Nebraska went back to a familiar college football name by hiring Mike Riley as the program’s newest head coach to replace the recently fired Bo Pelini.
#Huskers, help us welcome Coach Mike Riley to the Big Red family!#GBR
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) December 4, 2014
Riley, who began his college football coaching career as a graduate assistant under Mike White at the University of California in 1975, has a ton of experience.
He coached Oregon State in 1997 and 1998 before making the jump to the National Football League as the head man with the San Diego Chargers. Unfortunately for Riley, that proved to be an utter failure. In just three seasons with San Diego, he posted a 14-34 record.
After serving as the New Orleans Saints assistant head coach in 2002, Riley returned to Corvallis where he’s manned the Oregon State sideline since 2003.
As the program’s all-time wins leader, Riley led Oregon State to eight bowl games (six wins) in his second stint with the program.
Seen as a good all-around guy and solid recruitor, Riley seemed to be the safe choice here. However, there should be some concern in Lincoln that he might not necessarily be an upgrade over Pelini, who is coming off a solid 9-3 regular season. Nebraska earned a bowl trip in each of Pelini’s seven seasons. The team also won at least nine games each season.
Photo: USA Today