In a desperate attempt to distract people from an embarrassing Bedlam loss, Lincoln Riley did what millions of Oklahomans have done before him – from Tom Joad to James Garner to Kevin Durant – and announced he's fleeing the Sooner state for the smoggy shores and sunshine of sunny California.
Would not be surprised if USC took a big swing to try and pry Lincoln Riley away from OU now.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 28, 2021
BREAKING: Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley is leaving for USC, sources tell @BruceFeldmanCFB.
— Jason Kersey (@jasonkersey) November 28, 2021
To say I’m stunned would be a massive understatement. This will be Oklahoma’s first football coaching search since 1999, when it hired Bob Stoops
https://t.co/YalmboLT0f
Seriously, can't OSU catch a break? They win their first truly meaningful Bedlam game in a generation and the only thing people across the country can talk about is OU football. Sure, OSU fans are used to their program being overshadowed by OU all the time, but can't they have their moment for once? It's like Squinky's gone full passive-aggressive henchman.
Obviously, the Lincoln Riley move has hit a lot of OU fans hard, especially those who work in the local OU homer news media. Casey Murdock and Andy Radiosivch recorded a hysterically bitter podcast where they went full Festivus on Riley's treatment of the media and indirectly blamed OU's compliance department for his departure. Dean Blevins was hurt so bad that Lincoln Riley should be called for targeting...
Well, here's one positive development from today... pic.twitter.com/C0Pe2hBsYC
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) November 29, 2021
Give Lincoln some credit. He lived out the fantasy of every OU coach – and News 9 intern – and stood up Dean Blevins.
Anyway, I've been an OU football fan since I can literally remember. It wasn't a conscious choice or decision I made. I just kind of became self-aware and boom(er), there I was was, a full-fledged parishioner of the church of OU football, a religion I still follow and adhere to nearly 40 years later thanks to some early indoctrination from my grandpa.
As a result, I obviously have a lot of thoughts about this "How Did We Not See This Coming" move. I plan on gathering and finalizing those thoughts sometime this week. Until then, here are some very very general thoughts that popped in my head last night as the dust begin to settle:
I swear to God this isn't revisionist sour grapes, but I'm actually not super sad to see Lincoln Riley go. His teams often played sloppy and flat, and when they did launch hot out of the gates, they found unique ways to blow big leads...
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) November 29, 2021
I'm not saying I wanted to see him go. He can obviously recruit guys with stars by their names, but I don't think this is the slam dunk hire the national pundits seem to think it is.
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) November 29, 2021
Either way, OU's a top-tier program with decades and decades of success and will (hopefully) find another top-tier coach to lead their program, and do what Riley couldn't – win a national championship.
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) November 29, 2021
Don't get me wrong. Lincoln logging out of the OU network isn't a good thing. The program will deal with some cuts and bruises, and lose some bright and shiny five-star super prep Rivals Top 300 players in this recruiting cycle, but at the end of the day, OU will be fine. If the program can survive the Gibbs / Schnellenberger / Blake years and recover, they can overcome anything, like a coach whose teams have regressed each year he's been the head coach fleeing for the smoggy shores and sunshine of sunny California.
Boomer Sooner.
