Lincoln Riley signed a contract extension at the University of Oklahoma in early January, which took him out of the mix for head coaching openings in the NFL and there’s no sign of remorse about that development.
Riley spoke to Peter King for this week’s installment of Football Morning in America and was asked about the possibility of making the jump to the professional ranks. Riley’s answer didn’t rule out anything in the future, but he certainly does not sound like a coach who is counting the days until he jumps to the next level.
“I certainly wasn’t tempted at all this year,” Riley said. “I would say right now it wouldn’t surprise me at all if I am a college lifer. I think it’ll be interesting how a lot of things go on from here ... if there’s a lot of changes in both games. Football is evolving; there’s a lot of changes obviously at the NFL level right now. There’s a lot of changes with all the transfers and recruiting and all the different things going on at the college level. You never know how those games are going to evolve. I might’ve been tempted honestly had I not been at a place like Oklahoma. But this is one of the best jobs there is in football. Like I’ve said before, I’ll never say never. I never want to promise things that I can’t 1,000 percent guarantee. It’s not something that really tempts me at all right now.”
Riley turns 36 in September and his age might be the only reason to think that his answer will change down the road. Given the size of his contract and the caliber of Oklahoma’s program, it will not be a great surprise if that answer doesn’t change.
