Best coach-program fit? Throw Riley in there

Pac-10 Blog

September, 16, 2009

Sep 16

4:19

PM ET

By Ted Miller

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Bruce Feldman ranked his 10 best coach-program fits today, and it's an interesting list with two Pac-10 coaches on it.

If I were going to throw in another, it would be Mike Riley at Oregon State.

For one, he grew up in Corvallis and his dad, Bud, was Dee Andros' defensive coordinator. He was a star quarterback at Corvallis High School before playing in the secondary for Bear Bryant at Alabama.

Also, he's made the program into what it is today -- with an assist from Dennis Erickson -- transforming it from a longtime lovable loser into a team that is close to becoming a perennial Top-25 power. No matter that he's never signed a top-25 recruiting class.

The fact that he's also a bit of a prodigal son makes the story even better. He left the Beavers for an ill-fated tenure with the San Diego Chargers, then returned in 2003, and he still seems genuinely grateful he was invited back.

I think the odds are fairly good that Riley, 56, will retire as the Beavers' coach.

Tags:

Oregon State Beavers, Dennis Erickson, Mike Riley, San Diego Chargers, Dee Andros

Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.