Nebraska made a surprising move when it hired Mike Riley on Thursday to replace Bo Pelini, selecting a 61-year-old coach with a sub-.500 record in 14 years of conference play. Riley has a long history of being a nice guy, and has six bowl wins on his resume, at a school that has only won nine bowls in program history.
Nebraska players and others react to shocking Mike Riley hire
Players and fans alike are stunned by the move -- but the Huskers are ready to move on.
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Reaction from Nebraska players was mixed. Days before, Huskers players were upset about Pelini’s firing and continued praising him several days after his exit.
Senior cornerback Josh Mitchell celebrated his departure from the school before praising Riley.
Lol y'all fired Bo for Mike Riley? Good thing I'm out ✌️ gona enjoy this last one with my brothers then peace
— Josh Mitchell (@J_Mitch05) December 4, 2014 I have nothing against Mike Riley he will probably be a great coach for this university I'm just a Bo guy be mad at me if u please
— Josh Mitchell (@J_Mitch05) December 4, 2014 Defensive back Derek Foster shared Mitchell's sentiments.
glad I'm out!
— Derek Foster (@D_FOZ) December 4, 2014 "It's okay everybody!! I have a plan!!"
— Derek Foster (@D_FOZ) December 4, 2014 Good luck to Mike Riley though. Not an easy job to take. Hope he can get support from the 3rd floor.
— Derek Foster (@D_FOZ) December 4, 2014 Former nose tackle and NFL player Steve Warren praised the hire.
They say either you're in or out...I'm in. #LetsWin
— Steven J Warren (@Steve_Warren96) December 4, 2014 Punter Sam Foltz has high hopes.
Time to win a championship, let's get it! #GBR
— Sam Foltz (@samfoltz27) December 4, 2014 Offensive tackle Sam Hahn and linebacker David Santos said they are grateful to look forward.
Thank God that's over. We got our guy now, let's go win a bowl game, and welcome @Coach_Riley
— Samuel Hahn (@daHAHNi) December 4, 2014 Now can we speculate who were gonna play in the bowl game like normal people #Gladthatsover
— David Santos (@DSantos41) December 4, 2014 Faux Pelini had some more pressing concerns.
EXCELLENT HIRE, JUST ONE QUICK QUESTION WHO IS MIKE RILEY
— Fake Bo Pelini (@FauxPelini) December 4, 2014 Corn Nation called the move “stunning” and “out of left field.”
Here's an old Study Hall post from @redmondlonghorn on coach effects and Mike Riley. http://t.co/tyjPbeGdKV pic.twitter.com/lwr8lJWPFZ
— Bill Connelly (@SBN_BillC) December 4, 2014 SB Nation recruiting editor Bud Elliott on the impact in that field for the Huskers:
Riley does a lot with the talent he lands. And at Oregon State, that means sleeper after sleeper. Oregon State is almost never in the running for national recruits, and that’s a reflection of the location and resources of the school, not Riley.
Riley is very good at finding hidden gems from California and Texas, places Nebraska routinely mined for talent before the move to the Big Ten.
But Bo Pelini just got fired for winning nine games per season, and Nebraska was not underacheiving relative to recruited talent level. Riley is not a name that will excite recruits, and he will be 62 by the start of his first season at Nebraska. Whether he can elevate Nebraska’s talent level to win significantly more games than Pelini did is very much up for debate.
Oregon State fans at Building the Dam are ready to look forward.
This will put to rest all debate about changes to the scheme at Oregon St., where Riley, the winningest coach in Beaver history, has struggled down the stretch in recent years, missing the post-season this year, and in 3 of the last 5, and turn the attention to whom Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis will hire to take over the program.
Washington fans at UW Dawg Pound are already thinking of replacements for their conference rival.
It's hard to ignore the fact that Jonathan Smith is a former OSU player and considered one of the greatest Beavers to ever don the Orange and Black. Other replacement candidates that come immediately to mind are guys like Dennis Erickson (what?), Oregon OC Scott Frost, EWU HC Beau Baldwin and Fresno State HC Tim DeRuyter. But that's just off the top of my head. Who knows?
Cal fans at California Golden Blogs are speechless.
So the Nebraska Cornhuskers have just hired Mike Riley.
Uhh...
Um.
Yeah. I got nothing.
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