Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Sorry NFL, Lincoln Riley isn’t going anywhere anytime soon

By Christopher Dukes

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners leads his team against the TCU Horned Frogs in the fourth quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners leads his team against the TCU Horned Frogs in the fourth quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts on the sidelines in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts on the sidelines in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

Building a future

Those who follow Riley closely know he’s always talking about the future. The Sooners are in the process of bringing in their third-straight top 10 recruiting class and have a shot at their third College Football Playoff appearance in the last four years.

Success breeds success in college football and the Sooners are just starting to get that boulder rolling downhill. It’s something Riley has brought up several times in interviews, including a recent sit down with Joel Klatt before this past Saturday’s win over Kansas State.

Riley told Klatt he didn’t have the “itch”. And that truthfully, he thought the Sooners could “be great here for a long time”.

He echoed those sentiments in the Monday presser.

“I think we’ve got everything we need to be successful here for a long, long time,” RIley told the Daily Oklahoman. “We’re doing some great things here right now and I think the future is going to just get better and better.”

The Oklahoma factor

We all have to face facts, the state of Oklahoma  isn’t a bustling center of population and its cities don’t make many travel lists.

This leads to a pedestrian perception of the city from the national sports media. There’s an inherent “everything good in Oklahoma wants to get out of Oklahoma” bias that exists.

National media seemed shocked every time Stoops would turn down jobs in bigger markets., but it permiates beyond college fooball. NBA all-star Russell Westbrook made a long-term commitment to the region when he signed with the Thunder, shocking the national pundits again. Even more recently Paul George did the same thing.

Being in a small market means there will likely always be speculation about your superstars heading elsewhere no matter the sport, but there’s plenty for a family man like Riley to like about living in the Sooner state.

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Let’s not forget that Riley is from Muleshoe, Texas, a small community in the panhandle. He likes to spend his leisure time fishing and in the outdoors. He’s a simple guy with simple tastes and it appears Norman, Oklahoma suits him just fine.

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