Riley Has Perfect Personality to Guide Team Through Tragedy

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

Mike Riley has the most coaching experience among all FBS head football coaches and claims the second-most professional head coaching experience among current college head coaches. Beyond his veteran presence and steady leadership, Riley has the perfect personality to lead Nebraska's football team through tragedy.

Guiding the Huskers to a victory over UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl, Riley and his staff relished the thought of using that late-season surge as a springboard to the 2016 season, especially after experiencing so many tough losses. With a consistent approach and strong momentum in the offseason, Riley now faces a different transition – leading his team through the recent tragedy of losing All-Big Ten punter Sam Foltz.

The Huskers increased their resolve and launched their vision in Thursday's first practice. One of NU's most popular players ever, Foltz still has major impact on Riley's second Nebraska team. His locker remains intact as a daily reminder to how much he sacrificed to excel.

Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship Will Be Named at Huskers' Season Opener

The Department of Athletics will award one of its 85 football scholarships in honor of Foltz. The Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship will be presented annually to a football program member who embodies Foltz’s traits in leadership and overall excellence in the classroom and in the community. The 2016 scholaship recipient will be recognized on the field prior to the Huskers’ September 3rd season-opener against Fresno State. It will be a memorable day to honor a special family whose son, a walk-on, inspired so many with his heart and soul.

Nebraska’s football team will honor Foltz throughout the 2016 season with a special SF27 decal on each Husker's helmet. The SF27 logo also will be featured on players’ game day hats, sweatshirts and compression shirts, as well as on the coaches’ sideline polo shirts.  

Rest assured, Riley is well equipped to guide his team through its heartbreaking loss to honor No. 27 and challenge for a spot in the Big Ten Conference Championship in Indianapolis. The N-Sider asked a number of Nebraska administrators and coaches to weigh in on why Mike Riley has the perfect personality to guide the Huskers through tragedy. Please join our conversations with those who work closely with Riley (all names are links with their respective bios in red):

Shawn Eichorst: “Mike Riley cherishes and understands the greater purpose in life. He always talks about total-person development and how college football is an extension of life. When you have a talented football player who’s always a positive, respectful, trusting individual, you have a total person who will be a better teammate. That’s perspective. Mike comes from an amazing family, having been around an educator/dad and an uncle who were successful coaches. Mike is positive and optimistic. He’s very consistent and understands his leadership role. When we learned about the accident, Mike very quickly brought everyone together so we could grieve together. He touches people in such a special way and talks about trust and respect all the time.

It’s easy to talk about doing the right thing because everybody says it. But he lives it. You see it when he talks in front of the team. You also see it when he tells our custodians how much he appreciates what they do to help our program. It takes a special person to think and operate the right way when he has so much going on. It’s an extension of who Mike is. He is a grounded and comfortable person. I respect how he handled his meeting with Brenda Tracy, which has been well documented and discussed. Having the privilege and the honor to be with Mike and Brenda that first hour was powerful stuff. It was the first time they met. I just don’t think any of us can imagine what it would be like to handle that kind of situation and the way they interacted was genuine admiration. Mike talks about what’s important all the time. That’s why I know Nebraska is such a great fit. He understands Nebraskans, the family approach and caring about everyone and everything. He embraces high expectations and high standards. At the end of the day, he’s not going to do something just to get an end result. He's going to get results by doing things the right way." 

Dan Van De Riet: "Mike Riley embodies all of the values you hope to teach and get through to your children. He handles situations calmly, steadily, all in a very thoughtful and caring manner. Mike always makes time for people, no matter what’s going on, and no matter how busy he may be. When he is conversing, he has the unique ability to make you feel like you're the most important thing in the world to him. He has a ton of stuff going on all the time, but he manages with a calmness, looks you in the eye, and the tone of his voice is always steady. He brings a loving, caring attitude every day and that's what makes him special.  He can be comforting after a win, after a loss, and after the loss of a loved one.

"Mike takes these things hard while comforting everyone around him. We had two freshmen die tragically when we were at Oregon State – Justin Williams and Fred Thompson. Watching what their families, friends, and teammates went through was heartbreaking. When you lose someone, everyone looks to the head coach to take the lead. Mike is so genuine, thoughtful and caring, and is so strong. I’ve seen the outpouring of these qualities time and time again, at OSU, and most recently at Nebraska with the loss of Sam Foltz. He cares so much about this teams and the people that surround his teams that he’ll do anything for them, and be there for them, anytime. You can always ask Mike for advice. He's like a workplace father. He’s wise and thinks about everything. He’s a master at not letting emotion override his actions. I've never seen him let his emotions dictate his actions. He always speaks from the heart, never wavers in what he believes, and always treats everyone with respect."

Dr. Brett Haskell: “Grief is a really normal human experience. It’s not necessarily a mental health issue per se, even though it could turn into one. One of the ways we’ve approached grief in the Athletic Department is trying to normalize this as a human experience and empower our coaches and staff to accept their own equipment, so to speak, around the grieving process. We validate and confirm the kinds of things they can expect in educating others. The majority are familiar because coaches and staff members here have experienced grief. We just try to remind others to be a strong support system for student athletes and staff. When we grieve, we want to be with people we have strong relationships with and work close to, including peers, coaches and support staff surrounding them. Being around teammates is a really healthy thing, and we want our coaches and staff to feel comfortable sitting with someone and listening empathetically to what they’re saying. They don’t have to give advice. They don’t have to do anything in particular. They just need to know they have the equipment whenever needed.

"We want them to feel accepted, heard and understood and have an open door. We’ve been doing a lot of education around the grief process, based on empowerment. We have great people here, and they’re equipped to be a strong support system. The advice I gave to our administration and coaching staff was to be thoughtful about including the people who were most affected in the decisions, so they felt like their grieving and memory of Sam would be honored and a genuine expression of their relationship with him. Grief is anything but mechanical, so education, emotional equipment and empowerment are the best way to encourage those who are grieving. We want to be genuine, empathetic and respectful of everyone’s grief. Every individual’s experience is important. People who knew Sam best wanted to honor him in unique ways and all his teammates were on board because they had such great respect for him.”

Steve Waterfield: Coach Rileyhas experience and focus and a knack for making players, coaches and staff feel like part of a family. He emphasizes moving forward and being optimistic. That’s important as we move forward to champion Sam's legacy with the same passion and love he showed. It’s rare to have someone influence so many different levels and classes – starters, nonstarters, scholarship players, walk-ons, even student-athletes in other sports. It’s a testament to the quality of character Sam possessed and how much he loved his life while interacting with others. He united people and created a strong connection between students and staff. We rallied together as a team, a university and a state to get through challenging times, so we can move forward with the next steps and ultimately honor what Sam meant to so many people. Sam's legacy goes beyond our football team. Tears were shed and will still be shed because Sam epitomized the values we have. He would want us to continue with passion and pride and optimism and compete the right way at the highest level. It won't be easy, but with Coach Riley leading us, we're uniquely equipped to honor an amazing player and his entire familly.

Billy Devaney: “It's times like this that separate really good coaches and great coaches. The guy I compare Riles with is (Pro Football Hall-of-Famer) Joe Gibbs, a guy I worked with in Washington. Joe was at his best in tough times. Mike is just like Joe – a person whose faith is strong and a quality guy. There are lots of good, smart x-and-o coaches out there with great football minds. But in times when things get really tough, that’s what separates the great ones. There’s a trust factor, and everyone sees Mike as the guy to get us through these tough times. That trust goes both ways. As difficult as times are, we have an unbelievable group of kids, and we want to have a heck of a season for them. We trust them to put their best face on and go out and play their best football this year. There’s no doubt in my mind that they will do that. We’re hurting and we know these kids are hurting. Mike puts their interests and care above his own, and that's not a lie. That's real. Players know that. They know how much Mike is hurting. But he feels for them and puts their hurt way above his own. We have a great man leading this team."

Mark Banker: “One thing I’ve always said about Mike Riley is you don’t ever see two people. You don’t see a person and then a coach or visa-versa. It’s the same person and personality all the time. He’s truly a caring person. He’s a God-fearing person, and he has a very special sense of the worth of people. He’s a good listener of people’s thoughts. He’s very mindful about their concerns, and if you translate that into a team, he’s always been termed as a players’ coach. I think if you put both of him together as a coach and a person, he always puts the needs and wants of others first. He always keeps his eyes and ears open because he cares about how people feel about themselves. That’s the most critical part of Mike. It’s how he operates.”

Keith Williams: “Coach Riley looks at situations as real life. He looks at the football environment like it’s a room full of his own kids. Coaching is all about family and that sinks in to our entire team, whether we're having a family meeting or having to experience a family tragedy. Right now, everyone is looking at Mike as a father figure leading us through a tough time. Sam was more than a football player here. He was our brother and we discussed that. Coach Riley has the perfect demeanor to lead us where we need to go. I think it’s his personality. I don't think he walked in there and decided to approach it that way. That's just his natural heart and personality. Our staff is very cohesive. Guys like me who are new don’t feel like outsiders. Mike selected people who could jell and bond together quickly. The guys we have are great, and we all get along. Great leaders have that knack and we can do what we need to do as a family.”

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Voices from Husker Nation

My tears are flowing again. Thank you for this blog. I hurt for Sam's parents, having young adult children of my own. And I hurt for his teammates. But I thank God that Mike Riley is here to help them through their grief. One of the player's parents (I think it was Michael Rose-Ivey's dad) said something to the effect that this situation is why Mike Riley needed to be hired to be our coach. Although not the only reason, it is a big one. I had been thanking God for bringing Mike Riley to Nebraska to coach our Huskers before this tragedy; now, there is more reason to be thankful for him. May God bless Sam's family, friends, & teammates as they grieve. May God bless Mike Riley. Pam Davis, Omaha