SI on Riley

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
Mike Riley insists he does not need a bodyguard. Five months into the job, Nebraska’s football coach says he can handle the autograph seekers and well wishers, those who stand five feet from him, nudge their neighbor and whisper, “That’s the Huskers coach!” He loves meeting fans and thinks it’s “neat” kids ask to take pictures with him. If he tires of the attention, he doesn’t show it.


In December Nebraska stunned the college football world by hiring the 61-year-old Riley away from Oregon State, where he had spent the last 12 years. If fans are anxious about their coach’s age or the start of a new era, they haven’t shown it: Riley has quickly become the most popular person in town, with the Cornhuskers’ faithful dressed in shirts with slogans like, “Riled up for Riley,” “The Riley Factor” and “I Like Mike.” Riley jokes that the Nebraska football coach might be the most recognizable face in Lincoln, excluding the mayor. In reality, it includes the mayor. Riley is viewed as a figurehead of the state, though he will likely never get comfortable with his rock-star status.

When Riley goes out in the community, his support staff tries to form a makeshift box around him, with four people posted at corners to keep rabid fans at bay. Director of player personnel Ryan Gunderson sheepishly admits it doesn’t really work. At a home basketball game shortly after Riley’s hiring, offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf abandoned his boss in a throng of fans, worried Riley might never get out of the arena. “I get stopped because the respect for this position and this program is special,” Riley tells SI.com. “They love their school. Football is obviously the focal point, but what you find here is that every game is an event. All the energy in the state is poured into this program. Couple that with the fact that it’s been historically a great place and, well …”

Well, you get life in Lincoln, where the Huskers can brag about having some of the best facilities and resources in the country, and the tradition to deserve them, too. There’s no element of buying their way on to the scene. Nebraska was once the program everyone aspired to be, with five national championships, 110 All-Americas and loads of feel-good, walk-on-to-starter stories, a vital component in a state that takes pride in its blue-collar mentality.
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Sports Illustrated

 
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My mom and dad ran into Riley at the Embassy Suites last week. Riley held the elevator door for them when he saw them coming. My parents chatted with him for a couple minutes (mainly about grandkids) and my pops got a picture with him.

 
Pretty cool blurb from page two:

The Huskers have a huge indoor practice facility for football, but there’s another indoor facility on campus that’s part of the student rec center. Riley toured it in the spring and remarked offhand that it needed to be re-turfed. Eichorst’s reply: “Just tell me what you want to do.” It’s scheduled to be finished this summer, and will be used to give Nebraska added practice space this fall.
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Also:

In Lincoln Riley has reunited with more than just Banker, who came of age in an era that revered Nebraska football and didn’t hesitate to go there when the chance arose. “I knew what the N stood for,” Banker says. “Excellence.”
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Sorry. Two more.

De'Mornay Pierson-El:

“It’s like when mom would take you to the toy store and tell you, ‘O.K., you can have anything you want,’ and you’re so excited you’re shaking and can’t figure out what to do. You pick up one thing and mom says, ‘Yes!’ and you’re excited and then you pick up something else and she says ‘Yes!’ to that, too."[/size]
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Michael Rose-Ivey:

“He got really mad one day at practice and yelled, “Jiminy Christmas!’” Rose-Ivey says. “And I thought, ‘Well, this is totally different than what we just had.’”
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Love it.
 
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That's amazing... Can you imagine where you had a job with such power? Just basically mentioning something in passing and your boss says," just let me know what you want to do.".. Crazy. Love it! GBR

 
MattyIce said:
Can you imagine where you had a job with such power? Just basically mentioning something in passing and your boss says," just let me know what you want to do."
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Not attaching strings or ultamatums. Looks like Eichorst might be improving as an AD.

 
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Didn't Bo admit he only talked to Eichorst a couple times? Didn't he also admit Eichorst gave him everything he asked for?

I think there's a strong possibility it was in fact Bo hiding underneath a rock.

Or maybe everyone really was out to get him.

 
The Dude said:
Look pal, you can't put in field turf from under a rock.
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I thought it was telling that he did not have enough players on the roster to run a full spring game at Oregon State, that lack of depth was probably as damaging as not being able to get a string a top notch recruits, I guess not every school can get a bunch of talented walk-on's willing to pay the bill.

 
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