Lincoln Riley sites roster building as a major reason for leaving Oklahoma for USC
We’ve probably written too much about Lincoln Riley and his decision to leave the Sooners, leaving them hanging out to dry and taking many coaches and recruits with him. However, this is a very important part of Sooners history that we find ourselves in.
Riley hasn’t exactly been quiet since the move, he’s given interviews to numerous reporters, the latest of which being Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.
The article will be a tough read for Sooners fans, as Riley gives many reasons for his departure that aren’t “I was scared of the SEC.” In fact he argued the SEC move had nothing to do with his move to USC.
I learned a while ago that Riley is never going to give the answers Sooners fans want him to, so this interview was just more of the same.
There was one quote that has been causing a bit of a disturbance on social media.
“I’ve walked into four playoffs, and I’ve never had better than maybe the third-best roster [of the four teams],” Riley told Dodd. “Every other year, we were four of four. We had really good rosters, but they weren’t the same. … I can’t imagine that there could be a setting that we could build a better roster than we can here.”
Way to speak highly of your former players, coach. Any head coach that finds themselves in a recruiting battle with USC over the next few years should just show the recruit that blurb.
Perhaps coaching was the reason the Sooners went 0-4 in the College Football Playoff. Perhaps coaching was the reason OU blew a massive lead to Georgia in 2018, but I digress.
Riley was always allowed to leave, but there’s just no need to say this. I do wonder what his former players, particularly the ones on that 2018 squad have to say about this.
Winning football coaches don’t say that their rosters weren’t good enough.
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