You can take Mike Riley out of Corvallis but you can’t take the Corvallis out of Mike Riley. Or something like that.
The former Nebraska and Oregon State head coach accepted a new position helming the Alliance of American Football’s San Antonio franchise in June but he apparently will still be sticking around his long time home to help out the Beavers this fall too. In an interview with The Oregonian about his new gig, Riley said that he would remain at OSU as a consultant, watching practice and giving his thoughts to the team’s new coach Jonathan Smith whenever needed.
“I can help with any part of the game. I can be anywhere I’m needed, whether that’s watching practice film or previewing opponents, any off-the-field football stuff, roster stuff, special teams, defense, whatever,” Riley told the paper.
Interestingly, Riley also gave a bit of an updated timeline regarding his initial departure from the Beavers coaching staff, were he was officially the assistant head coach and tight ends coach up until this summer. He was apparently contacted early in the spring about taking over in San Antonio and gave some serious thought to it in March before really pursuing the position in May.
Riley apparently didn’t want to be without something to do in the fall so one of the conditions he placed on taking the job in Texas was to be able to remain with OSU this fall, in this case as an off the field consultant. Brian Wozniak was promoted to fill his spot on the coaching staff but it seems Riley will still be riding his bike to the Beavers’ football facility well into 2018.
