The Philadelphia Eagles coach job search is underway, and one of the first potential candidates the Birds sought was Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, according to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Ed Kracz.
It is not the first time that the Eagles have spoken to Riley about his potential interest in the Eagles. In fact, he and general manager Howie Roseman have a good relationship and it was a consultation with Riley that helped influence the Eagles to select Jalen Reagor and Jalen Hurts, according to the sources.
Ah, did he participate in the bad 2020 draft of the Eagles? It already fits perfectly!
Jokes aside, Riley is arguably the best college coach candidate, as he racked up a 45-8 record in Oklahoma while developing a pair of No. 1 quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Riley also trained Jalen Hurts for a year, and Hurts ended the season as runner-up in the Heisman vote.
A look at the numbers the quarterbacks recorded in Riley’s extremely friendly attack:
| Oklahoma QBs | Comp-Att (Comp%) | Yards (YPA) | TD-INT |
| Baker Mayfield (2017) | 285-404 (70.5%) | 4627 (11.5) | 43-6 |
| Kyler Murray (2018) | 260-377 (69.0%) | 4361 (11.6) | 42-7 |
| Jalen Hurts (2019) | 237-340 (69.7%) | 3851 (11.3) | 32-8 |
| Spencer Rattler (2020) | 214-317 (67.5%) | 3031 (9.6) | 28-7 |
The Sooners made the college football playoff in each of Riley’s first three seasons, losing all three games in the first round. In 2020, they didn’t make the cut after finishing with a 9-2 record and instead played in the Cotton Bowl. In the four bowl games he coached, Riley’s offenses averaged 41.3 points per game.
| Lincoln Riley | Final Record | Bowl game |
| 2017 | 12-2 | Rose Bowl – 54-48 loss to Georgia |
| 2018 | 12-2 | Orange Bowl – 45-34 loss to Alabama |
| 2019 | 12-2 | Rose Bowl – 63-28 loss to LSU |
| 2020 | 9-2 | Cotton Bowl – 55-20 win over Florida |
Riley is considered an innovative offensive mind, whose schemes have been stolen by many NFL crimes. You can have a small taste of what Oklahoma does here, in the racing game:
And in the passing game:
-
![Limited - The Lines - Call]()
- Visit TheLines.com, PhillyVoice’s official 2020/2021 betting odds partner, for the latest NFL game lines and odds.
The open work of the Eagles’ head coach should not be attractive to top candidates. The quarterback’s place is uncertain, the squad is bad (and has little chance of improving anytime soon because of a terrible captain situation), and there will be legitimate concerns about a history of coaches having friction with the team leadership.
However, if Riley is comfortable with Hurts and has a good relationship with Roseman, as is being reported, he may not see the warts we see. The bet here is that it would probably still require a huge sum of money to get you out of Oklahoma.
This content and the links provided are sponsored by thelines.com and playpennsylvania.com, PhillyVoice.com’s Official Betting Odds 2020/2021 Partner, independently created by PhillyVoice.
Follow Jimmy and PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy’s RSS feed to your feed reader