Later Stoops

[cfbandyman]

I personally think that taking a chance on Riley is worth it.

I don't think they really had any other choice given the timing, and thus I believe it was planned all along, and was done this way so as to alleviate an even bigger meltdown by OU fans. 

I believe OU is hoping that this means they'll have a HC for decades.  It's a gamble for sure.

I tend to agree with this, the timing sucks for them, but it's clear they had a plan leading to this. He (Lincoln) has high risk (but manageable), but also high reward. If he works out, they'll have a young guy that can keep them there for a long time, if he doesn't, OU will be able to get about anyone they want. OU is a destination job and easily a top 10/15 job in college football. Also, at least for Lincoln's sake, he gets to inherit a team that is full of good/great players, the chance for him to have success year 1 is very good.

[DQ12]

I personally think that taking a chance on Riley is worth it.

I don't think they really had any other choice given the timing, and thus I believe it was planned all along, and was done this way so as to alleviate an even bigger meltdown by OU fans. 

I believe OU is hoping that this means they'll have a HC for decades.  It's a gamble for sure.

I tend to agree with this, the timing sucks for them, but it's clear they had a plan leading to this. He (Lincoln) has high risk (but manageable), but also high reward. If he works out, they'll have a young guy that can keep them there for a long time, if he doesn't, OU will be able to get about anyone they want. OU is a destination job and easily a top 10/15 job in college football. Also, at least for Lincoln's sake, he gets to inherit a team that is full of good/great players, the chance for him to have success year 1 is very good.

Any coach that has success at OU will be there for a long time.  Nobody is using OU as a stepping stone (outside of weird Urban/Florida, or Saban/LSU examples, but even then, those guys won national championships before moving). 

The Michigans and Ohio States and Alabamas and LSUs and Texases (Texasi?) and OUs of the world don't have to make the coaching decision out of weird loyalty paranoia.  Leave that crap to the Techs and KUs of the world.  By contrast, programs like OU are destinations.  They go out and let other people figure out whether this guy can coach, and then they use their status and cash to turn Les Miles from a Poke to a Tiger, to turn Urb from a Ute to a Gator, etc. etc.  This is just a flat out unnecessary risk for OU.

The only explanation here outside of just bullshit laziness on Castiglione's part is if Stoops' decision was unexpected.  In which case, yeah, It's june.  Keep the continuity for 2017 and then go have a bonafide search and hire a bonafide coach.  But this whole thing just looks so crackerjack for a program like OU.

[meow meow]

Did they name Riley the head coach or did they call it interim?

[sonofdaxjones]

So Lincoln Riley is not a "bonafide" coach.  The handwriting on the wall with Riley was it wasn't a matter of if, but when he'd be a D1 head coach, and the starting point wasn't going to be Middle Tennessee. 

At both ECU and OU, he wasn't the Co-OC or any of that stuff, he was the OC at both schools and the entire offensive side of the football was his responsibility.   There's really only one logic step after that, he just got his a little early.   Bob Stoops was 38 when he took over at OU.

[TheHamburglar]

Either Staples or Feldman said they'd heard Lincoln had turned down jobs he could have had at Purdue, Cincinnati, South Florida, & Houston. 

Every thought he was an easy, great hire at Texas Tech if they fired Kliff.

[DQ12]

So Lincoln Riley is not a "bonafide" coach.  The handwriting on the wall with Riley was it wasn't a matter of if, but when he'd be a D1 head coach, and the starting point wasn't going to be Middle Tennessee. 

At both ECU and OU, he wasn't the Co-OC or any of that stuff, he was the OC at both schools and the entire offensive side of the football was his responsibility.   There's really only one logic step after that, he just got his a little early.   Bob Stoops was 38 when he took over at OU.

Bob Stoops had eight years of coordinator experience at P5 schools before he was offered the job.  Not for nothing, but OU in '98 wasn't the same as 'OU in '16 either.

The logical step for Riley was to go spend a couple years being the man in charge at Houston or somewhere.  It definitely wasn't, or at least shouldn't have been, being given the keys to a top 10 program after being a P5 coordinator for a couple years.

Let me put it this way, had K-State hired Riley, I would've taken a deep breath and thought "okay, let's see what this guy can do."

[Pett]

Never forget 2003, 2012, & 2014.

[sonofdaxjones]

So Lincoln Riley is not a "bonafide" coach.  The handwriting on the wall with Riley was it wasn't a matter of if, but when he'd be a D1 head coach, and the starting point wasn't going to be Middle Tennessee. 

At both ECU and OU, he wasn't the Co-OC or any of that stuff, he was the OC at both schools and the entire offensive side of the football was his responsibility.   There's really only one logic step after that, he just got his a little early.   Bob Stoops was 38 when he took over at OU.

Bob Stoops had eight years of coordinator experience at P5 schools before he was offered the job.  Not for nothing, but OU in '98 wasn't the same as 'OU in '16 either.

The logical step for Riley was to go spend a couple years being the man in charge at Houston or somewhere.  It definitely wasn't, or at least shouldn't have been, being given the keys to a top 10 program after being a P5 coordinator for a couple years.

Let me put it this way, had K-State hired Riley, I would've taken a deep breath and thought "okay, let's see what this guy can do."

Well okay then.

[SPEmaw]

[instagram][/instagram]

Couple of thoughts:

1.  Hiring Lincoln Riley is a stupid, stupid move.  He's inexperienced and a complete unknown commodity.  Maybe he'll work out, maybe he won't.  And that's the problem.  OU is comfortably a top 10 coaching job, and they can afford to go out and hire someone with a proven track record.  Make Chip Kelly an $8m/year offer.  Hell, take a run at Dabo.  OU can do that stuff.  Instead, we're playing the "wait and see" game with a 33 year old first-year head coach who has had less time as a P5 coordinator than Ron Prince when K-State hired him.

2.  Notwithstanding this good news for teams like K-State, I will miss Bob.  He was always a great ambassador for the Big 12, even (especially) during the dicey periods.  Even at 58 or whatever, he was an elder statesman.  Hated his guts back when 98 was still fresh, but I've grown to really respect him.

LOL @ Dabo leaving Clemson for OU at this point. He's not going anywhere but Bama when Saban retires.

[Skipper44]

I just can't move past the Merv thing.

Stoops: "I think I'm going to announce my resignation"
AD: "Hold tight, Merv gets the spotlight for a while. You can retire in June"

it appears Bob had 700,000 additional reasons to retire after June 1st but I am sure Merv was his top priority

[passranch]

Couple of thoughts:

1.  Hiring Lincoln Riley is a stupid, stupid move.  He's inexperienced and a complete unknown commodity.  Maybe he'll work out, maybe he won't.  And that's the problem.  OU is comfortably a top 10 coaching job, and they can afford to go out and hire someone with a proven track record.  Make Chip Kelly an $8m/year offer.  Hell, take a run at Dabo.  OU can do that stuff.  Instead, we're playing the "wait and see" game with a 33 year old first-year head coach who has had less time as a P5 coordinator than Ron Prince when K-State hired him.

I can definitely see your reasoning, but the last person to have HCing experience before landing the job at OU was Howard Schnellenberger.  I think they are more concerned about not making the same mistake after Switzer left.

You mean like promoting assistant coach Gary Gibbs?  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oklahoma_Sooners_head_football_coaches

Gary Gibbs who never had a losing season and was fired and replaced by a .500 coach (Schnellenberger)?  That mistake?

Blake was the mistake.  Gibbs was fine.

Either way your post doesn't make any sense.  If Gibbs was the mistake made after Switzer retired, then Riley looks like the same damn thing.

The real question is will you guys fire Riley after four or five sorta meh seasons and replace him with a washed up alcoholic who tanks the program then replace him with an incompetent buffoon?  Only time will tell...

Gary Gibbs went 2-15-1 against the three best teams in the Big 8 in the 6 years he was at OU. That performance against teams that matter will get any coach fired from any program. If Lincoln Riley goes 2-7 against OSU, UT, and KSU his first three years his seat will be burning hot and it should be.

My point was really that if they wanted to avoid the very same situation they found themselves in after Switzer, promoting the assistant coach to HC would not necessarily be the way.  It was a semantic argument, really, nothing more.

I got carried away with the rest.

[Functianalyst]

The two extremes to me would be Lincoln Riley tanks the program similar to the 80's; or win a national championship in the next 2 years.  Neither of them are a stretch.  Chances are he will start somewhere in between.  But he knows the bar has been set high.  I doubt OU will accept 2 consecutive years of the record progressively worsening or 3-consecutive years without a 10 win season. 

As far as the lack of HC experience, you can count on one hand the number of current HCs in the Big XII that had prior experience at a D1 school.  Besides I still go back to the favorite to take over K-State.

[Rage Against the McKee]

The odds of Lincoln Riley stepping in to coach OU as well as Bob Stoops was able to are close to zero, so I expect him to be fired by then end of the 2020 season.

[DQ12]

The two extremes to me would be Lincoln Riley tanks the program similar to the 80's; or win a national championship in the next 2 years.  Neither of them are a stretch.  Chances are he will start somewhere in between.  But he knows the bar has been set high.  I doubt OU will accept 2 consecutive years of the record progressively worsening or 3-consecutive years without a 10 win season. 

As far as the lack of HC experience, you can count on one hand the number of current HCs in the Big XII that had prior experience at a D1 school.  Besides I still go back to the favorite to take over K-State.

I have to think that there's no coach in the big 12 (save for Beatty and maybe Kliff?) who had less experience than Riley at the time they were hired. 

[ChiComCat]

I just think Riley is basically a glorified interim coach even if he doesn't have that title.  We'll know more when his contract comes out.  I think they would like to see him do a good job and keep him but anything less than a NY6 bowl puts that at jeopardy.

[Pete]

I have been thinking about it, and this coaching change makes me really optimistic about winning the Big 12, if, IF Bill is healthy all year.

[MixBerryCrunch]

I hope Bob enjoys a game or two at BSFS this season.

[Pett]

I hope Bob enjoys a game or two at BSFS this season.

incredible talking point. no reason this shouldn't happen, he would be welcomed with open arms

[MakeItRain]

I hope Bob enjoys a game or two at BSFS this season.

incredible talking point. no reason this shouldn't happen, he would be welcomed with open arms

Doesn't he have twin boys playing for Norman High? I'm guessing the fam won't be a fan of the five hour drive after a Friday night game.

[Pett]

I hope Bob enjoys a game or two at BSFS this season.

incredible talking point. no reason this shouldn't happen, he would be welcomed with open arms

Doesn't he have twin boys playing for Norman High? I'm guessing the fam won't be a fan of the five hour drive after a Friday night game.

both have been in manhattan numerous times for unofficial visits

[SPEmaw]

Guys, what if BGB comes to manhattan to take over after LHCBS's farewell tour?

[meow meow]

Guys, what if BGB comes to manhattan to take over after LHCBS's farewell tour?

this probably deserves its own thread, you should start it!

[tdaver]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19636838/lincoln-riley-hires-ex-boss-ruffin-mcneill-oklahoma

[ChiComCat]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19636838/lincoln-riley-hires-ex-boss-ruffin-mcneill-oklahoma

[MadCat]

Mike Stoops has got to be refreshing his resume, don't you think?