Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
After Oklahoma’s streak of six consecutive Big 12 titles ended Saturday with a loss to Oklahoma State, Sooners coach Lincoln Riley made a statement.
“I’m not going to be the next head coach at LSU,” Riley said.
Turns out there was a good reason for the denial. He had another job waiting.
Riley is headed for USC as the Trojans’ new head coach, the school announced Sunday. According to numerous reports, Riley informed his Oklahoma staff and his players earlier Sunday that he was leaving. Former OU coach Bob Stoops, an analyst for Fox Sports, will serve as the interim coach for the bowl game, officials confirmed.
“Leaving OU was probably the most difficult decision of my life,” Riley said in a statement. “OU is one of the best college football programs in the country, and it has been forever. That’s not going to change. It’s not going to change in the SEC, it’s not going to change with another head coach. It’s stood the test of time and it’s going to continue to do so.
“This was a personal decision solely based on my willingness to go take on a new challenge, and I felt like it was the right opportunity for me and my family to do that.”
The news blindsided most of the college football world, sending shockwaves across the landscape, from Norman through the Big 12 to the Pac-12. And probably some stunned folks in Baton Rouge, where LSU was reportedly willing to offer Riley up to $12 million a year.
So Riley, a proud product of Muleshoe, Texas, is now headed to Rodeo Drive. His task is no less than to turn USC back into the flagship of the Pac-12 after years of underachieving mediocrity. Picture a Left Coast version of Texas.
Riley, still only 38, leaves with a 55-10 record, including 37-7 in the Big 12 and 5-1 against Red River rival Texas. He produced two Heisman winners.
As strange as the coaching circus has been at USC since Pete Carroll left — featuring Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton, fired back in Week 2 — it might not take much to rise to the top of the very winnable Pac-12. Recruiting southern California will be a key. Certainly, attracting top quarterbacks won’t be a problem.
Outside of Oregon and Utah, who really stands in the way? Future Big 12 member BYU went 5-0 this year against the Pac-12.
No wonder Riley opted for that landscape instead of the SEC West, where they fire coaches two years after winning a national championship.
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione now faces a megahire, maybe the most important of his time with the Sooners.
“Oklahoma is one of the premier football programs and jobs in the country,” Castiglione said in a statement. “Our storied history, annual pursuit of conference and national championships, tremendous fan support, beautiful facilities and quality of life combine to make this an incredible place to recruit to and coach, and we have begun the search for our next great leader. …
“When we met with the team today, I communicated to our players that our program is about them. It will always be bigger than any one person. And just as it’s always been, Oklahoma football is positioned for greatness.”
It’s not just about replacing Riley, viewed as a next generation offensive mind. Castiglione has to find a coach to navigate the move to the SEC in 2023, or ‘24 or ‘25.
Does Castiglione go for someone with Sooner ties — such as Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel or Kentucky coach Mark Stoops — or go outside the box?
And will SEC competition be viewed as an attractive challenge or a scary detriment?
The move won’t be easy, not even for the Sooners. And there’s no natural heir apparent, unlike when Riley ascended after Bob Stoops stepped down. The last time an OU coach actually left for another job was Chuck Fairbanks to the NFL in 1973.
The SEC is a different animal. Yeah, everybody except Vanderbilt is headed to a bowl game, but not everybody is happy. Sooner fans expecting another championship run in a new league are likely to be disappointed.
And as good as Riley was, he never got Oklahoma over the College Football Playoff hump in three tries — although the Sooners probably should have beaten Georgia that one year at the Rose Bowl.
There’s also the matter of keeping the current talent happy with the new hire in the age of the transfer portal, plus the members of a recruiting class currently ranked seventh nationally in the 247Sports composite. Four players from the Classes of 2022 and ‘23 had already decommitted Sunday night, including 5-star California quarterback recruit Malachi Nelson.
More than a few current and future Sooners might contemplate joining Riley, including freshman quarterback Caleb Williams.
“I appreciate all the concerns about the situation,” Williams tweeted, “but I am also happy for Coach Riley, mama Riley, Sloan and Stella for that huge opportunity ahead. That’s all I plan to say right now! #boomer”
Even a year ago, the move might have sparked mixed emotions in the Big 12. As much as it would have opened the door to other teams, Oklahoma’s success was viewed as integral to the conference.
Now? There’s very little sympathy for the Sooners, in either the Big 12 for a couple more years or for what awaits in the SEC.
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