So many people want to believe the worst about Lincoln Riley, and it’s really sad
This offseason has been an emotional one at the University of Oklahoma, and that was to be expected as soon as Lincoln Riley went out the door. Of course there were going to be some hurt feelings and some bitter emotions about his abrupt departure.
That’s entirely fine.
Of course Sooner fans were going to have a problem with how Riley handled his exit.
They should.
Naturally, Oklahoma fans should not want to see the reputation of their football program get tarnished or dragged through the mud.
That’s appropriate and right.
Yet, all of these fully appropriate, even necessary, responses do not have to lead to a caricature of Lincoln Riley as an outsized cartoon villain who is uniquely immoral or unethical, and who is taking a sledgehammer to the purity and goodness of college football.
The over-the-top criticism of Riley, reducing him to a wicked and evil figure who represents the worst of college football, is — first of all — reflective of how overheated college football commentary often is.
It’s wrong to view coaches as holy messiahs, perfect embodiments of virtue and goodness, whether it’s at USC or Oklahoma. It’s also wrong to view them as The Reason Everything Is Bad Or Corrupt. Such opinions and knee-jerk interpretations contain zero nuance or careful calibration. No one is going to learn anything of substance from such outpourings.
Vicious and incendiary blanket criticisms of Lincoln Riley — as opposed to tough but firm criticisms of Riley based on specific issues and points of genuine merit — are so unserious that they do nothing except poison the well of adult discourse.
Lincoln Riley did indeed leave Oklahoma in a way which left something to be desired. I can say that from this perch at Trojans Wire. I have no interest in trying to mythologize on this subject and turn Riley into a golden deity of some kind at USC.
It’s not too much to ask, then, for a little reciprocation on the other side and the avoidance of hyperbolic embellishment of Riley’s real flaws and failings. Discussing those topics honestly brings understanding and awareness — exactly what we’ve tried to achieve with our Riley Files series — instead of overheated emotions. Unserious fire-breathing anger doesn’t provide any useful function.
The bottom line: You don’t have to see the best in Lincoln Riley. We simply ask that he not be caricatured as some sort of supreme demon. Just see him for what he is: like you and me, a person with complexities, talents, and flaws all bundled together.
We discussed this with Mark Rogers on The Voice of College Football. Our weekly USC show is every Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. in Los Angeles.
List
The Lincoln Log: Inside Lincoln Riley's first year at USC
