Raise your hands if you saw this coaching hire coming.Nebraska has a new football coach--and no, it's not who you thought it might be. The Cornhuskers announced Wednesday afternoon they've hired now former Oregon State coach Mike Riley to be their new head coach.
Riley replaces Bo Pelini who was let go just over a week ago. He was at Oregon State for the past 14 years compiling a 93-80 record. His teams were competitive, but he was never able to compete with the remote Corvallis, Oregon location and the big Nike bucks fueling arch rival Oregon.
Riley inherits a Cornhusker program that has been good but not great for the past few seasons under Pelini. The Cornhusker alumni still imagine themselves a national power, which is no longer true, but brings added pressure to the job.
Props to Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst who conducted his search largely in the shadows. A rumor leaked earlier this week saying Eichorst had interest in Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, but that was quickly shot down.
The search was a direct contrast to the highly visible and shaky search conducted by Florida who finally announced their hire of Jim McElwain earlier in the morning.
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