Is Riley the Best Candidate We Could Get?

[KeithWassung]

I spent many years in corporate america doing recruiting, interviewing, hiring and placing of employees.

Early in my career, I always hired the person with the most impressive resume and the who was the most impressive on the interview. I was highly swayed by high GPA's, training, credentials their performance at previous companies (sales figures, etc)

The results were mixed---had some good hires and had some bad ones---just like the rest of the people in the company

Gradually, I shifted to a model where I tried to find the best fit for a particular position/job and looked for unique skill set and experience in the candidates. This also involved doing

a careful evaluation of the needs of the company/department and of that particular position.

The results were off the chart and I quickly become the best in the entire company (F500 Global)

I have every reason to believe that SE did a very careful evaluation of our program--where we had been, where we are going, what the strengths were, what the challenges were---I think he has been doing this for some time and then he went out and found a candidate that matched those needs--and that candidate was Coach Riley

Was he the best? Depends on how you define best? was he the best for our team? I believe the answer is yes--at least among the available pool of candidates

[NUance]

I'm one of the small minority of people on this board who didn't want to fire Pelini. I thought it would be better to keep working to fix his problems, hire a strong willed DC, and strive for improvement. But instead we canned his ass.

 

But instead we ax our 9-win coach and hire the antithesis of Pelini. And now everyone who wanted change is second guessing the decision. WTF?

 

====================

 

As for the lead question, Is Riley the Best Candidate We Could Get?: Well, sure we could've gotten a *bigger* name. That is, if we would've been willing to throw $4 to $5 million per year at the problem. But we all know money doesn't guarantee success. Just look at some of the big name, recent hires in the past few years. We could've easily ended up with someone like Charlie Strong ($5 million/yr; 6 wins this year). Or James Franklin ($4.3 million/yr; also 6 wins). Or maybe we'd do a little better and get someone like Kirk Ferentz ($4.1 million/yr; a whopping 7 wins).

 

Instead of paying more, we got Riley ($2.7 million) at considerably less than we're paying Pelini ($3.1 million). That delta will pay for about half of Pelini's buyout. I'd say we got a pretty good deal. And Riley might just be a great fit, given that he's quite well respected among his peers and known to make the most of scant recruiting resources. Who knows, maybe we landed the the Ameer Abdullah of coaches.

[grandpasknee]

Define "best".

[zoogs]

I voted 'yes', because if he's not the best, he's close.

 

That is probably a little disappointing to some. While Florida can go and pluck the hottest name of the year in McElwain, and Michigan can talk about Les Miles and Jim Harbaugh, Nebraska can't. David Shaw, Patterson, Briles, etc -- these are pipe dreams. Chris Petersen, Charlie Strong, James Franklin, the cream of last year's crop -- I think we could have made a pitch, but who knows. Jim Tressel was interested, reportedly, but then we retained our coach in 2013 and he took a YSU president job in 2014 and that was that.

 

Let's not forget that part of the reason this hire was such a surprise is that almost nobody figured Mike Riley would come here. Make no mistake, he's a big name in coaching, but everyone figured he was settled in and maybe even no longer hungry. Eichorst came and made the pitch that others couldn't.

 

I think we could've gotten Frost, but there was always going to be a ton of risk in that. He wasn't really so high on Nebraska fans' radar either at least before the hire was made, and doesn't appear to be on the radar of these other big-time FBS programs either. Kyle Whittingham went 5-7 in both his 9th and 10th seasons at Utah; that's all I know about him. He could be a good choice. Better? I don't think you can say that. Schiano is a very well respected coach who I think would do a fantastic job at any college. Is the fit better? Some people certainly didn't think so. And Tressel? As mentioned, not in the running.

 

Finally, lost in all the "Riley's a nice guy, one of the good guys in college football" talk is the fact that underneath, he does have competitive fire. At Nebraska, he's no longer coasting towards retirement on a lifetime contract at a school that clearly won't invest further in its athletics. He's 61, but looks about 45. He will love Lincoln, Lincoln will love him, and he will have a lot to prove.

 

I barely knew Riley's name before the day he was hired, but it's hard to imagine a more ideal set of circumstances than what unfolded this first week in December.

[Mavric]

Define "best".

 

Should have added more to that. I would say "best" is whatever you personally think is most important. To some, the best recruiter. Or the best at developing talent. Personality might be more important to some.

 

There is obviously no right answer. Just curious what people think.

[Igetbored216]

The best overall? No.

The best fit for Nebraska? Yes.

[74Hunter]

I'm one of the small minority of people on this board who didn't want to fire Pelini. I thought it would be better to keep working to fix his problems, hire a strong willed DC, and strive for improvement. But instead we canned his ass.

 

But instead we ax our 9-win coach and hire the antithesis of Pelini. And now everyone who wanted change is second guessing the decision. WTF?

 

====================

 

As for the lead question, Is Riley the Best Candidate We Could Get?: Well, sure we could've gotten a *bigger* name. That is, if we would've been willing to throw $4 to $5 million per year at the problem. But we all know money doesn't guarantee success. Just look at some of the big name, recent hires in the past few years. We could've easily ended up with someone like Charlie Strong ($5 million/yr; 6 wins this year). Or James Franklin ($4.3 million/yr; also 6 wins). Or maybe we'd do a little better and get someone like Kirk Ferentz ($4.1 million/yr; a whopping 7 wins).

 

Instead of paying more, we got Riley ($2.7 million) at considerably less than we're paying Pelini ($3.1 million). That delta will pay for about half of Pelini's buyout. I'd say we got a pretty good deal. And Riley might just be a great fit, given that he's quite well respected among his peers and known to make the most of scant recruiting resources. Who knows, maybe we landed the the Ameer Abdullah of coaches.

 

First, i think that we would have been better off had Pelini surrounded himself with a better staff. I doubt that he would have changed the staff he currently had in place so the decision to fire him was made, i was just happy that we wouldn't have to hear all of the crying about him anymore.

 

I don't see many people second guessing the decision. This seems a lot like 2003, fire a winner, hire a guy that has about a .500 winning % but has been tanking recently. The athletic department only promotes his accomplishments and how different be is from his predecessor, the media distributes the propaganda, and to compete the Pavlovian cycle, the fan base turns on those who question the hire.

 

I find it interesting that the mood last year was to fire Pelini, back up the Brinks truck, get whomever they wanted, profit. Funny how things change.

 

Interestingly, i listed to a podcast by Dave Bartoo on this hire. Iirc, he stated that according to his matrix, this should be a plus 2 hire. Anything less than 11 wins will be a failure.

[Minnesota_husker]

Best overall coach- No

 

Best for nebraska and what we need- yes

 

 

 

Tressel probably a better coach but Riley is a great guy, with a Nebraska like personality. He will bring in great coordinators. Is he the best/most creative head coach- No. He is however perfect for what we need now.

[Drive1010]

It's nothing like 2003.

 

This isn't an NFL retread.

 

It's a lifelong college guy who gets it (which is why he failed in the NFL) - he's a college coach, a teacher.

 

BC was an NFL dork.

 

I think the administration wants a model, a sound representation of the University and a college guy who appreciates and knows CFB history and Nebraska history - sure they want to win (and maybe Riley can now do that given the resources and brand name - he has never had that) - he's always coached behind the 8-ball.

 

I've watched him for awhile at Oregon State and was amazed that they could even be competitive let alone shocked when they upset #1 USC.

 

Riley won't lay and egg against top teams - he lives for that. Surprising people. His players love him and they get up for big games...which would be a nice change.

[Hold Fast Arms]

Best fit

[74Hunter]

It's nothing like 2003.

 

This isn't an NFL retread.

 

It's a lifelong college guy who gets it (which is why he failed in the NFL) - he's a college coach, a teacher.

 

BC was an NFL dork.

 

I think the administration wants a model, a sound representation of the University and a college guy who appreciates and knows CFB history and Nebraska history - sure they want to win (and maybe Riley can now do that given the resources and brand name - he has never had that) - he's always coached behind the 8-ball.

 

I've watched him for awhile at Oregon State and was amazed that they could even be competitive let alone shocked when they upset #1 USC.

 

Riley won't lay and egg against top teams - he lives for that. Surprising people. His players love him and they get up for big games...which would be a nice change.

Well,,now I'm confused about what the university wants for this program.

 

Are we about championship football, or are we about simply being competitive while surprising a top team every 5 years or so?

[Kernal]

There's no way to know until 1) we see who he gets on his staff, 2) we see how players and recruits react/adapt, 3) we see how he handles the offseason and 4) we see some games.

 

I can't say definitively Riley is the absolute best coach for NU, but I can't say he's not either.

 

Every coach on that list has risk, and with any of them we wouldn't know much more than we do with Riley right now. If the question really being asked is: Is Riley getting the most buzz in the media, then I think no, you'd get more buzz with Tressel, Briles or Patterson. But NU has gotten very good publicity for hiring Riley from what I have seen so far- more than Florida is getting with McElwain.

 

All this perception stuff will take a back seat very soon to actual coaching matters and what the new coach produces, starting with his staff and this recruiting class.

[carlfense]

Ask me in three years.

[Danny Bateman]

Best overall coach- No

 

Best for nebraska and what we need- yes

 

 

 

Tressel probably a better coach but Riley is a great guy, with a Nebraska like personality. He will bring in great coordinators. Is he the best/most creative head coach- No. He is however perfect for what we need now.

 

Minny Sker pretty much nailed it.

 

I share his sentiments. I don't know if he's the best overall coach as far as Ws and Ls go, but I'm beginning to believe that he is the best overall fit we could've hired (culturally, leadership qualities, experience, demeanor, specializes in QB development). But again, "best" is somewhat ambiguous.

 

I marked that we could've probably gotten Willingham, Schiano, Frost, and obviously, Riley. I don't think any of those other guys (Bielema, Briles, Patterson) would've had any strong incentive to leave their current home and come to Lincoln. I think McElwain, while a favorite of mine, was always SEC-bound and I think Tressel's just done coaching, personally.

[Bowfin]

Nebraska has who it has, so obsessing on "coulda / woulda / shoulda" is...obsessive.

 

We'll know in five years...