OT: Lincoln Riley to LSU per report. $12-13M annual salary.
BREAKING NEWS Here from LSUODYSSEY.COM:
We can confirm Oklahoma Head Coach Lincoln Riley is expected to accept LSU's offer to become their next Head Coach at the conclusion of OU's season.
The contract should make Lincoln the highest paid coach in college football, between $12-13 million annually.
We aren't sure about the length but it's believed both parties negotiated a stable, long term commitment in excess of 3 seasons.
No word on a time table for future official announcement.
That is all we know at this time.
https://twitter.com/LonnPhillips?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
November 26th, 2021 at 11:42 AM ^
My LSU connections are all pretty confident in this report. Weird timing for this to come out, but maybe LSU just wanted to leak this for recruiting purposes.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
Early signing day is only a few weeks away. Unless there's some serious chaos, Oklahoma won't be in the CFP and Riley can start recruiting for LSU in about 10 days.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
yep, that makes sense.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
That's a good way to get a guy to back out of a deal.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
You sure that report didn't come out of Stillwater?
November 26th, 2021 at 8:08 PM ^
Or Austin…
November 26th, 2021 at 1:06 PM ^
The transfer portal gets hot at this time too.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
I'm sure he'll find winning in the SEC West just as easy as in the Big 12.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
Oklahoma probably heading to the SEC west anyway. Might as well go to LSU with built in recruiting to make sure you have the talent to compete.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
He’s going to have to learn to win the SEC West anyway. Might as well do it at a school with LSU resources and get paid more to do it.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
What resources does LSU have that Oklahoma lacks? The only thing that I can think of is in-state recruiting.
Personally, I would rather stay at Oklahoma for less money knowing they’ll keep me around than go to LSU where after a couple losses to Alabama the fans and alumni will clamor for a replacement.
This hire makes me think of Herman going to Texas.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Slightly higher risk of a shortened lifespan due to petrochemical poisoning of air, water, and land. But not sharply differentiated, actuarially speaking.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Slightly higher risk of a shortened lifespan due to petrochemical poisoning of air, water, and land. But not sharply differentiated, actuarially speaking.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
In-state recruiting is pretty big. A massive, fanatical fanbase willing to support anything that it takes to win. An institution that has elevated two average coaches to national titles.
Also, money. If that number is accurate (this is just rumor, really, but there's a lot of this noise) it may just be more than Oklahoma can match right now. Again, that tracks with the fanatical fanbase that is willing to support anything that it takes to win.
I'm kind of with you--Oklahoma is a good situation, and he can coach there for the rest of his life if he wants--but it's also true that Oklahoma gets just about everything it can out of its program and location, and LSU can get more.
Riley will either win big, or he'll be gone in five years. But he'll be rich.
November 26th, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^
On top of that, who knows how long his leash will actually be at OU once they join the SEC and he has a few 8-9 win seasons. LSU’s ceiling is absolutely higher as you mentioned.
November 26th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
You would think OU could easily clean up on Texas recruiting given the proximity. That’s basically instate
November 26th, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^
They do that quite a bit. But LSU is just as close to Texas, and it's closer to the other southern states, too.
November 26th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
In-state recruiting at LSU is the only resource you need to make the job better. It’s that much better
November 26th, 2021 at 1:23 PM ^
How long does he get at OU if they start getting blasted in the SEC?
November 26th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
For $12-13 million a year most coaches would coach anywhere.
Look, I'm all for coaches to make a lot. College football rakes in a ton of money, and a good coach can make a school bucketloads of money. Riley now makes more money than most NFL coaches.
If I had forseen the explosion in coaching salaries, I would have studied to be a football coach instead of an engineer.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
Lol what is LSU Odyssey?
November 26th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
A date with Ed Orgeron.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^
Who could resist?
November 26th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
Maybe Cayman Nebraska.
November 26th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
Who wouldn't want to lay with that swamp monster.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
I provided a link
November 26th, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
Not exactly a reputable news source was all I was saying.
November 26th, 2021 at 1:35 PM ^
I mean maaaaybe that source is correct. But it’s amazing the way people post totally obscure and unproven sources as definitive. Explains a lot about the world today.
November 26th, 2021 at 4:36 PM ^
ok
cool
hook 'em
November 26th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
So who is now more overpaid? Mel Tucker of Lincoln Riley?
November 26th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
Still Tucker.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
Riley at least has a record of significant success.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
Tough call both are overpaid. Tucker basically has no record to stand on and Lincoln has success in the Big 12 which shouldn’t even be a P5 conference
November 26th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
Tucker, and its not even close. At least Riley has a proven track record of winning a lot of games, Heisman-winning QBs, CFP appearances, and offenses that could set the world on fire.
Tucker could one day earn the salary he’s been given, but right now he is grossly overpaid for the results he’s attained.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
Mel without question. One big win and barely over .500 coaching record.
Riley is regarded by other coaches as a fantastic offensive mind and he has a 55-9 coaching record.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
I’m starting to think we signed that contract with Harbaugh at just the right time. With all these overpaid head coaches, hopefully we’ll be able to pay the assistants we really want more than the competition can to peel them away.
There appears to be a coaching bubble forming and it’s good we inked the contract before we got locked into a bad deal. Hopefully USC offers Ryan Day like $20 million a year.
November 26th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
I feel like there is no amount of money they wouldn't match. They would cancel all in person academic operations and move all classes online (taught by adjuncts), before they'd allow their football program to lose a coach to another NCAA program. The only way Day is leaving, is for the NFL.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:46 AM ^
Hmmm...Riley has a great class currently lined up, and already three five stars for 2023 - wonder how many follow him to LSU?
Heupel to Oklahoma?
Wouldn't mind Stoops leaving Kentucky for Florida (or TN if Heupel exits) he has been stealing quality BiG footprint recruits for some time.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
I wonder is we could flip any of the players from Tennessee if that happens.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
Don't know about Tennessee but I definitely would call Gavin Sawchuk and see if he's be interested in giving us another look before committing to a Lincoln Riley-less Oklahoma.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^
Vince Marrow is the guy you want from UK’s staff, that is who is stealing recruits from the Bigten footprint.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
This is what bothers me when we hire "NFL guys"... what do they even know about recruiting? They *might* have more schematic competence (and even then, I think better minds can be found in the college ranks... if only due the sheer # of college coaches as opposed to the small ranks of NFL, let alone actual years of experience), but the recruiting is more important to a program's success.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
A basketball coach in Ann Arbor begs to differ. Also, I remember a certain NFL coach who was fired by New England and landed in USC. I heard he had some success recruiting. O'Brien and Weis did okay too.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Juwan kept Saddi and brought Martelli in for a reason, you need those college guys. We don’t really have the room for him but Marrow could do wonders for our recruiting.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
Juwan was a unique hire - he has been so involved in the recruiting circles from his own sons' involvement (as well as his general network). I find it it hard to believe that most pro-to-college hires would already have that kind of network.
November 26th, 2021 at 3:24 PM ^
Agree. The "I know what it takes to get you to the next level" is hard to pass-up. Of course, you still need a winning program, which explains some of the lackluster recruiting by Michigan of late even though you have Harbaugh. But all things considered, having a pro-pedigree only helps.
November 26th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Michigan did a lot to improve its recruiting this off-season. Many of the coaching changes were geared to improve recruiting and they overhauled the recruiting department as well.
That being said, you absolutely can afford to have a couple guys who lack recruiting experience. We hired Matt Weiss for QB coach which is perhaps the least important recruiting position on our staff since A) you usually only need one. B) Harbaugh C) Gattis. We hired Macdonald at DC which can rely on his position coaches. It also helps that both of these guys are young and should only improve.
That being said, it seems like we really could use another star recruiter on defense. If we get an opening I'd love to throw the bank at Donte Williams.
November 26th, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^
So, a coach that can discuss an NFL future with the knowledge base on what it takes to play in the NFL isn't going to have an edge over the average college coach? One very challenging angle is not to spend time on someone that isn't coming (did they not come because you didn't spend the time or were they just not coming?)
November 27th, 2021 at 6:47 AM ^
A development coach that can tell them what to expect, perhaps. But a major piece of a coaching staff (HC, OC, DC, etc.) who *must* call plays at the college level & recruit should *absolutely* be someone who knows the college dynamic inside and out.
Harbaugh himself was not a true "NFL guy" - his last stint happened to be in the NFL, but he had over a decade of college coaching experience (various positions) prior to that.
November 26th, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Odd to leak right before their game against Oklahoma State. But good lord. How much money do these schools have to piss away? No doubt he is a good coach, but 12 to 13 per?
Not that Harbaugh would ever leave, but at some point do you worry about some of these schools making a run at him? At 4 million a year his base pay looks MAC level compared to what he would be able to get on the open market. I know a lot of people on this board are not crazy about him, but it is hard to argue he is not worth what Tucker and Franklin are making.
I don't get the impression he is overly motivated by mountains of cash (since he acts as his own agent) but you have to appreciate the hometown discount with a team playing for the division title tomorrow.