A little respect for Mike Riley

[chicolby]

This post will likely get skewered by many on here, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for Mike Riley. I am in no way suggesting that he’s the right coach for Nebraska or that the product on the field is what fans should see. But let me tell you, this man continues to carry himself with class and professionalism that very few others could do.

He is blasted with questions about who will take over when he’s gone among mass speculation that his job is coming to a close. He answers the call when it may be easier to say “we just switched over systems on both sides of the ball and we simply don’t have the right players yet” but instead he talks about improving and that things aren’t as bad as they look.

These players are seeing first hand how a leader deals with unfortunate circumstances and I think they will be better men because of it.

The last guy chose to go out fighting to the end by calling names and encouraging guys to go elsewhere. You won’t see Mike Riley do the same.

Simply put, the world could use a few more people like Mike Riley.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s the right guy for the job. I think we all agree the time is right to head in a different direction. But I’m hopeful that the players give it their all next week and that the fans pay respect for what is a damn classy man leading these young men.

 

[maplesyrup95]

I have the utmost respect for him as an individual. I had the chance to meet him about a week after he was announced as HC. He was an extremely charismatic guy. I will always respect him and have learned quite a bit just listening to him deal with the media. The quote about "everything looks great except the game" aside, he is one cool customer under rapid-fire questions. And they have been aplenty this month. So, yes, we do need more people like that.

On the flip side...As a competitor, he should have had way more in the tank to produce a better product than what we have been seeing on the field. It's sad because this isn't a lower level Power 5 program like Oregon State. We have one of the richest (double meaning) programs and fan cultures in America. Even though this team sees the writing on the wall, they should care about the game more and play for their University—ESPECIALLY THE SENIORS. There is no reason why our defense should be giving up 50+ points and getting blown out of the water. It has been downright pathetic to watch and it tells me we have an infinitesimal amount of player leadership, urgency and accountability. That part is on him, it's on Billy Devaney, Sean Eichorst and Harvey Perlman for making this all possible.

I have a great deal and amount of respect for the way he carried himself as the coach of Nebraska, but he knows he let too many the wrong people in his circle and the vision for Nebraska football got very clouded. I'm not too worried about him, though, because he's about to be getting residuals up the a$$ and is absolutely set for retirement. Business is just like sports. If you don't win, you're out.

 

[Child of the Corn]

So you're trying to tell me he's a nice guy?

 

[LPTC1]

He is a nice man.

 

[otismotis08]

Back in the day, I'd have let him babysit my kids and gather my mail when out of town. He'd make an OK neighbor.

 

[Rocky Mtn Husker]

Mike Riley is a guy you wouldn't mind hanging out with. You can point to so many things that led to his demise. No doubt a really good guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. Good luck Mr. R.

 

[GretnaShawn]

He is a nice man.

Being nice and being a classy and respected are different. He’s nice. And he is also carrying himself with dignity and class through an extremely uncomfortable and strenuous circumstance. I respect the hell out of him as a person for handling himself the way he has.

It’s easy to say, ‘well he’s going to get an enormous paycheck.’ Etc. But the last a-hole was getting the same thing and he tried to burn the place to the ground on the way out.

 

[ssmill777]

Mike Riley is a guy you wouldn't mind hanging out with. You can point to so many things that led to his demise. No doubt a really good guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. Good luck Mr. R.

His time at NU was not unlike Callahan. Both very good coaches, good recruiters, but surrounded themselves with some lousy position coaches & coordinators. Callahan lost the team with Cosgrove and Elmo (Blake too); Riley's weak spots are OL Cavanaugh and Banker (whose D was better than Diaco's). Trying to change offense (from Armstrong to Lee) and defense (4-3 to 3-4) in year 3 is suicide.

 

[Antwill]

Seems like a genuinely good man. I am certain that he gave his absolute best effort, but sometimes that isn't good enough. I see no reason for people to be so personally angry with him and act like he intentionally tried to fail.

 

[Husker Todd]

This post will likely get skewered by many on here, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for Mike Riley. I am in no way suggesting that he’s the right coach for Nebraska or that the product on the field is what fans should see. But let me tell you, this man continues to carry himself with class and professionalism that very few others could do.

He is blasted with questions about who will take over when he’s gone among mass speculation that his job is coming to a close. He answers the call when it may be easier to say “we just switched over systems on both sides of the ball and we simply don’t have the right players yet” but instead he talks about improving and that things aren’t as bad as they look.

These players are seeing first hand how a leader deals with unfortunate circumstances and I think they will be better men because of it.

The last guy chose to go out fighting to the end by calling names and encouraging guys to go elsewhere. You won’t see Mike Riley do the same.

Simply put, the world could use a few more people like Mike Riley.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s the right guy for the job. I think we all agree the time is right to head in a different direction. But I’m hopeful that the players give it their all next week and that the fans pay respect for what is a damn classy man leading these young men.

Well said! A shining example of what the Nebraska way should sound like.

 

[19Football19]

Seems like a genuinely good man. I am certain that he gave his absolute best effort, but sometimes that isn't good enough. I see no reason for people to be so personally angry with him and act like he intentionally tried to fail.

This post will likely get skewered by many on here, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for Mike Riley. I am in no way suggesting that he’s the right coach for Nebraska or that the product on the field is what fans should see. But let me tell you, this man continues to carry himself with class and professionalism that very few others could do.

He is blasted with questions about who will take over when he’s gone among mass speculation that his job is coming to a close. He answers the call when it may be easier to say “we just switched over systems on both sides of the ball and we simply don’t have the right players yet” but instead he talks about improving and that things aren’t as bad as they look.

These players are seeing first hand how a leader deals with unfortunate circumstances and I think they will be better men because of it.

The last guy chose to go out fighting to the end by calling names and encouraging guys to go elsewhere. You won’t see Mike Riley do the same.

Simply put, the world could use a few more people like Mike Riley.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s the right guy for the job. I think we all agree the time is right to head in a different direction. But I’m hopeful that the players give it their all next week and that the fans pay respect for what is a damn classy man leading these young men.

I agree he’s a great man. There just isn’t the talent here and there won’t be the talent here regardless who they bring in.

 

[rrthusker]

There’s a reason he is liked and respected in the industry. It’s just time to open a new chapter in Husker football history.

 

[otismotis08]

Remember when incoming HCMR was part of a commentating crew during the National Championship game? Hardly seems possible now.

 

[Husker Sledge]

Even though you can see the stress is beating him down, he continues to handle himself beautifully. We can all learn a lot from Mike Riley. It's just too bad things didn't work out on the field.

 

[SnohomishRed]

I agree he’s a great man. There just isn’t the talent here and there won’t be the talent here regardless who they bring in.

Oh good lord - He is a decent guy - how do you get from decent to great OMG - There is no need to pile on Riley and the fans have not booed nor have they been stalking him. In fact NU fans have acted about as well as can be expected with this mess.

Riley is not a good football coach or at least not a good football coach here - quit making up excuses and the lame no talent thing

 

[Harry Caray]

Most coaches other than Bo Pelini handle themselves with professionalism in this situation. It should be expected. Time to find a coach who is classy and knows how to win.

 

[little a]

This post will likely get skewered by many on here, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for Mike Riley. I am in no way suggesting that he’s the right coach for Nebraska or that the product on the field is what fans should see. But let me tell you, this man continues to carry himself with class and professionalism that very few others could do.

He is blasted with questions about who will take over when he’s gone among mass speculation that his job is coming to a close. He answers the call when it may be easier to say “we just switched over systems on both sides of the ball and we simply don’t have the right players yet” but instead he talks about improving and that things aren’t as bad as they look.

These players are seeing first hand how a leader deals with unfortunate circumstances and I think they will be better men because of it.

The last guy chose to go out fighting to the end by calling names and encouraging guys to go elsewhere. You won’t see Mike Riley do the same.

Simply put, the world could use a few more people like Mike Riley.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s the right guy for the job. I think we all agree the time is right to head in a different direction. But I’m hopeful that the players give it their all next week and that the fans pay respect for what is a damn classy man leading these young men.

He was paid handsomely to win games, period. He failed miserably and the Eichorst who hired him failed the Nebraska program miserably. The End.

 

[schuele]

Part of me wishes Bo would have stayed around long enough for the Big Ten to force him to do one of those insufferable "Sports Lite with Mike Hall" commercials. That alone might have been worth the price of a cable subscription.

 

[Firemiker]

We placed a premium on class, professionalism, and being presentable in front of the media and made the quality of the work as a secondary consideration.

 

[jteten]

Well.......Bye.

 

[redwine65]

nothing has been announced, but, I hope the players riley got fit into the new coaches system. I only have so many years to live.

and for someone grown up watching Dr. Tom system, it painful to watch us flip flop every 4 years to new offensive systems, on average, and watching run/pass qb's trying to be joe montana.

if riley players can grow under the new system, his time here will be considered worth while.

 

[DayByDay69]

Great man, wrong for Nebraska. This job is just not for everyone. He will be remembered for being a great ambassador of Husker football off the field.

Don't feel tooooo sorry though, Eichorst gave him a comfortable retirement on top of what he already had. Still so puzzling, Oregon State was about to let him go.

 

[Huskercigar]

His time at NU was not unlike Callahan. Both very good coaches, good recruiters, but surrounded themselves with some lousy position coaches & coordinators. Callahan lost the team with Cosgrove and Elmo (Blake too); Riley's weak spots are OL Cavanaugh and Banker (whose D was better than Diaco's). Trying to change offense (from Armstrong to Lee) and defense (4-3 to 3-4) in year 3 is suicide.

There is zero evidence that he is a very good coach.

 

[Harry Caray]

nothing has been announced, but, I hope the players riley got fit into the new coaches system. I only have so many years to live.

and for someone grown up watching Dr. Tom system, it painful to watch us flip flop every 4 years to new offensive systems, on average, and watching run/pass qb's trying to be joe montana.

if riley players can grow under the new system, his time here will be considered worth while.

We have the skill players to run about any offensive system if they don't transfer - Spielman, Morgan, Gebbia, Bradley, Lindsey (where has he been?), McQuitty, Joshua Moore coming in. They key will be if the next coach can develop our offensive line and turn around our defense.

 

[dinglefritz]

IMO Riley has laid the ground work for the next guy to be very successful and for that guy to get plenty of time to implement his systems. It's been painful this year, but IMO the long term prospects of NU look as good as they have for quite a few years.

 

[supersport24]

I agree he’s a great man. There just isn’t the talent here and there won’t be the talent here regardless who they bring in.

There was enough talent to win 7-8 games going into Iowa. Riley would still have his job if he was even a decent coach.

 

[bshirt73]

Oh good lord - He is a decent guy - how do you get from decent to great OMG - There is no need to pile on Riley and the fans have not booed nor have they been stalking him. In fact NU fans have acted about as well as can be expected with this mess.

Riley is not a good football coach or at least not a good football coach here - quit making up excuses and the lame no talent thing

Exactly.

The endless apologists dream up 10,000 excuses for his miserable performance daily. It's been that way for just under three years. MR is a "nice guy" but a totally inept HC. But as always.....excuses, excuses, excuses.

 

[bshirt73]

I agree he’s a great man. There just isn’t the talent here and there won’t be the talent here regardless who they bring in.

100% horsesh*t. A good HC will make a massive difference.

 

[Camcon2016]

Thank you MR for the lesson in humility. You have moderated our expectations and maybe even improved the character of an already classy fan base. I wish you well but now we have to get back to big boy football

 

[Geck286]

This post will likely get skewered by many on here, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for Mike Riley. I am in no way suggesting that he’s the right coach for Nebraska or that the product on the field is what fans should see. But let me tell you, this man continues to carry himself with class and professionalism that very few others could do.

He is blasted with questions about who will take over when he’s gone among mass speculation that his job is coming to a close. He answers the call when it may be easier to say “we just switched over systems on both sides of the ball and we simply don’t have the right players yet” but instead he talks about improving and that things aren’t as bad as they look.

These players are seeing first hand how a leader deals with unfortunate circumstances and I think they will be better men because of it.

The last guy chose to go out fighting to the end by calling names and encouraging guys to go elsewhere. You won’t see Mike Riley do the same.

Simply put, the world could use a few more people like Mike Riley.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s the right guy for the job. I think we all agree the time is right to head in a different direction. But I’m hopeful that the players give it their all next week and that the fans pay respect for what is a damn classy man leading these young men.

I stopped when you said you’re thankful for Riley. There is absolutely NOTHING this guy did for anyone to be thankful for! NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have NO respect for him whatsoever! I HATE that goober intensely!

 

[CatColumbia]

IMO Riley has laid the ground work for the next guy to be very successful and for that guy to get plenty of time to implement his systems. It's been painful this year, but IMO the long term prospects of NU look as good as they have for quiet a few years.

I agree with a lot of your posts but please elaborate on this one. Help make me an optimist as to why the ground work is better now than it was 3 years ago?

 

[mel mains]

IMO Riley has laid the ground work for the next guy to be very successful and for that guy to get plenty of time to implement his systems. It's been painful this year, but IMO the long term prospects of NU look as good as they have for quiet a few years.

It’s hard to judge because most of what you post is undefinable or unquantifiable tropes, but if your sentiment is correct then it must mean that Mike Riley is among the worst actual W-L coaches in CFB. If the future without him is that bright it’s disheartening that his present is so bleak.

 

[Geck286]

Even though you can see the stress is beating him down, he continues to handle himself beautifully. We can all learn a lot from Mike Riley. It's just too bad things didn't work out on the field.

Learning how to lose gracefully? He has many, many years of practice. Good riddance!

 

[Mack In Motion]

I agree he’s a great man. There just isn’t the talent here and there won’t be the talent here regardless who they bring in.

There is more than enough talent on the roster for Riley to have done well enough to remain here.

 

[huskerfan1414]

IMO Riley has laid the ground work for the next guy to be very successful and for that guy to get plenty of time to implement his systems. It's been painful this year, but IMO the long term prospects of NU look as good as they have for quiet a few years.

No.
You decided this was going to happen when he was hired and so you just blindly say it.
It proves that no matter what, you were going to say Riley improved the state of the program.
That's BS.
We will probably go 4-8 this year and have some of the most historic losses in Nebraska history.
Mid major at home, OSU, Minny...plus all the other poor losses.
Rileys recruiting results haven't been that special. He's had some good players sign but not as much as the hype. 25ish ranked classes with multiple deflectors. I think this is pretty standard before Riley as well.
I hate to bring Bo up, but one of the things Riley had to clear up was toxic, anti fan attitude. Riley isn't leaving players like that for the next coach, however he has established a culture of losing and lackluster effort. These things are not easy to fix, either. Winning and losing are habits. Trusting coaches, effort, attitude...these things are as poor as ever right now thanks to Riley.
Development is atrocious. We have made our players worse. Gates was better two years ago and last year...he was a future all big ten guy at one point and now he's terrible. No position group has improved. There are some potential playmakers coming up, but that is no different than any team, and they will be behind in development due to Riley.

When I read posts like yours, I really don't think some people understand just how historically terrible mike Riley is as a football coach, especially at Nebraska. Yes you have said he will get fired, etc....but I still see some posters making the talent excuse, or the assistants excuse (not saying they are good, just not an excuse for Riley), and now saying the program is in better shape than before.
I really don't think you understand how awful mike Riley is as a coach. Good guy. Maybe someday it will hit people when they look back.

This is not an excuse for the next coach. I will have the same expectations I had for Riley. None of those expectations included a B1G title in year three as the butthurt coalition likes to falsely accuse people of.
Also, any success the next coach has cannot be attributed to Riley.

 

[GretnaShawn]

I stopped when you said you’re thankful for Riley. There is absolutely NOTHING this guy did for anyone to be thankful for! NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have NO respect for him whatsoever! I HATE that goober intensely!

If you hate Mike Riley and have no respect for him, that probably says more about you than it does him.

 

[B1G RED RULES]

His time at NU was not unlike Callahan. Both very good coaches, good recruiters, but surrounded themselves with some lousy position coaches & coordinators. Callahan lost the team with Cosgrove and Elmo (Blake too); Riley's weak spots are OL Cavanaugh and Banker (whose D was better than Diaco's). Trying to change offense (from Armstrong to Lee) and defense (4-3 to 3-4) in year 3 is suicide.

Very good coach - WTF???

 

[Geck286]

If you hate Mike Riley and have no respect for him, that probably says more about you than it does him.

It says that I don’t like Riles!

 

[The_Man_Behind_The_Man]

Great Post! Mike Riley is all class. It really comes down to wins and losses and how we looked in the games we lost. He just didn’t get it done here.

 

[dinglefritz]

I agree with a lot of your posts but please elaborate on this one. Help make me an optimist as to why the ground work is better now than it was 3 years ago?

I doubt that there will be many if any players who question why Riley was fired. Contrast that to all the angry ones about Bo being fired. Riley will handle his dismissal in a way that will be much easier for the next guy to come in and not worry about stepping on toes. I haven't seen a single Riley supporter who doesn't realize that a change has to be made. Having the fans, former Huskers, boosters and administration all pulling in the same direction is a big deal. Assuming we make the right hire, the next guy is going to get time and Riley's problems have dramatically lowered expectations. We need to stabilize our staff in order to achieve some long term success.

IMO, we had the talent to be competitive this year. The biggest problems this team had were the youth in our O line, the transition to the 3-4 and all the injuries we had in the back 7 on defense. We lost Jones for most of the year and he's still not 100% We lost Gifford for the season when we least could afford it and make no mistake he was playing the best of any player on D. But the biggest factor IMO was Diaco's inability to effectively install and run his defense. Bobby Elliot's death certainly didn't help. All that said, our O line got a lot of valuable experience this year. We will get healthy and hopefully be able to find some DBs this off season. I also expect to improve our coaching especially on the defensive side of the ball.