Impact of a new head coach
As a first-time head coach. Lincoln Riley couldn’t have asked for a better a situation than the one he is in as the new head man at Oklahoma. But in many ways, it is also a no-win situation for the 33-year-old former OU offensive coordinator.
Bob Stoops has handed over a championship-caliber team with one of the country’s best quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield, back for one more go-round leading the Sooners’ high-powered offense. The team has 16 returning starters (nine on offense; seven on defense), including the entire offensive line. The Sooners also welcome a top-10 2017 recruiting class. So the core pieces for this season and the immediate future are in place for Riley to hit the ground running and maintain Oklahoma’s winning ways.
With one exception — the addition of Ruffin McNeill as assistant head coach and coach of the defensive tackles — there are no changes in the coaching staff under Riley.
Riley has elected to continue calling the plays on game day, but he will involve the other Sooner offensive coaches in the game planning and preparation during the week. Pulling double duty like that has not worked out particularly well for other head coaches who have chosen to call the offensive or defensive plays in addition to their other head-coaching responsibilities.
No one knows if calling plays is something Riley wants to hold on to long term, but this is certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.
It is also very possible that the new OU head coach wants to keep the band together for one more go-round with the Air Raid offense Riley installed in 2015 and with the same quarterback (Mayfield) who helped introduce the offense and whom he has coached for going-on three seasons.
It is Riley’s team now, but the expectation is that the Sooners will continue the same level of success they had under Stoops. Everyone associated with the program believes this is a great hire for the Oklahoma football program. Now it is up to Riley to prove that it is so.