Mike Riley is out at Nebraska after three seasons and a 19-19 record.
The news was inevitable after Nebraska hired a new athletic director in the middle of a disappointing season for the Huskers. On Saturday, that news was made official as Mike Riley has been fired as the head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Riley had a 19-19 record and a 12-14 record in the Big Ten.
Riley was a stand-up individual during his time in Lincoln and that was exactly what the program needed and wanted after parting ways with Bo Pelini, who won his fair share of games, but his demeanor put off many in the Nebraska administration. However, after a 9-4 season in 2016 that saw the Huskers ranked in the top 10 briefly, a 4-8 mark in 2017 coupled with the hire of Bill Moos as the new athletic director, Riley’s time was up.
Bill Moos announced that Nebraska has ended Head Football Coach Mike Riley’s employment effective immediately.
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) November 25, 2017
"Riley has brought professionalism and energy to the Nebraska football program, but unfortunately, those attributes have not translated to on-field success."
This marks the first time since the 2004 season that Nebraska didn’t win enough games to play in a bowl game.
The focus on Riley’s replacement starts with former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost who won a national championship in 1997 before beginning his professional career. Frost is the head coach at UCF, who remained undefeated with a thrilling 49-42 win over USF to advance to the AAC Championship Game and are in line for a New Year’s Six bowl berth if they win that game.
Frost will be Nebraska’s top target, but Frost is also the top target of the Florida Gators after they missed out on Chip Kelly who is taking the UCLA job.
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Florida is undoubtedly in a better position to win today, but could Frost be swayed to return home? What if his former coach and Nebraska legend, Tom Osborne, calls on Frost to return to his alma mater to save the program? That could be tough to say no to, but that’s what Nebraska has to do, they have to make it impossible for Frost to turn them down.
It may be uncomfortable to give a coach who has two years of experience at a Group of Five job a godfather offer, but wouldn’t another 4-8 season be even more untenable?
If not Frost, perhaps Washington State head coach Mike Leach, who was hired by Moos, could be an option. And then there’s Bret Bielema, who was fired on Friday by Arkansas, who could be an option for Nebraska to consider as well.