Riley halts LSU talk, says he’s committed to OU
Lincoln Riley quickly shut down speculation that he would leave for LSU, telling reporters Saturday night, “I’m not going to be…
Amid rampant speculation about the possibility he could leave for LSU, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley reaffirmed his commitment to the Sooners following a 37-33 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday night.
“I’m not going to be the next head coach at LSU,” Riley said.
His proclamation came just moments after the Sooners were eliminated from Big 12 title contention with the loss in Bedlam, ending a streak of six consecutive conference championships for the Sooners, including each of Riley’s first four seasons as head coach.
In a follow-up question, Riley was asked if he needed to have a better understanding about what the future of the Oklahoma athletic department looked like.
“No concerns about our administration, our AD, our president,” Riley said. “We’ve been through a lot together. This isn’t our first rodeo together. So we always have conversations about the future and certainly with all that’s changing right now on the college landscape, all that’s getting ready to change.
“For us at some point here, we transition into a new conference. Those are always conversations that we’re going to have and we will be having those yearly, no matter what. All of us are trying to make this place better, make this program better, and so you don’t do that without working together and conversing with each other. So, of course, we’re gonna continue to do that. We work well together and we’re going to keep working well together.”
In five seasons since replacing longtime Sooners coach Bob Stoops, Riley is 55-10 and Oklahoma has finished no lower than No. 7 in the final AP poll.
Last month, LSU announced that it would part ways with coach Ed Orgeron at the end of the season. Early Saturday, Orgeron said he will not coach the Tigers in their bowl game.
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