Mike Riley's performance so far

[2ndNnine]

he has 14 years as a p5 HC under his belt. he knows what he is doing. chill the f#*k out.

[Hujan]

Jesus. The guy has been on the job less than a week.

 

I think there's a few of us who believe Bo was rightly fired for his blind loyalty to underqualified assistants who weren't able to get the job done and are concerned that we may be saying the same trend with Riley.

 

Any way you slice it, Riley's results at Oregon State were underwhelming in the absolute sense. Some of that, perhaps even most of that, is due to Oregon State as a program and its recruiting disadvantages. But is that the only reason? And if not, what else could it be? I hate to think it's Riley himself, which leaves only his assistants. And if you believe that, you can understand our concern that most if not all of them are following him here. This means we have to expect that Nebraska's facilities, fan base, and other recruiting advantages over Oregon State are going to make all the difference between 5-7 seasons and BIG Championships. That's a tough sell.

[The Dude]

 

 

Jesus. The guy has been on the job less than a week.

I think there's a few of us who believe Bo was rightly fired for his blind loyalty to underqualified assistants who weren't able to get the job done and are concerned that we may be saying the same trend with Riley.

You're going to see this type of loyalty with almost every coach ever. I don't think underqualified really describes the staff members Riley has brought with him. I could see that with coaches that are plucked from high schools, golf academies, and family trees.

[dvdcrr]

Impressed that Riley is getting into living rooms. Definitely getting after the recruits.

[LukeinNE]

Impressed that Riley is getting into living rooms. Definitely getting after the recruits.

 

Yep glad to see him getting out there, and early returns seem to be good. If he can keep the Missouri twins on board, that's huge. The good news on that one is that the parents seem very involved in the decision and I can't imagine Riley not impressing parents.

[NUpolo8]

I for one am enraged Coach Riley isn't like that coach who doesn't exist who hires total strangers as assistants.

[BigRedBuster]

I for one am enraged Coach Riley isn't like that coach who doesn't exist who hires total strangers as assistants.

That's right. And, if he doesn't play the best player based on who the fans think is best no matter what that player does in practice and if he doesn't play the back up QBs in meaningful minutes in the second quarter of every game so we as fans can see how good they are......FIRE HIS ASS!!!!!

[BigRedBuster]

This little pissing match is cute. But, the fact is, coaches hire people they know and are comfortable with. Yes, they might go out and get a few new ones that they feel can help. But, the bulk of a staff is going to be of guys they know and trust. This isn't anything new. It's not anything that is alarming. It's not anything that is all of a sudden going to cause this staff to fail. It's not the cause of what made Bo fail.

 

So, hey.....I have an idea.....let's relax and not se so uptight about every single move thinking it's going to destroy everything good in the world of Husker football.

[kchusker_chris]

I don't care if every one of the staff is a friend or family member of Riley's - so long as he doesn't fill it with first time coordinators with little to no experience and a handful of GA's he drags from OSU.

[ScottyIce]

lolz.

 

I give him an F...He hasn't even won a game yet!

[Hammerhead]

 

 

* snip *

Everyone knows Bo couldn't recruit because the only time he was worth anything was when he used Callahan recruits, who was the best recruiter ever, why would MR want to hold on to them?

He got better recruits then Riley

 

 

At a program that's easier to recruit at than Oregon State. What's your point?

[Mavric]

Arguments pertaining to the topic can remain. Arguments for the sake of arguments can now be found elsewhere.

[zoogs]

I think you can expect any coach to demonstrate loyalty to people he's worked with for a long time, as well as to have confidence in them to the point and hire them to new jobs.

 

Let's remember, though, this staff is about half filled.

 

And the real test for Riley will come if/when his assistants aren't working out, what will he do then. Bo's issues weren't that he knew those guys, it was how good they were on the staff (which still, there are varying opinions on). I mean, I get the apprehension on Banker and Read, but I think we should all be pretty excited about Cavanaugh and Bray, as well as that recruiting guy in the personnel department that they got.

[Mavric]

^ Agreed. Bo got a lot of flack for that early then everyone kept coming back to it despite the fact that his last several hires didn't fit the description.

 

All coaches hire guys they know to some degree. I be shocked if they didn't. I don't have an issue with the guys he's brought so far.

[Hujan]

A lot of you guys are missing the point.

 

No one is "surprised" or finds it "unexpected" that Riley would want to hire guys he's comfortable with, just as I'm not surprised Bo would want to hire his friends as assistants. But the question is not whether it's natural or surprising that Riley would want to do that. The question is whether he should.

 

Bottom line: He ain't in Corvallis anymore. The expectations and resources are both higher here. A 5-7 season here will get his ass tarred and feathered. Nebraska can afford a higher caliber of assistant than Oregon State. I don't think it's too much to ask that the man to whom we turn over the keys to the program doesn't just do what feels natural, comfortable, or expected, but instead does whatever he needs to build an elite program, even if that means bringing in coaches with whom he is relatively unfamiliar.