Mike Riley Part III in Corvallis

Riley comes to OSU after spending the last three seasons as the head coach of Nebraska, where he was let go at the end of the season as the Cornhuskers hired up-and-coming head coach Scott Frost.

The former Oregon State coach was one of the first calls that new OSU coach Jonathan Smith made when he was telling people that he got hired at his alma mater, and it was at that point that the groundwork was laid for Riley to return to his hometown.

Smith played under Riley for his freshman and sophomore seasons in 1998 and 1999 and was a graduate assistant for Riley in 2003.

“Current and former players thriving in the NFL and in life are proof of Coach Riley’s tremendous ability to recruit outstanding young men,” Smith said in a press release. “He understands what it takes to win in this conference, and how to evaluate and develop student-athletes. There is no one better to have represent OSU in the homes of recruits as we build this program.”

For many Beaver fans, the news of Riley returning brought about mixed feelings and that is to be expected, so let’s look at some positives that will come from Riley returning to Corvallis for his third tenure.

His experience is unparalleled: Jonathan Smith is going to be a first year head coach, and being able to lean on your mentor, who also happens to have 112 wins as a head coach with 93 of those wins coming as OSU’s head man. He knows what it takes to win in Corvallis, and Smith being able to lean on an experienced coach like Riley is going to pay dividends.

Riley has always been a solid recruiter: Riley has recruited a ton of players that have had NFL careers. Most notably Brandin Cooks, Andy Levitre, Markus Wheaton, Stephen Paea, Sean Mannion, Isaac Seumalo, Matt Moore and many more. Wherever Riley is assigned on the staff, he’ll get solid recruits to Corvallis.

This is Smith’s show, not Riley’s: Many Beaver fans are worried that Riley coming on staff is like bringing him back as head coach and many of the frustrations of Riley’s coaching tenure will be brought back. Trust me on this, this is still Smith’s ship and he is the captain. Riley is an assistant and advisor to the young and relatively inexperienced Smith when it comes to head coaching. Just because you have Riley on staff doesn’t mean it will be another Riley regime, it merely means that OSU has one overqualified associate head coach who will help the team grow.

Riley wanted to come home: Like Smith, the draw to come home was just too powerful to ignore. BeaversEdge.com sources said that Riley had interest from UCLA as an assistant, and despite being fired from Nebraska, and he chose to come home to be a “full-time grandad” and that should resonate with Beaver fans about his love for this place which is what Smith echoed when he said he wanted to hire “High output, low ego” coaches. Riley fits that mold like a glove.

Obviously no hire is foolproof, but it feels like at this moment, Riley makes sense to Oregon State. He is beloved in the community and amongst Beaver fans and coaches. Head basketball coach Wayne Tinkle offered his two cents on Riley returning to Corvallis.

“It’s awesome,” Tinkle said with a big grin. “We went over to (Valley Football Center) for lunch today and I got a chance to catch up with him and say hi and then he brings his lunch and comes to sit with the whole basketball staff. It was really cool. Obviously he is a legend around here and is beloved by so many. It’s an incredible hire by Jonathan and it’s neat to see the staff that they are putting together. It’s impressive.”