With summer camp set to kickoff in less than two months, Jonathan Smith officially has a hole to fill on his Oregon State coaching staff.
Wednesday, it was reported that Mike Riley was expected to be named as the first head coach of the Alliance of American Football’s San Antonio franchise. Thursday afternoon, it was confirmed by the spring pro football league that Riley had indeed been hired to guide the fledgling team.
"This is the place for me!"
— Sports2Nite (@Sports2NiteTX) June 21, 2018
Mike Riley named head coach of the San Antonio Alliance American Football team🏈 @TheAAF #AAF pic.twitter.com/aVNHdjzSrx
Mike Riley, Head Coach of the San Antonio Alliance of American Football, along with Daryl (Moose) Johnson, general manager pic.twitter.com/LhDY7SkGRL
— 1200 WOAI (@1200WOAI) June 21, 2018
“There already is tremendous interest from coaches around the country to join our team,” the Beavers head coach said in a statement. “We will hire the right coach who will help us build on the significant momentum we have underway in recruiting and student-athlete development.
“I want to thank Coach Riley for his contribution to our program and wish him best in his new challenge.”
Riley, who spent two stints totaling 14 years as OSU’s head coach, returned to Corvallis in December of last year, two weeks after he was fired as the head coach at Nebraska. He was hired to serve as the Beavers’ assistant head coach and tight ends coach, for which he would be paid the princely sum of $50,000.