Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Can we put the Riley-to-NFL rumors to bed yet?

By Christopher Dukes

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after a touchdown by CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners on a 39 yard pass play during the first half of a game against the UCLA Bruins on at the Rose Bowl on September 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after a touchdown by CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners on a 39 yard pass play during the first half of a game against the UCLA Bruins on at the Rose Bowl on September 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Lincoln Riley seems perfectly content being the head coach of the Oklahoma football program for the foreseeable future.

Maybe it was the fact that Oklahoma football’s most marquee win of the year so far was in Dallas. Or maybe it was the fact that the Sooners are rolling through their regular-season schedule so far. Maybe, it was just a slow news cycle and nobody had anything else to talk about.

Either way, hot-take artists like Colin Cowherd and others are once again cranking up the Lincoln-Riley-to-the-NFL rumor mill.

The Sooners’ head coach has been the subject of much speculation since he assumed the mantle atop the Oklahoma program thanks in large part to his noted ability to groom quarterbacks and the NFL’s movement toward more spread offenses.

While there is no doubt the league would hire Riley if he chose to move in that direction, it’s important to remember that the 36-year-old seems perfectly content to continue building his program in Norman.

After putting up historic offensive numbers the past two years, it appears as though Riley finally has a defense to match the productivity he’s been able to manifest on his side of the ball. The program has also been trending in the right direction when it comes to recruiting, bringing in three-straight top 10 classes with a chance at a fourth this year.

Riley has also gone on record many times to say how content he is to be in Norman. The Muleshoe, Texas product isn’t prone to getting starstruck by big-city dreams, either. His idea of a good time appears to be trips out to the water to fish with his coaching friends.

Will Riley be at Oklahoma for as long as Bob Stoops was? Probably not. But is there a legitimate reason to be concerned he will bolt for the NFL in the near future? I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

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