It was three years ago this week (June 7, 2017) when Oklahoma officially handed the keys to Lincoln Riley to drive the Sooners football bus.
All this week, SoonerScoop.com is going to be a reflection of ‘Riley at 3 years,’ highlighting some of his important moments on and off the field and what’s to come in year No. 4 and beyond.
Riley at 3 years – More Than a Game
Maybe there were some doubters as to how Riley would fare back then in 2017 as a 33-year-old head coach at a school like OU when it came to on-field expectations.
Despite a great job leading the offense, it’s another thing entirely running the show. But people knew his great football mind. And if he didn’t pick it up initially, it wouldn’t be long before he would.
Off the field? Everything would be new and maybe even more skeptics as to how he could handle dicey situations. Riley was at OU for less than two months when the SAE fraternity racial chant went viral. So if he wasn’t accustomed to going beyond Xs and Os, that let him know how different things could be.
And now? How different they are, especially when you examine 2020 and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, protesting police brutality and striving for equality among everybody.
No hesitation last week when Riley said this has been the toughest few months since he’s been on the job.
“There’s always challenges with this job. That’s one thing I’ve found,” Riley said. “It’s like, I don’t know, it’s like playing golf: the second you think you’ve got it figured out, then you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment. There’s just always a challenge with this.
“It’s definitely different than a lot of things I’ve ever encountered. We’ve had a lot of tough moments, but certainly all of this going on all at once is definitely a challenge.”
What he has done on Saturdays has won a lot of fans. What he has done on the recruiting trail has guaranteed the Sooners will stay relevant in the national conversation for as long as Riley is in Norman.
But what Riley has done, in terms of speaking out and being active with social injustice? That’s the type of stuff that resonates well beyond the field. The actions that show parents why they trusted Riley and the university with their son in the first place.
“I definitely stand with my players. And it's not just because they're my players,” said Riley last week “It's a fundamental belief. I was very fortunate to be raised in a household that taught me that, taught me that no one is better than anybody else because of the color of their skin. Been lucky enough to have been in locker rooms of sports teams all my life. So I'm fortunate to have grown up doing that and been raised in a household where that was emphasized.
“I think being in those situations for the majority of my life has only made me appreciate more how awesome and how much better life is when we don't worry about the color of skin or any other factors, and we treat people the right way, and people have opportunities based on, the work you do and the decisions you make.”
It's so easy to just focus on the physical toll football can take on people. You get so locked in where you’re just wondering if somebody is physically healthy.
But it’s clear through things such as COVID-19, the mental toll could be even greater. If older adults have had trouble adapting and adjusting to the last few months, not out of the realm of possibility that some of OU’s players might be struggling.
It’s one reason Riley fought hard to get as many face-to-face hours via FaceTime, Zoom and things of that nature.
Already a priority, it’s going to become even more important once everybody returns to campus, but Riley believes in OU’s mental health department and the dedication he will show as well as the rest of the staff.
“I mean, you’ve got players that are totally out of their comfort zones right now,” Riley said. “Have been gone so long, missing all the things that they’re used to doing and want to do. Yeah, and then with obviously the two major different things going on in our country right now, and in the world, I mean, it’s a huge deal.
“We’re taking some of that time that we could be doing some football-related activities and we’re directing it more towards that area, just because it’s important to us. Our health and well-being of our players, we never put anything in front of that. I think we’ve taken some positive steps, but certainly as these guys get back on campus, it’s something we’re gonna really be watching out for.”
The Xs and Os are important. The Ws and Ls tell a huge story. However, being a head coach, Riley has learned is more than just the game. It's people. It's relationships and molding young men for more than just life on the field. And it’s something he’s handled extremely well.
