Is America Pulling for Nebraska?s Mike Riley?

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

Last December, when Mike Riley decided his college football curtain call would be Lincoln, Nebraska, instead of his beloved hometown of Corvallis, Oregon, there was a seismic shift of sorts. One place lost one of its native heroes as a local resident and another welcomed a coach who played football at Alabama, turned down the USC head coaching job and became a Nebraska resident at the same time state loyalists were heartily debating the transition of Nebraska: The Good Life to Nebraska Nice.

Somehow, TV ads promoting Visit Nebraska. Visit Nice didn’t mean so much until Riley moved into the downtown Embassy Suites and became a walking billboard that continues to ooze his reputation as the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.

When Riley’s hiring was announced last December, the evidence poured in, leading to this N-Sider column that introduced Riley as a Great Man, Great Coach and Great Hire! The shock and awe was instant and reflected Riley’s universal likeability among fellow coaches and nationally prominent media.

Nine months later, I wondered if that crush of media gushing about Riley’s genuine congeniality is as omnipresent now as it was then. So I reached out Wednesday for feedback and was somewhat surprised to get responses from every media member I asked except two, one of whom declined only because he doesn’t know Riley.

That unexpected onslaught triggers a thought that’s timely and relevant since Riley will make his Husker debut Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when Nebraska hosts BYU in a game that ABC will telecast to 100 percent of the United States.

Mack Brown, Jim Harbaugh Understand the Question

The thought really is a question: Is America pulling for Nebraska’s Mike Riley (pictured above with his grandson, Elijah Jo, and the Cornhusker Marchng Band)?

I’m not naïve. Bunches of people will not. They’ve heard enough about Nebraska’s national championships, Heisman and Outland Trophy winners, College and Pro Football Hall-of-Famers, Academic All-Americans, NCAA Top Ten Award winners and selling every seat in Memorial Stadium for 53 years and counting. To the detractors, enough is enough.

But listen to this: “I think we throw this term around a lot, but Mike Riley is as close to an offensive genius as there is,” said former college coach Mack Brown, whose Texas team beat USC, 41-38, in the 2006 Rose Bowl to win the national championship.

Want another endorsement? Count Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh as a Riley fan. “When you try to think of the top five people you know in this world,” he said, “there’s no doubt about it that Mike Riley is in that top five. He’s just a tremendous person.”

That’s nice. It really, truly is, but please take the time to read what 15 members of the media said yesterday. Make sure you read every single one because each sends a positive message. I’m listing them alphabetically because all 15 combine for a collective definition of nice. Once you process the thoughts they shared, you’ll understand why the question became the headline.

Check out their commentary:

Jack Arute, SiriusXM College Sports Nation: “Followers of college football have always said that Mike Riley has “done more with less” than any other coach. But I don’t think that’s the core of what Coach Riley is. First and foremost, he’s a teacher. He combines that with an abiding respect for his players and produces a product that Nebraska will be proud of.”

Lee Barfknecht, Omaha World Herald: "In the simplest terms, Mike Riley 'gets it.' He gets college football. He gets that Nebraska football is a huge deal in this state. He gets that fans care about the program. He gets that he has been hired for a great job at a great salary in a great sport at a great university. And he appreciates all of it, with zero excuse-making…Professional. Adult. Education-based. Classy.''

Tom Dienhart, Big Ten Network: “It’s interesting to everyone to see what Mike Riley can do when he has all the bells and whistles in a place that has experienced big-time success. By and large, he hasn’t been at a place like Nebraska. His track record at Oregon State speaks for itself because that’s one of the most difficult jobs in America. He’s 62 and there’s nothing phony about the guy. He is who he is…genuine and comfortable in his own skin…what you see is what you get. In the days where there are a lot of phonies in college football and a lot of huge egos and a lot of hot tempers, Mike Riley really is an anomaly from a personality standpoint.”

Dennis Dodd, CBS.com: “You have to understand what Mike Riley had to work with – about half a Nebraska in terms of stadium, facilities, recruiting and more. For him to get the Beavers to eight bowls in his first 12 years is amazing to me. We're talking three 9-win seasons and one 10-win season while living down the road from a college football giant. We're talking about a former NFL coach who, for years, was mentioned as the next coach at Alabama when that job came open, which it did many times. Mike Riley is underrated in every sense of the word.”

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: “I think Mike felt this was his last chance to see what he could do with the players and resources associated with a big-time college program. I call Nebraska his "USC do-over." Mike was offered the USC job in 2001, yeah, the one that eventually went to Pete Carroll, but he couldn't get out of his contract with the San Diego Chargers. I think Lincoln is a perfect fit for Riley, a bigger Corvallis without the shadow of Phil Knight and Oregon hanging over his shoulder. Nebraska is a big-time place with a small-place feel. It is the only game in town and the state. I think fans will appreciate Riley's professionalism and coaching abilities. I have known him for years and never heard him utter a curse word. He could have happily retired in Corvallis, but would have been left to wonder what he might have done at a top-tier football powerhouse program. Now, he gets to find out.”  

Pat Forde, YahooSports.com:  “Mike Riley should bring a welcome calming effect to Nebraska football. He's a true pro who treats people well and gets the most out of his players. Winning at Oregon State was considered nearly impossible for decades, but he did it with regularity. Given access to the resources and tradition of Nebraska, I expect him to thrive. In fact, I expect Nebraska to win the Big Ten West in his first season. And there should be many successful seasons thereafter – he's as young a 62-year-old as you will meet.”

Braden Gall, Athlon Sports and SiriusXM: “Mike Riley is a fascinating case study of the expectations and inherent advantages that exists only in college football. He elevated a program best known for a game dubbed "The Toilet Bowl" to one capable of competing for New Year's Day bowls and knocking off top ranked opponents. Expectation levels weren't low pre-Riley at Oregon State; they were non-existent. This obviously won't be the case at Nebraska, which faces its own new challenges in the modern college football landscape. Expectations, but also inherent advantages, are sky high in Lincoln and it should be fun to watch what Riley is capable of doing with top-tier facilities, support and tradition. He also happens to be one of the nicest people in the business and may be uniquely equipped to overcome one of the Huskers’ biggest challenges – recruiting Texas and Florida, two places he expertly culled while in Corvallis. Just as long as the good people of Nebraska are okay with the forward pass!”

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune: “If Mike Riley wins big at Nebraska, Husker fans won’t be the only beneficiaries. All of college football would benefit because it will prove that nice guys can finish first. Riley has such kindness and warmth that upon meeting him for the first time, you want to invite him to your house for Thanksgiving. Some Husker players said he raised his voice only once in spring ball, after an on-field tussle, and his tone was a fatherly ‘I’m not mad at you; I’m disappointed in you.’ Riley joked that the players staged the fight just to find out if he ever yelled.”

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: “I know people are making a big deal about Mike's adaptation to the Nebraska job from Oregon State. But I knew that Mike was special when I dealt with him when he was coaching the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football. Mike had won the Grey Cup twice in Canada, but wanted to come back to the United States, even if it meant going back to his "coaching roots" to coach in what amounted to be minor-league football. I remember watching Mike conduct a skelly drill in what basically was a community center with indoor soccer goals and nets near Barcelona, Spain, back in 1991. Some coaches would have whined and moaned, but Mike just kept on coaching. Interestingly enough, Mike never had any problems winning across the pond as the Riders were 3-0 in those two years in those European games. I think he'll have similar success with the Cornhuskers, where he's finally going to have the facilities to compete in big-time, big-boy football.”

Blair Kerkoff, Kansas City Star: “When I've covered games in Lincoln I made a point to visit the corner of the stadium that provided this piece of wisdom: Not the victory but the action. Not the goal but the game. In the deed the glory. It sounds corny, but I'm a sucker for corny, and the hiring of Mike Riley seems to reflect the philosophy. Riley won at Oregon State, and there's every reason to believe it will continue at Nebraska. And it will happen with class and dignity.”

Ivan Maisel, ESPN: “Slang hijacked the word decent in my youth and made it a synonym for average, mediocre or worse 7-6. But when I think of Mike Riley, I think of what the word actually means. A decent man has integrity, is kind and treats everyone around him with respect. That describes the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It also describes the quintessential Nebraskan, the men and women who have filled Memorial Stadium to the brim since Jesus was in knee-pants, cheering their Huskers on the field and cheering their opponents as they leave it. When Nebraska hired Riley, most of us experts sat gob-smacked. He left home? To go halfway across the country? At that age? After the surprise, it all made sense, at least off the field. You want to know if he will win. He won in Corvallis, where wins had been as plentiful as strawberries in the winter. But he knew that place. He was of it. The question is whether Riley can import his brand of football into the 402. I don't know if Riley will win in Nebraska. But it feels as if he is of that place, too.” 

Paul Myerberg, USA Today: "There is so much more than meets the eye when it comes to Mike Riley. Behind that 93-80 record at Oregon State is unbelievable progress and growth for a program that spent the previous generations as a West Coast afterthought. Behind his quiet voice and laid-back demeanor stands a talent evaluator with an impressive track record of development at the quarterback position and beyond. And behind the "nice guy" demeanor is, well, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. But don't confuse this kindness: Riley is as competitive a coach as you'll find in college football, and this team will be as strong mentally and physically as any in the Big Ten. I don't pretend to know what the future holds, but Nebraska's football program improved the moment it hired Mike Riley."

Eric Olson, Associated Press: “This is a great opportunity for Mike Riley to show his coaching chops. I don’t know of anyone who has questioned his ability to teach the game. But he was behind the eight-ball at Oregon State in terms of funding and facilities, and many years the results did not match the level of his coaching acumen. Finally, at age 62, Riley is in maybe the best position of his career as a head coach to have great success. He calls it his “one last great adventure.” It also could be his best.”

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN: “You always find out more about first-year coaches when the Week 1 competition is strong, and BYU provides a really nice test in Mike Riley's debut. Nebraska is one of the true mystery teams in college football this year with new systems on both sides of the ball. Bronco Mendenhall's BYU teams almost always play stout defense, and it will be interesting to see how Riley's pro-style system has settled in. Taysom Hill could be the most talented quarterback Nebraska sees until Connor Cook in November. Husker defenders seem excited about the aggressiveness and freedom of Mark Banker's scheme, but they can't get out of position against Hill or he will make them pay.”

Steve Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star: “Mike Riley is a nice man and a good coach. I appreciate his natural sense of calm in the midst of the hysteria that comes from Nebraska and other powerful programs. He’s very genuine. The intrigue for me is watching a man, who’s already proven he’s a good coach, take that next step and become a very good coach, even an exceptional coach that Nebraska demands. I think he can reach that higher level because I think that’s why he took the job. To me, it’s a very endearing trait when someone with his background and his experience wants to test himself and see what he can accomplish at the highest level of college football.”

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Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive

 

Features: Riley Reflections

Omaha World-Herald: Mike Riley's Oregon Trail

Portland Tribune: Riley Puts the Pieces in Place

Los Angeles Times: Riley Gives NU Steadiness

USA Today: Riley Balances Change, Tradition

BTN: Riley Understands Husker Expectations

Video: Watch Wife Dee Interview Head Coach

Winnipeg Columnist: Gets an N-Side Look

 

College Football Voices

“I teach math at BYU and am an avid football fan. I found your recent article with the many quotes from the media about Coach Riley. Thank you for writing that for us! It makes me feel good about the world to learn about a man like Mike Riley. I might even go so far as to say that your article could soften the blow if my team doesn't come out victorious tomorrow afternoon! Warm regards, Gary Lawlor, BYU, Provo, Utah

“I played for Coach Riley when he was head coach of the San Diego Chargers. He’s one of the reasons I got into coaching. He's an excellent teacher and explains the small details of the game…not just telling you what to do, but why you do it. I was excited when my alma mater hired him as head coach. Can't wait for the upcoming season and look forward to seeing my Huskers back on top. GO BIG RED!” Carlos Polk (Tampa Bay Buccaneer assistant special teams’ coach; first-team All-America middle linebacker at Nebraska), Tampa Bay, Florida