I'm a CFB junkie so I was pretty aware of Mike Riley when he got hired.
My thoughts were:
-Ok, polar opposite of Pelini, not the worst thing in the world
-Will be around 4-5 years to "right the ship" before turning over the reigns to Frost
-Will turn out a couple awesome WRs
-Jet Sweeps!
-Will maintain 8/9 wins per year but lose a couple games that make zero sense but hopefully offset that with a huge upset or two
I really thought Riley was hired for culture change first and coaching second. When I saw the staff Riley brought with him I thought, "Dang, this is the best we can do?" I think the world of Riley as a man, he's the rare coach that is universally respected amongst his peers. Sadly, it was evident Riley was over his head pretty quickly. I wish him well in his next endeavor as it's clear that he won't be the coach @ NU much longer.