Riley Interview on Oregon Radio Station

[lo country]

Not in defense of Riley, but when was the last time we had a HC who truly coached to the strengths of the team? Cally with Daily and Beau Davis? Bo starting Martinez over Lee? ( I still think we win the Big XII in 2010 with Lee). There were constant rumors that Beck and Bo were at odds about the way the O should run. Even with TA against USC last year was a glimpse of Beck's version. Cally transitioned ad was pretty much a fail. The anemic O in 2009 after Ganz departure etc....

At least it appears that Riley has taken a step back and publicly admitted creating a dominant run game is the way to return to wining ways. I hope he continues to lean on the run and if talent can support it, transition to a power running game with an actual passing QB. Zach Taylor comes to mind, but with a definitive power running game.

I hope that 2016 brings more of the UCLA game plan. Even in 2017 with POB, we can still be a run first team (power run) and have a prolific passing QB. We don't need a true dual threat QB to be successful. Look at Bama. They use a game manager and great skill positions. Maybe NU becomes this. Or Stanford......

I'll reserve judgment until next year. I bought into too much coach speak this year and it bit me in the butt and mad game less enjoyable as I continued to wait for the "promises" to kick in.....

 

[admo]

The part from Admo's post that is concerning to me is that it took Riley and his staff too long to coach to the team's strengths. He is basically saying they screwed up in not seeing what the players could do well, and they were hell-bent on coaching things as they have always done in the past.

I won't expect Riley and Langsdorf to commit to the run game with NU until I see it over multiple games in 2016. It is just not in their coaching DNA. They want to pass the ball all over the place and will go back to that style because it's their comfort zone.

He didn't go into detail and only brushed upon it. To me, he was taking responsibility in a humble manner.
From what I saw (this year) and what it seemed like (to me), was that they thought the QB could do what they wanted him to do, and it backfired. And you know, he's got a really good arm (strong), and can make some passes that wow you. It lures you in. And then the other stuff happens. And you're left broken hearted. So then you brush it off and try it again. And you work with him. And after seeing the good throws and progress moving the ball for several quarters (or a game), it happens again. Before you know it your stuck in this loop and the season is about gone. Anyway, that's just my thinking if that makes sense at all.

I will commend Riley for admitting his mistakes, as not many coaches will do that. However, he should have been able to tell from the practice time and film study what type of QB that Armstrong was. It shouldn't have taken 11 games (as TA didn't play against Purdue) of coaching TA to realize the type of QB that TA was. Instead, NU racked up losses this year, and TA's mistakes gave Riley and Langsdorf a scape goat on the crappy season. There were so many threads and posts that basically said that NU would have been 9-3 or 10-2 if NU had a serviceable QB. My argument is that NU went 9-3 with TA at QB when he was a sophomore and Riley should have done more to have TA do less in the offense and not put all the "blame" on TA.

He wasn't the scapegoat. There were missed FGs, team penalties, big plays given up on defense, an inconsistent running game, loads of injuries and players shuffled in and out, and even some dropped passes from a pretty reliable receiving group. TA had his down moments too. It all added up and they lost close games.

I understand what you are saying, but I disagree. The QB position is the most important. If you have experience, and you can throw it, then throw the ball. The team should not have to scrap it's new system because one player struggled with reads and decisions. He wasn't put in a bad position. He just wasn't consistent. What they did in the past with different players doesn't affect what they do today.

 

[Scratchtown]

I thought Matty left HB.

 

[Spooky Tooth]

A feeler to Chip Kelly for what exactly? We aren't in the market for a coach.

I personally feel that "you" are always in the market...if you can find someone better you need to do that...Coaches recruit players and AD's need to be recruiting coaches.

Why would Shawn Eichorst fire Mike Riley even if Chip Kelly was available? The amount of uproar around here would be monumental, even if it was a name like Kelly.

By who? Or is it, whom?

Fans, boosters, you name it. The logic behind reaching out to Kelly suggests a lack of faith in Riley, yet, Eichorst has spent the last year selling us on why Pelini needed to go and Riley was the guy to replace him.
And while I can only speak for myself, I'm not thrilled about having Chip Kelly in Nebraska and I don't think he would be a good fit here.

But, that's besides the point. Eichorst is not going to willingly fire Riley unless forced to.

I'm not an advocate for getting Riley (I actually like the guy) but why don't you think Kelly would work here? He took over a good program in Oregon and made it an elite program. Honestly most of the players on our roster right now would fit his system well. TA would probably be a very good QB in his system. His name alone would bring in top tier recruits, just like Harbaugh did at Michigan. We have everything he'd need to succeed right away. The biggest drawback in my opinion would be how long would he stay before he jetted and took another shot at the NFL?

But, if Kelly gets NU back to a dominant program in a 4-5 year time period, I would take that in an instant. If Kelly does leave, then NU goes after Frost and his similar system.
Who knows how Riley wants to stick in the coaching game. I know he's a "young 62-63" and that he's younger than Nick Saban, but man there are times when it's a colder game and Riley looks miserable on the sidelines. It's like he can't wait to get back in the locker room and have a cup of hot cocoa.

Let's see...... Bad mouth Riley all season long---- in his first season---- but give Kelly the keys to the house and give him 4-5 years.....

And the only time I've seen Riley miserable was when one of his players was being accosted on the field in the bowl game. But then if I wanted to poison the waters against Riley, why I could sound just like a poster who just got banned.

Oh, and by the way, if seeing a miserable coach were an issue, I'd be used to it after watching a loon on the sidelines for the seven years prior to Riley.

 

[Enhance]

A feeler to Chip Kelly for what exactly? We aren't in the market for a coach.

I personally feel that "you" are always in the market...if you can find someone better you need to do that...Coaches recruit players and AD's need to be recruiting coaches.

Why would Shawn Eichorst fire Mike Riley even if Chip Kelly was available? The amount of uproar around here would be monumental, even if it was a name like Kelly.

By who? Or is it, whom?

Fans, boosters, you name it. The logic behind reaching out to Kelly suggests a lack of faith in Riley, yet, Eichorst has spent the last year selling us on why Pelini needed to go and Riley was the guy to replace him.

And while I can only speak for myself, I'm not thrilled about having Chip Kelly in Nebraska and I don't think he would be a good fit here.

But, that's besides the point. Eichorst is not going to willingly fire Riley unless forced to.

I'm not an advocate for getting Riley (I actually like the guy) but why don't you think Kelly would work here? He took over a good program in Oregon and made it an elite program. Honestly most of the players on our roster right now would fit his system well. TA would probably be a very good QB in his system. His name alone would bring in top tier recruits, just like Harbaugh did at Michigan. We have everything he'd need to succeed right away. The biggest drawback in my opinion would be how long would he stay before he jetted and took another shot at the NFL?

I don't like him for a few reasons, some of which you touched on. First, I don't trust he'd stay long before he found another option that suited him better. Second, I don't think his personality is a good fit (obviously debatable, but I don't think he'd be a good fit for the culture and personality of the midwest). Third, though Oregon became 'elite', I'm reminded of their failures in major bowl games (and title games) against midwest and southeastern schools.

Fourth, I don't think he'd want to coach at Nebraska. He has vocally confirmed he wants to stay in the NFL and I don't think Nebraska would be high on his list of likely college jobs if he did come back.

Lastly, all of this moot, because Shawn Eichorst is not firing Mike Riley. And if he does, he could be run out of town, too.

 

[Kernal]

Great audio. I really like Mike Riley as our coach. It's refreshing to have a humble, likable and decent man running the show again. I'm behind him 100%. (I'd like to see more of that UCLA game-plan next year though

).

 

[huskerfan92]

A feeler to Chip Kelly for what exactly? We aren't in the market for a coach.

I personally feel that "you" are always in the market...if you can find someone better you need to do that...Coaches recruit players and AD's need to be recruiting coaches.

Why would Shawn Eichorst fire Mike Riley even if Chip Kelly was available? The amount of uproar around here would be monumental, even if it was a name like Kelly.

By who? Or is it, whom?

Fans, boosters, you name it. The logic behind reaching out to Kelly suggests a lack of faith in Riley, yet, Eichorst has spent the last year selling us on why Pelini needed to go and Riley was the guy to replace him.

And while I can only speak for myself, I'm not thrilled about having Chip Kelly in Nebraska and I don't think he would be a good fit here.

But, that's besides the point. Eichorst is not going to willingly fire Riley unless forced to.

I'm not an advocate for getting Riley (I actually like the guy) but why don't you think Kelly would work here? He took over a good program in Oregon and made it an elite program. Honestly most of the players on our roster right now would fit his system well. TA would probably be a very good QB in his system. His name alone would bring in top tier recruits, just like Harbaugh did at Michigan. We have everything he'd need to succeed right away. The biggest drawback in my opinion would be how long would he stay before he jetted and took another shot at the NFL?

I don't like him for a few reasons, some of which you touched on. First, I don't trust he'd stay long before he found another option that suited him better. Second, I don't think his personality is a good fit (obviously debatable, but I don't think he'd be a good fit for the culture and personality of the midwest). Third, though Oregon became 'elite', I'm reminded of their failures in major bowl games (and title games) against midwest and southeastern schools.

Fourth, I don't think he'd want to coach at Nebraska. He has vocally confirmed he wants to stay in the NFL and I don't think Nebraska would be high on his list of likely college jobs if he did come back.

Lastly, all of this moot, because Shawn Eichorst is not firing Mike Riley. And if he does, he could be run out of town, too.

I agree that he wouldn't want to coach at Nebraska, and that SE isn't firing Riley but Kelly did have two BCS bowl wins in two years including one against a Russell Wilson Wisconsin squad that was stacked. I would say going 46-7 including 33-3 in conference games in just 4 years of coaching is pretty darn elite. If he came back to the college game he would easily be one of the top 5 best coaches.

 

[Redux]

I thought Matty left HB.

It's a safer place now that a lot of the trash has been taken out.

 

[Redux]

Part of me does believes that his assistants getting snubbed was the final straw to leaving OSU. He had it pretty good there until things ran stale.

That and how would a guy like Riley turn down Nebraska? Like he said a year ago, right place tight time.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

If you listen to people close to the Philadelphia Eagles situation, you might think twice about wanting Chip Kelly at any price.

I think Chip did great as a maverick gambler with someone else's money and a ton of talent. Oregon was the most fun team to watch in all of college football.

He forced his way into GM with the Eagles and I think the power went to his head. Made some terrible personnel decisions. Not sure if you can get the old Chip Kelly back.

 

[Enhance]

If you listen to people close to the Philadelphia Eagles situation, you might think twice about wanting Chip Kelly at any price.

I think Chip did great as a maverick gambler with someone else's money and a ton of talent. Oregon was the most fun team to watch in all of college football.

He forced his way into GM with the Eagles and I think the power went to his head. Made some terrible personnel decisions. Not sure if you can get the old Chip Kelly back.

I was thinking about this, too, but I do think certain mentalities work in college that may not work in the pros. IIRC Nick Saban was criticized for the way he worked with players during his short stint as an NFL coach. I think totalitarian approaches can rub professionals the wrong way whereas in college some of the players may respect the attitude.

I've also seen more than one journalist covering the Kelly firing saying his coaching approach was sometimes not well received. So, I guess I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if he ever came back down to the college ranks and turned a program into an elite one.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

A feeler to Chip Kelly for what exactly? We aren't in the market for a coach.

I personally feel that "you" are always in the market...if you can find someone better you need to do that...Coaches recruit players and AD's need to be recruiting coaches.

Why would Shawn Eichorst fire Mike Riley even if Chip Kelly was available? The amount of uproar around here would be monumental, even if it was a name like Kelly.

By who? Or is it, whom?

Fans, boosters, you name it. The logic behind reaching out to Kelly suggests a lack of faith in Riley, yet, Eichorst has spent the last year selling us on why Pelini needed to go and Riley was the guy to replace him.

And while I can only speak for myself, I'm not thrilled about having Chip Kelly in Nebraska and I don't think he would be a good fit here.

But, that's besides the point. Eichorst is not going to willingly fire Riley unless forced to.

I'm not an advocate for getting Riley (I actually like the guy) but why don't you think Kelly would work here? He took over a good program in Oregon and made it an elite program. Honestly most of the players on our roster right now would fit his system well. TA would probably be a very good QB in his system. His name alone would bring in top tier recruits, just like Harbaugh did at Michigan. We have everything he'd need to succeed right away. The biggest drawback in my opinion would be how long would he stay before he jetted and took another shot at the NFL?

I don't like him for a few reasons, some of which you touched on. First, I don't trust he'd stay long before he found another option that suited him better. Second, I don't think his personality is a good fit (obviously debatable, but I don't think he'd be a good fit for the culture and personality of the midwest). Third, though Oregon became 'elite', I'm reminded of their failures in major bowl games (and title games) against midwest and southeastern schools.

Fourth, I don't think he'd want to coach at Nebraska. He has vocally confirmed he wants to stay in the NFL and I don't think Nebraska would be high on his list of likely college jobs if he did come back.

Lastly, all of this moot, because Shawn Eichorst is not firing Mike Riley. And if he does, he could be run out of town, too.

Wow, I would be more than happy to have the opportunity to fail in a major bowl game, consider we haven't played in one in 15 years. Nebraska can't say we've failed in major bowl games, because we've failed at just about every 'major' game since 2001.

Do you and other fans realize how far away we are from even playing in those games, let alone having the opportunity to play in them multiple times?

 

[Polarhusker]

A feeler to Chip Kelly for what exactly? We aren't in the market for a coach.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Polarhusker]

When people talk Chip Kelly it seems like they are really trying to hide their Frost boner.

HA

 

[MichiganDad3]

Riley pointed, particularly, to a meeting after last season with then-athletic director Bob De Carolis. Riley said De Carolis took away the multi-year contracts that had typically been afforded to the assistant coaches.


Said Riley: "It was direct and clear... it was very, very clear to me."

What was clear exactly?

Riley could stay forever under his long-term deal, but he'd be stranded on that island alone. He'd passed on job offers at USC and Alabama in prior years, and once told me that he had his forever job in Corvallis. Riley also said that he was aware of the growing frustration amid Beavers' fans, which is only to say that he was listening.

"(That frustration) was a real thing," Riley said.

So much so that when Nebraska called, Riley not only had a serious conversation about the job, but brought the potential move to his wife. Per Riley, his wife said, "This is something we should look at," and once they'd decided to go, all that was left was to call De Carolis and OSU president Edward Ray and tell them he was out.

Riley said Tuesday that the phone call lasted 30 seconds. Riley told De Carolis he was leaving for Nebraska. Per Riley, De Carolis said, "Wow."

Full audio in the link

Are you sure he said "wow" and not "Woo Hoo"?