Oklahoma football: Time to stop grumbling about Lincoln Riley’s exit

.It’s amazing how fast the mood of a fan base can change. There is still a lot of anger, even hate, throughout the Sooner Nation over the departure of former Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley.

How could someone just up and walk away, on his own volition, from a program built for greatness like Oklahoma football? Many Sooner fans view Riley’s decision to leave for sunny California and another college blue-blood program in USC as outright betrayal.

Bob Stoops, who was fortunately available to step in as interim coach to bridge the gap and provide what continuity he could to hold things together until a replacement could be found, took the high road in commenting on Riley’s action.

“There’s not one guy, one person in the history of this program that’s bigger than the program — coach Switzer, myself or Lincoln Riley,” Stoops said.

Stoops was asked at the Oklahoma press conference following the announcement that Riley was leaving how he felt about the sudden change of heart by the man he brought to Oklahoma as offensive coordinator and later supported as his replacement:

“You know, disappointed?” he said. “The rest of it, that’d be between Lincoln and I personally, as it should be. I’m not much on making that kind of stuff public.”

Stoops was asked a similar question this week in Las Vegas, where he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. You could tell the former OU head coach was getting a little tired of all the vitriol being directed at Riley by the Sooner fan base.

"“Give these guys a break,” Stoops said. He made a point that he doesn’t harbor any ill will toward Riley or any of the assistants who left. “Everybody needs to calm down and relax,” he said. “It’s fine. We’re (OU football) not going away."

Stoops said he has exchanged text messages with Riley since the announcement. “I value the friendship, and that won’t change,” he said. “I feel the fan base — everybody — ought to appreciate the good work he did for OU. I do. I appreciate it, and that’s OK. He’s got his life to live somewhere else, do something different. That’s OK, and we’ll be OK.”

Some of the bitterness should die down now that Brent Venables, who has more of a tie and loyalty to the Oklahoma football program than Riley ever did, was announced as the new Sooner head coach.

To illustrate just how far all the vitriol toward Riley’s sudden and stunning departure has gone, an Oklahoma state senator wants to give Riley an “appropriate goodbye” and has proposed a bill in the Oklahoma legislature that would name three inches (that’s not a misprint) of a desolate Oklahoma road the “Lincoln Riley Highway.”

According to a press release issued by the Oklahoma State Senate Communications office, it is “the last three inches one sees before leaving (Oklahoma) and heading west.

Earlier this week on the “Rich Eisen Show” on The Audience Network, Riley had this to say to Oklahoma fans who are upset at his leaving:

"“I understand that they’re disappointed that we left,” Riley said. “I have a lot of love for that place. Me and my family poured our heart and soul into that place for seven years. Loved every second of it.“When you leave a university, they either fire you or you leave on your own accord, and neither one of them are easy and we understand that.‘Our love for that place will never go away.,” he continued. “We certainly hope as time goes by, the time over there will be remembered fondly and everybody will remember all the great success we had together.”"

I’m sure over time the bitterness and resentment toward Riley will go away. It was a great Sooner run under his leadership. But there’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s time for everyone — especially Sooner fans — to turn the page and get behind Brent Venables and the new regime as we all look forward and not back to the continued success of Oklahoma football in the future.