ColoradoHusk
Heisman Trophy Winner
I don't think Mike Riley is a very good football coach, but he appears to be a genius retirement planner.
1. At the end of the 2014 season, Oregon State had just finished 5-7 under Riley, with a 4-year starting QB at the helm. Riley knew his team was going to be terrible in 2015, and there was a strong chance he and his staff would be fired at Oregon State after a bad 2015 season. He's 62 years old, so Riley appears to be headed toward retirement.
2. Because he is known as the "nicest coach in college football", Riley is Shawn Eichorst's first choice to replace Bo Pelini. The choice doesn't appear to be based on anything in Riley's past performance as a coach, it appears to be due to Riley being a nice, old man, who Eichorst doesn't have to hide from in the athletic department building. Riley is given a 5-year contract that pays him $2.7M base salary in year 1, with $100K bumps to $3.1M in year 5. The 2015 salary represents a $1.2M increase in base salary for Riley.
3. Riley is given carte blanche to hire his assistant coaches with a generous pool of funds by Eichorst. Rumors are abound who Riley will surround himself at NU. It doesn't take long for Riley to hire most of his cronies from Oregon State, who would probably not be retained by the Beavers' new head coach. His assistant coaches include his long time Defensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator who have struggled at their jobs in recent years at Oregon State. All of the assistant coaches hired by Riley receive significant raises from their previous jobs. Most of the assistants receive 3 year contracts, which is a year longer than standard assistant coach contracts.
4. For 3/4 of the 2015 season, Nebraska fans see Riley and his team invent countless ways to lose to very average opponents. Riley's supporters are dwindling, but there are some saying "the players aren't buying into his system" and the "culture is toxic". Somehow, Riley is able to convince some fans that he shouldn't be judged by actual results on the field, but how he speaks calmly in press conferences, says the name of the reporter asking them a questions, and how he can stand on the sidelines in a calm demeanor in the middle of another loss.
5. Riley finally "pulls a Riley" and pulls off an upset of a top 10 team. Yes, it is a nice win, but it was also lucky, thanks to a questionable call on the game winning TD. But, hey NU is finally gets a break to go their way, This accomplishment isn't new for Riley, as even his worst Oregon State teams generally pull off one nice upset. After a win against a terrible Rutgers team, Riley has finally won 2 games in a row at NU. Riled Uppers (RU's) are calling NU the best 5-6 team in the country. RU's are confident that NU can beat Iowa, finish 6-6, and go to a bowl game. RU's say they would give the season a B,, because NU is trending upward, and building momentum towards 2016.
6. In a game that epitomizes the entire 2015 season, NU loses to Iowa 28-20. The game is marred by numerous NU penalties and turnovers, which are traits of poorly coached teams. NU never leads in the game, but the RU's think that NU controlled most of the game due to gaining a lot more yards than Iowa. The RU's put the NU turnovers solely at the foot of the QB, who is a holdover from the previous coaching staff and has started the past 3 years. The RU's say that this 3-year starter at QB is the reason for Riley's failures and that a better QB would have produced more wins. This same QB won 9 games in 2013 and 2014 under the previous staff. Riley and his staff are still able to deflect criticism of a poorly coached team.
7. Going into the offseason, the RU's are confident for 2016. There won't be any coaching staff changes, but that's ok for the RU's. The RU's will call for a new starting QB, including a true freshman who isn't even on campus yet. The RU's are already pointing out that getting 7 or 8 wins in 2016 would be progress under this staff. This "progress" would still be fewer wins than the previous coaching staff achieved in their worst years. Even if NU struggles to a 5-7 or 6-6 season, the RU's will have the Excuse Train rolling to deflect criticism of the coach and his staff. The excuses will include: senior QB who will finally be off the team, future QB who is more perfect for Riley's system, Riley is finally getting "his players" on the field, the staff needing "more time". Riley and his staff will almost assuredly get contract extensions, and Riley will be able to get a nice paycheck from NU until he is nearly 70. His long-time assistants will also get nice paydays that they might not have gotten elsewhere.
Long story short, Riley has been able to dupe Nebraska into padding the retirement account for himself and his best coaching friends. He appears to be running a great wealth management company. It just sucks that his real job is football coach.
1. At the end of the 2014 season, Oregon State had just finished 5-7 under Riley, with a 4-year starting QB at the helm. Riley knew his team was going to be terrible in 2015, and there was a strong chance he and his staff would be fired at Oregon State after a bad 2015 season. He's 62 years old, so Riley appears to be headed toward retirement.
2. Because he is known as the "nicest coach in college football", Riley is Shawn Eichorst's first choice to replace Bo Pelini. The choice doesn't appear to be based on anything in Riley's past performance as a coach, it appears to be due to Riley being a nice, old man, who Eichorst doesn't have to hide from in the athletic department building. Riley is given a 5-year contract that pays him $2.7M base salary in year 1, with $100K bumps to $3.1M in year 5. The 2015 salary represents a $1.2M increase in base salary for Riley.
3. Riley is given carte blanche to hire his assistant coaches with a generous pool of funds by Eichorst. Rumors are abound who Riley will surround himself at NU. It doesn't take long for Riley to hire most of his cronies from Oregon State, who would probably not be retained by the Beavers' new head coach. His assistant coaches include his long time Defensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator who have struggled at their jobs in recent years at Oregon State. All of the assistant coaches hired by Riley receive significant raises from their previous jobs. Most of the assistants receive 3 year contracts, which is a year longer than standard assistant coach contracts.
4. For 3/4 of the 2015 season, Nebraska fans see Riley and his team invent countless ways to lose to very average opponents. Riley's supporters are dwindling, but there are some saying "the players aren't buying into his system" and the "culture is toxic". Somehow, Riley is able to convince some fans that he shouldn't be judged by actual results on the field, but how he speaks calmly in press conferences, says the name of the reporter asking them a questions, and how he can stand on the sidelines in a calm demeanor in the middle of another loss.
5. Riley finally "pulls a Riley" and pulls off an upset of a top 10 team. Yes, it is a nice win, but it was also lucky, thanks to a questionable call on the game winning TD. But, hey NU is finally gets a break to go their way, This accomplishment isn't new for Riley, as even his worst Oregon State teams generally pull off one nice upset. After a win against a terrible Rutgers team, Riley has finally won 2 games in a row at NU. Riled Uppers (RU's) are calling NU the best 5-6 team in the country. RU's are confident that NU can beat Iowa, finish 6-6, and go to a bowl game. RU's say they would give the season a B,, because NU is trending upward, and building momentum towards 2016.
6. In a game that epitomizes the entire 2015 season, NU loses to Iowa 28-20. The game is marred by numerous NU penalties and turnovers, which are traits of poorly coached teams. NU never leads in the game, but the RU's think that NU controlled most of the game due to gaining a lot more yards than Iowa. The RU's put the NU turnovers solely at the foot of the QB, who is a holdover from the previous coaching staff and has started the past 3 years. The RU's say that this 3-year starter at QB is the reason for Riley's failures and that a better QB would have produced more wins. This same QB won 9 games in 2013 and 2014 under the previous staff. Riley and his staff are still able to deflect criticism of a poorly coached team.
7. Going into the offseason, the RU's are confident for 2016. There won't be any coaching staff changes, but that's ok for the RU's. The RU's will call for a new starting QB, including a true freshman who isn't even on campus yet. The RU's are already pointing out that getting 7 or 8 wins in 2016 would be progress under this staff. This "progress" would still be fewer wins than the previous coaching staff achieved in their worst years. Even if NU struggles to a 5-7 or 6-6 season, the RU's will have the Excuse Train rolling to deflect criticism of the coach and his staff. The excuses will include: senior QB who will finally be off the team, future QB who is more perfect for Riley's system, Riley is finally getting "his players" on the field, the staff needing "more time". Riley and his staff will almost assuredly get contract extensions, and Riley will be able to get a nice paycheck from NU until he is nearly 70. His long-time assistants will also get nice paydays that they might not have gotten elsewhere.
Long story short, Riley has been able to dupe Nebraska into padding the retirement account for himself and his best coaching friends. He appears to be running a great wealth management company. It just sucks that his real job is football coach.
