Mike Riley
Title	Head Coach
College	Oregon State
Sport	Football
Team record	61-45
Born	July 6, 1953 (1953-07-06) (age 56)
Place of birth	Wallace, Idaho
Career highlights
Overall	61-45
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Awards
2008 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
Playing career
1971-74	Alabama
Position	Cornerback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975 1976 1977-1982 1983-1985 1986 1987-1990 1991-1992 1993-1996 1997-1998 1999-2001 2002 2003-present	California Bears (GA) Whitworth University (GA) Linfield College (DC) Winnipeg Blue Bombers(AC) No. Colorado Bears(AC) Winnipeg Blue Bombers San Antonio Riders USC Trojans (OC) Oregon State Beavers San Diego Chargers New Orleans Saints (AC) Oregon State Beavers

Michael Joseph Riley (born July 6, 1953)^[1] is an American football coach and the current head coach of the Oregon State Beavers. Riley has also coached in several professional leagues, and is a former head coach of the San Diego Chargers of the NFL and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League .

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Riley was born in Wallace, Idaho in 1953 and moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 1965.^[2] He grew up watching the Oregon State Beavers while his father, Bud Riley, served as defensive coordinator under legendary coach Dee Andros from 1965–1972. Riley was a hometown hero himself from his athletic days at Corvallis High School. Riley was the starting quarterback who led the Spartans to the state title game in both 1969 and in 1970. They came up short against Medford High School in 1969, 27–0, but avenged the loss the following season when they met Medford again and came out victorious 21–10.^[3]

He considers the college town of Corvallis, Oregon his hometown.

[edit] Playing career

Riley played college football at the University of Alabama under legendary head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. In his four seasons at Alabama, he helped the Tide to four Southeastern Conference titles and the 1973 UPI (Coaches' Poll) National Championship.

[edit] Coaching career

Riley began his coaching career immediately after his playing days ended, first as a graduate assistant at the University of California in 1975, and then as a graduate assistant at Whitworth University where he received his Master’s degree in physical education.

In 1977, he was hired as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Linfield College. During his stay at Linfield he assisted head coach Ad Rutschman’s Wildcats to a six-year record of 52–7–1, which included five conference titles and an undefeated NAIA Division II championship season in 1982.

Riley coached the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League from 1987-1990 and won two Grey Cups during his tenure. He also coached the San Antonio Riders of the defunct World League of American Football. He was hired to coach the San Antonio Texans of the CFL in 1993, but the team folded before it could begin play.

He returned to the college ranks in 1993 when USC head coach John Robinson offered him the position of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; he later became assistant head coach. The Mesa Tribune named him the league’s top assistant coach in 1993 after leading the Trojan offense to record setting numbers.^{[citation needed]} USC quarterback Rob Johnson earned numerous Pac-10 and NCAA records under Riley's tutelage and would later become a first-round NFL Draft pick. “He’s a player’s coach, who gets the most out of you by treating you like normal,” Johnson later said.^{[citation needed]}

Riley remained at USC through the 1996 season, helping the Trojans to victories in the Rose, Cotton, and Freedom Bowls. USC won one outright league title, shared another, and finished second one time.

[edit] Oregon State Beavers

Riley was hired as the head coach at Oregon State in 1997 to replace Jerry Pettibone. In the Beavers' first season under Riley, they posted a record of 3–8. This was a difficult season for Riley as he attempted to run his NFL-style offense with players recruited by Pettibone to run the wishbone triple-option.^{[citation needed]} The 1998 season was another big step in the right direction, with the Beavers posting a 5–6 record, their best record since 1971. The 1998 season was capped off by a double-overtime 44–41 win over the Oregon Ducks in the Civil War game.

Although his first stint with the Beavers only lasted two seasons, Riley is considered, by FSN commentators, to have laid the foundation for the success of the Beavers in the years to come^[4]. The 1999 team, led by Dennis Erickson, posted a 7–5 record and earned a trip to the Oahu Bowl, ending a record^{[citation needed]} 28 season streak of sub .500 seasons.

[edit] In the NFL

In 1999, Riley left the Beavers to become the head coach of the NFL's San Diego Chargers. Riley coached the Chargers from 1999 to 2001, with a record of 14–34. His last game was indicative of his last season, as the Chargers played well, but one poor play turned the tide. The 2001 Chargers ended their season with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, after Doug Flutie passed for 377 yards and drove for the tying field goal with 16 seconds remaining, but poor special teams play led to a long Seahawks kick return and subsequently a 54-yard winning field goal.

Riley was fired as head coach of the Chargers and became an assistant coach of the New Orleans Saints. He was offered the University of Alabama job in December 2002 after Dennis Franchione left for Texas A&M.^{[citation needed]} Riley was also under consideration for the UCLA job during that period.^{[citation needed]} After spending one season with the Saints, Riley returned to become the head coach at Oregon State in 2003 following Erickson's departure for the NFL.

[edit] Return to the Oregon State Beavers

After starting the 2006 season 2–3, the Beavers went 9–4 on the regular season, including an upset of #3 USC in Corvallis. The Beavers completed their impressive season with a win over Missouri in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, ending their season with a 10–4 record.

In 2007, the Beavers again started 2–3 and finished 8–4 on the regular season, including an upset of #2 Cal in Berkeley. The Beavers finished the year 9–4 with a win in the 2007 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, CA, over the Maryland Terrapins.

In 2008 Riley's Beavers knocked off #1-ranked USC 27–21 at Reser Stadium. The Beavers went into the Civil War with a chance to reach the Rose Bowl as Pac-10 champions but were defeated by Oregon 65-38, and instead accepted another invitation to the third place Sun Bowl, where they beat Pitt 3-0.

Riley has a perfect 5–0 NCAA football bowl record as a head coach, having won the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl, 2004 Insight Bowl, 2006 Sun Bowl, 2007 Emerald Bowl, and 2008 Sun Bowl. Riley is a combined 8–0 in bowl games as a head or assistant coach.

In Riley's second stint the Beavers have produced two current NFL quarterbacks, Matt Moore and Derek Anderson.

[edit] Head coaching record

[edit] College

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Oregon State Official Bio