Too early to tell...but hiring Coach Riley was so far from right field he was NOT even on the radar! Firing Bo Pelini meant a dire need for a "Shock and Aw" hire at Nebraska and, Mr. Eichorst, this was NOT it!! Message to Mr. Eichorst and Mr. Perlman, consider this your warning order because if Coach Riley fails - YOU'RE FIRED!! Respectfully, LTC Greg Hutcheson Respectfully,

The guy is a nice guy by all accounts, but: • Is a .550 career coach with 0 championships in 17 college seasons • Is a mediocre, at best, recruiter; • Gets routinely blown out by his rival; • His NFL/West-Coast offense is a poor fit for our climate and tradition, and moreover requires Top 10 QB and WR talent to work effectively, neither of which we recruit well; and • Went 5-7 this season and supposedly was on the hot seat... at Oregon State. And he's 61! So even if he is a home run hire, we're back to square 1 in 5-8 years.

He may be a great coach, but he is 61 years old. Tom Osborne retired as coach at age 60. This was not a build a legacy hire but an interim move.

averages 6.5 wins and no conference championships in a weak PAC-10. No thanks!! Lateral move, should have kept Pelini and used that 7.5 million to hire the best assistants money could buy! Terrible hire!

I am convinced that we needed a big-name hire, someone who is a proven winner and top-notch recruiter, someone who would make a splash and let other teams know that we're serious about being elite. No offense to Riley, but he's none of the above.

what a joke. Eichorst better hope this guy wins at least 8 games his first season. If this guy falters, Eichorst is going out the door with him. Seems to me Nebraska football has just taken a step back and football is no longer what it used to be here.

While I will give him my support I really don't see him as an upgrade with the exception of the fact the media guys apparently love him. We may have just found the Doc Sadler of college football.

Nine wins a year with Bo isn't good enough, so we hire this guy? Are you kidding me?

Clearly a step down rather than up with his dismal pro record, his poor in conference record, his losses against average opponents this year and more...

worse record against ranked teams. .541 win percentage. zero conference titles

People listen I am gonna throw this out - unless he hires Scott Frost as OC to groom him for the head coach job this isn't what I had hoped for. This guy is 61 so it is like he is a youngster so not out of the realm the approach Frost with this - AND we need a DC so we will see who he brings in there. On the surface though not impressed!!

We needed a coach who can win, not one with a .500 record. WTF?

Ignore the spin from columnists and pundits, how Riley is an amazing coach but just didn't have the resources and so that's why he couldn't win more than 9 games (and that only once in a great while). You know what good coaches do? They win no matter where they're at. Urban Meyer Took over a Ball St team that was fucking wretched. All he did was increase their win total by 6 in his first year, and increase it again the next year. Then he went to a middling, .500ish Utah program and won the conference title his first two years, going a perfect 12-0 in year 2. Then he went to Florida. Nick Saban Took over a Michigan St program that hadn't won more than 6 games in any of the previous four seasons and gone winless the season before he arrived. Went .500 or better his first four seasons there before breaking through to a 9-2 record his fifth year. Then he went to LSU. Jim Tressel Took a Youngstown St team that hadn't been to the postseason in the 5 years previous before his arrival to a conference title and playoffs in his second year and over the next 13 seasons only had two sub-.500 seasons, 9 playoff appearances, 7 double digit win seasons, and four national championships. Bill Snyder Probably the most sobering comparison, as Snyder took over literally the worst program in the country. From wikipedia: "Kansas State had a cumulative record of 299–510 (.370) in 93 years of play, which was easily the most losses of any team in Division I-A at the time. The school had been to only one bowl game (the 1982 Independence Bowl), had not won a conference title since 1934 and had enjoyed four winning seasons in the previous 44 years (including two in the previous 34 years). The program had also not won a game since October 1986, going 0-26-1 in that time." By Snyder's 5th season he won 9 games and started a streak of 11 consecutive bowl appearances and eight consecutive 9+ win seasons. He didn't hover around .500, he won a fuckload of games and built Kansas St up from the worst team in all of football into a perennial contender for the conference title. Frank Solich Ohio had gone 11-35 over the last four seasons. In Frank's 10 seasons there, they have gone .500 or better 8 times, 9 or more wins 4 times. So, 80% of the time he has a winning record, 40% of the time it's 9+. Let's compare that to Mike Riley. Mike Riley Before his first tenure, OSU went 11-33 the four seasons previous -- almost identical to pre-Solich Ohio. 14 seasons at Oregon St. Eight .500 or better seasons. Four 9+ win seasons. So, 57% of the time he has a winning record. 29% of the time it's 9+. And I assure you, the blowout loss stats (losing by 20+) are even more depressing. Given that they entered into almost identical situations, the stats show that Frank Solich is an approximately 50% better coach than Mike Riley, going by record. Who did we get? We got a significantly worse version of Frank Solich.

Bo is a better coach and his record proves it.

It's another former AFC West coach replacing the recent Nebraska coach who was 9-3. Plus Riley was 5-7 this year, Callahan's record his last year at NU.

I think they should have gone for a bigger name. Someone that could rebuild the defense to the form of the glory days.

What did you all expect from an AD who is only biding his time at Nebraska until the Wisconsin job opens up ? This is not even a lateral move. It is a step backwards. Get ready to revisit the Callahan years people

5-7 last season, a 93-80 record at Oregon St. Does not say to me that he won enough of the games that mattered. It does not scream Championships, It says to me that we traded down because people couldn't handle a passionate coach. I hope things go well, however if things go south, we deserve it!

Good grief...I'm not sure longevity and stability were considered in this decision. Additionally it wasn't the right Oregon school most of us were hoping to get a coach from. I'm nervous that we'll see a losing season out of the gate, but of course I wasn't asked. I certainly want this guy to succeed, but, I'm not sure what Vienna Sausage metric was used to determine his "successes".

No record of success and he has been at this a long time. He also doesn't have many years left before he retires.

Corvallis isn't the only place he has coached. He has lost at most everywhere he has coached. I'm glad he is a great guy. Now translate that to wins. His defense also has a problem tackling in space. So did Pelini's team. Scott Frost has his team playing for the NC. Nebr will not accept changing a 9/3 coach every year for a once in a while winning season.

A guy with a proven record of mediocrity at best. I'll do my best to tune out Nebraska football from my life. Shawn what's his face just destroyed any dignity left in Big Red football. Congratulations Shawn!!!

May be a nice man but I am not ready for a repeat of mediocrity.