst stretch in conference, 2-12, in 15 years, and a 5th year of decline in the last 6, which culminated in the worst 4 year stretch in Oregon St. football since the late 90s (and that's with the Alamo Bowl run included!), should have signaled that wholesale change, not more tinkering, is required, as well as expected, and that should have been understood a month ago."

 
I think we would all feel better if fans of Riley's former school weren't helping him pack his bags, holding the door and giving him a ride to the airport.

 
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I think we would all feel better if fans of Riley's former school weren't helping him pack his bags, holding the door and giving him a ride to the airport.
Yeah well, what if we blow their minds if he comes here and is very successful? It'll make them feel like we feel right now and remind them how difficult it is to get the job done in Corvallis.

 
This "so tough to win in Corvallis" crap is already old. Oregon is not the only state that has a more powerful state rival to compete with during recruiting. Plus, it is not as if they have won a ton of games there under Riley. If memory serves, it was Erickson who made the program relevant, surrounded by two stints of mediocrity under Riley.

 
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