The truth is for me, I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here. I love coaching college football. I certainly don't have that itch right now."
Do you leave a top 5 college football program to coach for one of the worst organizations in professional sports?
Would have a small ripple effect for the Hokies if he left- Beamer is on their staff, Fuente is a Tulsa native & went to Oklahoma.
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hmmm 10 mill a year to be the king of a state for 20 years or 2 years in cold ugly Cleveland where you will have to tuck your tail and go back to coaching Texas Tech.
The CFB is the pearl to a quality coach in this current climate. No one will mess with you for 20 years if you put a good product on the field.
Kings don't always stay kings. Programs tumble and fanbases can be unforgiving after a couple of bad seasons, especially to an "outsider" like Riley.
Honestly, if he had NFL aspirations I think this is the job to take. Browns loaded with young talent and draft equity, really low expectations and obvious rapport with your starting quarterback.
Not to mention tons of salary cap space even with all that young talent.
They might be contenders in the next couple years with the right coaching hire.
I think he should go. It seems like a situation where he can't really lose. If he succeeds in Cleveland, where the pieces seem to be coming together for a successful run, he'll earn a crap-ton of money and be hailed as the next Bellicheck. If he fails, he'll earn a king's ransom in his buyout and certainly find himself in the running for every top opening in the college ranks (ala Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, and Chip Kelly). The guy's already a superstar in the college football coaching world and a failed stint with the Browns will do little to erode that stature.
Eh, it might be wise to wait and see what happens at UCLA this year. Schools may look at Chip Kelly as a cautionary tale of hiring the once-hot college head coach that flamed out in the NFL.
And while Harbaugh has Michigan running at a high level, his seat is already getting warm since he still can't beat any of their rivals.
Chip needs some time to get his own players into UCLA. The Qb situation was dreadful when he arrived. I'm not ready to call Chip at UCLA a bust. I do think going to Florida would have been the better decision though.
Harbaugh is a weird dude, and probably the most overrated coach in the history of football.
You'd think the Browns would have low expectations but that hasn't stopped them from being on their 6th head coach in 10 seasons. They churn through coaches almost as quickly as D2 passes through an undergrad's digestive tract.
I think they hire Bud Foster. /s
Riley has already said he is not interested. When he wins a couple of championships at Oklahoma and maybe feels like he has accomplished his goals there you might see him jump. Fuente seems like a Hokie until he accomplishes his goal here. And honestly, right now there are a lot more attractive candidates then Fuente right now until he proves he can win at VT. I know most people agree with me that we are headed in the right direction, but they could have a shot at most coaches and there are many proven commodities out there for them to contact.
To answer your question, no I don't leave a top 5 program to jump to the NFL. But I also like college football more than NFL and I feel like I wouldn't want to deal with the egos of the NFL players and the lack of decision making ability for personnel.
But on the flip side, in the NFL you don't have to worry about silly things like NCAA regulations on practice time limits, Title IX, academics, recruiting, and sucking up to donors.
no, you have to worry about practice time limits imposed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sucking up to ownership, players having way more free time and the money to do way more stupid things in public, and a much longer schedule in terms of actual competition with preseason and especially if you make the playoffs.....you are looking at 23 or 24 weeks with one bye week to get to the Superbowl and one big challenge for those coaches that were superstars in college.....a team that is either near the bottom or is struggling is who is hiring you and you cant just use your personality to improve that talent level like you can at an Alabama or Oklahoma.
So you're saying that coaching Oklahoma is easier than coaching the Browns? I just don't see it. You definitely put more time in in the NFL, but I just think the time constraints put on coaches in college are a challenge as well. Less time in college to game plan and study film.
But you do bring up valid points, for sure.
If I was Riley and I had NFL aspirations, I'd wait for the next opportunity. I don't care how many good players Cleveland might have, their ownership and management has continually proven they operate at the highest levels of incompetence, and its only a matter of time before they torch the whole thing and you're tits up looking for another job with a ruined reputation.
Don't associate yourself with the Haslams. Period.
At this point I am incredibly disappointed to say I am not worried about Fuente leaving for a "bigger name".
Yep. It's funny how we dislike the feeling of having to worry about our head coach leaving, but we dislike the feeling of not having to worry even more.
If the question is "Lincoln Riley to Browns?", he pretty much answered, "No."
Wake me up when Dabo takes one of these NFL jobs.
He wont... he's waiting for Saban to retire, then he's going home.
Great CFB coaches always do great in the NFL. Just ask NIck Saban...
or Chip Kelly, the Ol' Ball Coach Steve Spurrier, maybe Bobby "Motorcylce Crash Dummy" Petrino, and let us not forget Dennis Erickson when the U was definitely back and last but not least Lou "From Legend to Laughingstock" Holtz
Pete Carroll won a Super Bowl, though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dennis Green is another that comes to mind - didn't get to the Super Bowl but was one shanked-kick away from it.
or Jimmy Johnson, or Dick Vermeil, or Bill Walsh, or Tom Coughlin,
There's no recruiting in the NFL, but you only have to deal with the AD in CFB (no owner, GM, etc).
Pick your poison...
These college guys are angling/positioning for big extensions by trying to get NFL teams interested in them. It's called bargaining/leverage. NFL teams are MUCH more likley to hire a re-tread or NFL assistant than a hot young college coach.
Riley = No way, Jose.
Urban Meyer = Book it.
Bold Prediction:
Urban retires
Nick Saban retires
Lincoln leaves for NFL