On Tuesday, former NFL general manager turned television analyst Charlie Casserly lit into Kyler Murray for having bad leadership and interviewing poorly at the combine. Murray’s coach at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley, disputed that narrative vehemently on Wednesday morning.
"I’ve personally spoken with the majority of teams that he met with [at the Combine} and everyone was glowing about their conversations with Kyler. … Basically the complete opposite of what Charley [Casserly] said." – Lincoln Riley on (@dpshow)
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) March 6, 2019
Riley also contradicted Casserly’s comments about Murray being a poor leader.
"Kyler [Murray] was a tremendous leader for us … all he cares about is winning. I think our team took on his personality." – Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley on Kyler Murray on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) March 6, 2019
A few things are worth noting here.
The first is that Riley was going to defend Murray, regardless of what really did or did not happen at the combine. That’s his guy, and he isn’t going to let him be dragged through the mud.
Secondly, the report fed to Casserly could very well have been put out there by a team that actually wants Murray but doesn’t want to overpay when it comes time to trade up (assuming Arizona does not take him No. 1 overall).
Finally, Casserly wasn’t the only person who heard bad things about Murray’s interviews at the combine.
It’s officially lying season around the NFL, and it won’t end until the draft is over.