Nebraska Football: Time to move on from Mike Riley
Nebraska football lost again this past weekend and now it’s as clear as ever that the Huskers need to move on from head coach Mike Riley.
The hire of Mike Riley was an odd one at the time, but Nebraska football fans were hopeful that the long time Oregon State coach could keep the Huskers winning. That has not been the case however.
With rumors that Scott Frost could be headed to Lincoln (see tweet below), it seems all too clear that next week’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes will be Riley’s last game as a head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Frost has been someone that Huskers fans have been pining for all season long and with the team’s struggles this year, it looks like it could finally be happening.
Riley seems like a really nice guy, but this just isn’t Nebraska football that fans are watching. The defense can’t stop anyone, the offense is inept, and the coaching just doesn’t appear to be good at keeping the players motivated.
Not a breaking-news guy, but hearing a lot of heavy breathing on Nebraska coaching front: Scott Frost to NU for 7 years, $35 mil is "close."
— Lars Anderson (@LarsAnderson71) November 18, 2017
The Mike Riley era didn’t get off to a great start when the Huskers lost their home opener in heartbreaking fashion back in 2015. That was the first home opener that Nebraska had dropped in 29 seasons, which was just brutal.
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That season was full of last second losses, but the 2016 season was uplifting. The Huskers were ranked as high as number seven in the country, but then faltered down the stretch.
The 2017 season was a key one for Mike Riley, but the Huskers, now 4-7 on the year, are going to miss out on a bowl game and the fans have had enough. Riley hasn’t been the answer for Nebraska football and if this program wants to get back to what it once was, it’s time to part ways with Riley.
After seeing both Florida and Tennessee fire their head coaches, Nebraska fans were curious as to if the end was in sight for Riley in Lincoln. The team has been blown out in their last two games (don’t be fooled by the Penn State score… The Huskers came back against backups and third stringers) and it’s time for a change for the Cornhuskers.
Next: Nebraska rumored to be close to finalizing deal with Scott Frost
This is a proud program who has shown they can win. The move to the Big Ten hasn’t been as great for the football program as we all expected it to be, but perhaps with a coach who understands the Husker history, this football team can get back to being relevant again.