Nebraska is the latest college football program to make a coaching change. The school announced on Saturday morning that it had decided to part ways with Mike Riley. The veteran head coach accrued a 19-19 record in three years in Lincoln, including a 4-8 mark in 2017. Additionally, the Huskers were 12-14 in conference play during Riley’s time at the helm.
This is one of the more unsurprising moves of college football’s coaching search season. Nebraska looked listless this year under Riley, with four straight losses to end the year. Additionally, the team allowed at least 54 points in each of its last three games.
Huskers athletic director Bill Moos released a short statement on Twitter about the move. Moos praised Riley’s trademark professionalism, but cited the team’s lack of success as the motivating factor behind the decision to change coaches.
Bill Moos announced that Nebraska has ended Head Football Coach Mike Riley’s employment effective immediately.
"Riley has brought professionalism and energy to the Nebraska football program, but unfortunately, those attributes have not translated to on-field success."
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) November 25, 2017
Nebraska is a strange job — it is among the most prestigious programs in the country, but the program hasn’t been able to become the powerhouse in the Big Ten that many expected when it joined the conference. It’s also one of the few schools that is entering this coaching market with a clear-cut No. 1 option on its wishlist: UCF coach Scott Frost, who is from Nebraska and quarterbacked the team from 1996-97.
The issue is that Frost is the single hottest name in the coaching market right now, and if he goes elsewhere, Nebraska will have to circle the wagons and find someone else. It’ll be fascinating to see what the Huskers do in that scenario if it pops up, but for now, the Huskers are the latest school to join a packed field looking for a new head coach.
