3 Bill O’Brien replacements Alabama needs to hire to reignite the offense

Garrett Riley can continue rising up the ranks with a stint at Alabama

Lincoln Riley might be the unquestioned superstar of the Riley family tree, but his younger brother Garrett Riley is starting to make more of a name for himself in his own right. He spent two seasons as Sonny Dykes’ offensive coordinator with the SMU Mustangs before he followed the head coach to TCU this past offseason.

All Riley helped the Horned Frogs offense do was lead the way to a 12-0 regular season, Big 12 title game berth and eventually a College Football Playoff berth as well. Oh yeah, he also helped make TCU quarterback Max Duggan a Heisman Trophy runner-up this past season as well. So it’s safe to say that Lincoln isn’t the only offensive genius in the family.

What we’ve seen from Riley in his stops is that he is another assistant coach who has a penchant for maximizing talent despite not having the resources that a program like Alabama football does at its disposal. And though Duggan is a talented athlete, it’s hard to imagine that he wouldn’t have even more success with players like Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson or any transfer worthy of joining the Crimson Tide at quarterback.

Riley is a rising star who, after this past season’s success at TCU, was getting some head coaching buzz throughout the country. Despite that, leaving for Alabama to be the new offensive coordinator would be another step up from him. It might end up being a short rental for the Crimson Tide if he succeeds given his rising stock, but it would at least get the offense back on the right track.

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