Oregon coach Mark Helfrich thinks coach Mike Riley, who jumped ship this week from Oregon State to Nebraska to take over for Bo Pelini, will do a great job.
It was not much of a shock that Nebraska took little time this week to hire a new coach to replace Bo Pelini, who was fired on Sunday after completing a 9-3 season, which included a win over Iowa last Friday. The shock around the NCAA was they tabbed Mike Riley from Oregon State to be his replacement.
More from College Football
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- Jim Harbaugh facing 4-game suspension over NCAA violations
- College football neutral site games in 2023: Full list
- College GameDay announces surprise Week 1 destination
- College football analyst warns Oklahoma that Texas is doing better prep for SEC
Per coachingsearch.com, Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said he was surprised to see Riley move to Nebraska, not because he can’t do well there just because of the history he has built up in Corvallis, Oregon. In fact he said he thought Riley would do great in Nebraska.
"He’ll do a great job and he has a lot of success here (in the Pac-12), and that is a storied and tradition-rich place, and he’ll do a great job"
Riley leaves an Oregon State squad that did go to eight bowls during his tenure but went just 5-7 this season. A couple of Oregon State’s losses were close though. They lost in double overtime to a then 20th-ranked Utah team. They also lost a very tough one to a subpar Washington State team. They started figuring it out though towards the end. They beat Arizona State to knock them out of the college football playoff picture.
You have to believe they had Riley in mind for the job the whole time though. It was a quick hire after the firing of Polini. There haven’t been many detractors of the decision yet but Helfrich gives it a thumbs up. That should say something.
More from FanSided
- NFL rumors: Aaron Rodgers sets Jets up for Super Bowl run with new contract
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook suitor maintaining very ‘real’ interest
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return