Why Mike Riley Didn't Succeed @ Nebraska

BIG ERN

BIG ERN

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If .500 Mike Riley came to Lincoln and turned us back into a consistently 9-10 win team in his first three years would have meant that Shawn Eichorst made one of the greatest and out of left field hires in the history of sports. Hiring a man who was coming off a 4-8 season and zero conference titles in 14 years. Going back to a pro, west coast style offense after it failed miserably last time around with Callahan. Getting away from running the ball and playing any sort of defense. Keying in on West Coast ties to win in the Heartland of America. 

I just couldn't ever put my money on this man and those astronomical odds to get it done. Your turn, Moos. 

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Not enough space to address this OP...I can’t figure how a former player under Bear Bryant didn’t learn some things about methods/requirements of effective leadership..MR Riley is so far under qualified as organizational leader..can’t discern the root problems and thus remedies during his whole career...this ability can necessarily be “taught”...he approach as a leader, so called, is so fundamentally flawed on every level..the results of his chosen profession testify to it..

 
Yeah I'm still just sold on the idea that SE was so out of touch with our program that he didn't realize how pissed our fanbase would have been if his top target Bielma would have happened.  His backup was Riley IMO and it was a backup like having a donut in your trunk is a backup, it'll get ya home but don't schedule a road trip.

 
Haha yeah, I was going to post along the lines of depressedhusker. I think the reason he struggled is that there were so many reasons that he struggled, as silly as that sounds. Just from top to bottom, I don’t think we practiced well, I don’t think we were very organized, I don’t think everyone was on the same page, didn’t target transfers for balance, etc. It wasn’t 100% Riley’s fault but as they say, the buck stops here. Everything was either taught or allowed to happen and I remain so confused by how such experienced coaches had so many issues with the little things.

 
The last out of left field, who the heck is this guy hire I can think of that went really well in CFB is honestly when Pete Carroll got the USC job.  Which is obviously saying something.  I was a little surprised when Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis too.

 
Redux said:
Yeah I'm still just sold on the idea that SE was so out of touch with our program that he didn't realize how pissed our fanbase would have been if his top target Bielma would have happened.  His backup was Riley IMO and it was a backup like having a donut in your trunk is a backup, it'll get ya home but don't schedule a road trip.
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It took me way longer than it should have to realize you weren't talking about breakfast.

 
Mike Riley quit coaching six years ago.  There's a reason we (OSU) wanted him fired well before he quit and went to Nebraska.  He just didn't seem to care anymore and I think he brought that same attitude to Nebraska.  Sure, he said all of the right things, but that guy who stood on the sidelines chewing gun with his arms crossed and laughing at poor play is what we saw at OSU.  The guy should have retired because it didn't appear that he wanted to work anymore.  

Sadly, I too, bought into the whole he'll be better with more money, facilities, etc.  But that wasn't the case.  He brought in coaches that OSU fans wanted fired years ago.  He continued with Langsdorf at OC despite him showing year in and year out that he wasn't good at it.  He once took away play calling duty from Langsdorft at OSU.  Not in the three years at DONU.  This year, he brought in Diaco and didn't change a thing even though it was obvious Diaco's defense was a total sham early on.

Mike might be a very nice and classy guy, but he deserved this.  It's time for a new chapter.   

roadrat said:
If Diaco wasn't forced on us, we'd probably still have Riley.
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If that really was Eichort, why not make drastic changes after Eichort was fired?

 
Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of execution and leadership in several facets of the game. The program has no winning culture but it can get one.

The skeptics were right all along: Riley was a .500 coach who brought a .500 level acumen to Nebraska. I don't say that to bash on him. It's simply the result. More resources, talent and support caused the same effect. I'm sure it's maddening on his behalf just as it is frustrating on ours. It baffles the mind to see what this program has become in regards to wins and losses.

 
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