Lincoln Riley: Eagles apparently reach out to Oklahoma’s head coach

In 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles hired Doug Pederson to replace a head coach they hired from their clinic.

In 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles will likely appoint a head coach to replace Doug Pederson.

There’s been a buzz that the Eagles are going to make a stop at the Lincoln Riley of the University of Oklahoma.

Ed Kracz reports the Eagles released Riley ‘not long after’, but the team parted ways with Pederson on Monday. He also notes that this “is not the first time the Eagles have spoken to Riley about his potential interest in the Eagles.”

We knew earlier that Riley had an affair with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. Reverend Paul Domowitch wrote just as much about it in early August:

Roseman and the Eagles have cultivated a good relationship with Riley, who is one of the country’s best college coaches. Two years ago, the Eagles considered tackling Orlando Brown in the second round for Oklahoma’s offensive tackle, but they saw him more as a right winger than a left winger, and they were not really interested in Lane. Johnson to move back to this stage of his career. Riley agreed with their rating of Brown and the Eagles finally set the tight end stoppage Dallas Goedert, who quickly emerged as one of the best everyday games in the league. […] Riley even had a bit of an impact on Eagles’ decision to take TCU coach Jalen Reagor in the first round. Riley recruited Reagor when he was a high school student at Waxahachie (Texas) High School. His team also played against him in the Big 12 for three years. He spoke glowingly to Eagles scouts as they chatted with him about [Jalen] Sore. He indicated that Reagor would be a recipient of 100 catches a year in the Oklahoma offense.

These are not the only signs that indicate the Eagles’ interest in Riley.

Tim McManus wrote the following earlier Monday:

Some believe the Eagles will turn to Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley. He coached Hurts at the university level, handled the QB position and has a strong relationship with Howie Roseman, general manager of Eagles. It will probably take a lot of money to lure Riley out of Norman, but they may consider it a wise investment.

Even more noise arose:

Eagles right-back Lane Johnson, who played college football in Oklahoma before Riley’s arrival, may have added more fuel to the fire:

Riley, who only turns 38 in September, definitely has an interesting profile.

He has been 45-8 overall as Sooners head coach since being appointed in 2017 to replace Bob Stoops. Oh, and the second round of 2020, Jalen Hurts, who was a runner-up to Heisman.

Oklahoma has experienced an attacking preference since Riley was originally appointed as their attacking coordinator / quarterback coach six years ago. From his bio:

Since the start of the 2015 campaign, the OU has been at the top of the rankings (44.6 ppg; the second most is 41.6), the total offense (554.9; the next most is 516.4), the touch of scrimmage (382), the efficiency rating (189.0; the next best) is 168.1) and yards per pass attempt (10.7), second in completion percentage (69.1), third in passing attack (321.9) and ninth in rushing (233.0). With that kind of offensive production, it’s no surprise that the Sooners have set a record of 58-10 (.853) since its arrival (41-5 in Big 12 play). OU’s overall score since 2015 is the fourth best at the national level, with only Clemson (69-5), Alabama (66-6) and Ohio State (61-7) achieving better records.

If you’re looking for a bit against Riley, he’s just 1-3 in the bowling game and 0-3 in the College Football Playoff. And there are, of course, questions about whether his collegiate success will translate to the NFL, just as when the Eagles lured Chip Kelly away from Oregon in 2013.

It remains to be seen if the Eagles can land Riley. The Lubbock, Texas resident signed a $ 45.2 million six-year contract extension with Oklahoma last year last year. Jeffrey Lurie will likely have to place a lucrative offer in front of Riley to lure him out of Norman.

One should also ask yourself what kind of responsibility he is looking for when it comes to roster control. We all know that the last coach who hired the Eagles offered a showdown. Perhaps Roseman’s existing relationship with Riley could allow the two to be better on the same page and avoid such conflict.

It was already thought that the Eagles Pederson would not resign a week after the season ended if they did not already have a replacement. If so, Riley could just be that guy.