Riley has done well in his 12 years coaching Oregon State, all things considered, but this still seems like a kind of strange fit to me. He'll be 60 years old when the season starts and never has coached (or, as far as I can tell, lived) in the Midwest. In fact, the only player on the Oregon State roster from a Midwest-ish state is a sophomore RB from Missouri.
It seems like it could take him some time to get up and running there, which might not be what you want from a 60-year-old coach.
Link:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21395143/wis...
As HC of Oregon State (from Wikipedia):
| Year | Overall | Conf | Standing | Bowl | Coaches | AP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3–8 | 0–8 | 10th | ||||
| 1998 | 5–6 | 2–6 | T–8th | ||||
| 2003 | 8–5 | 4–4 | T–5th | W Las Vegas | |||
| 2004 | 7–5 | 5–3 | T–3rd | W Insight | |||
| 2005 | 5–6 | 3–5 | 7th | ||||
| 2006 | 10–4 | 6–3 | 3rd | W Sun | 22 | 21 | |
| 2007 | 9–4 | 6–3 | 3rd | W Emerald | 25 | ||
| 2008 | 9–4 | 7–2 | T–2nd | W Sun | 19 | 18 | |
| 2009 | 8–5 | 6–3 | T–2nd | L Las Vegas | |||
| 2010 | 5–7 | 4–5 | T–5th | ||||
| 2011 | 3–9 | 3–6 | 5th (North) | ||||
| 2012 | 9–3 | 6–3 | 3rd (North) | Alamo | |||
| Oregon State: | 52–51 | ||||||
Interesting because tonight on local sports radio he was talking about how his OSU contract is through 2020 and that he tells his recruits that he can count on him sticking around.
You can sum up this sport in two words, 'You never know.'