Not long after Mike Riley was fired as Nebraska’s head coach shortly after the end of the regular season, it was thought that, in some capacity, he could return from whence he came. Today, that officially came to fruition.
In announcing members of his first coaching staff at Oregon State, Jonathan Smith revealed that Riley will join him as an assistant head coach with the Beavers. Appropriately enough, Smith made the announcement via Twitter -- with Riley’s reveal being the final slide in the presentation.
#BeaverNation, help me welcome these great coaches to our @BeaverFootball team! I'm excited to surround our players with outstanding men! #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/nxha40Ajhk
— Jonathan Smith (@Coach_Smith) December 7, 2017
This will mark Riley’s third stint in Corvallis. The first two, for a total of 14 seasons, were spent as OSU’s head coach, with Riley abruptly departing the Beavers and his 93-80 record to take over the Cornhuskers in December of 2014. He was fired after going 19-19 in Lincoln.
The move is a brilliant masterstroke for Smith, who is embarking on his first head-coaching job at the FBS level -- unless, of course, the Beavers struggle and the restless natives start calling for a third Riley run as OSU’s sideline boss.