03.May.2012 How Does the Mike Riley Era End?
It is a thought I've had many times over the years.The thing is, in the past when I pondered this question, it was always, "Hmm yeah I wonder how this will end?", and that was the extent of it. Before Mike signed the lifetime deal, I figured he'd work one more short contract (2 or 3 years) and then retire. That seemed like a reasonable path for all parties involved.
But now? I want to see an amicable split, but the (inevitable) breakup is looking uglier with each passing day.
Does Riley coach this lifetime contract until we're beyond 2019 and he misses enough bowl games to nullify it? I mean, that seems unlikely, doesn't it? Riley will be 60 next year (he'd fit right in if he just moved into the stands).
So what other options are there?
What I consider most likely now is Riley becomes persona non grata, feels betrayed by his hometown, and retires. It's passive-aggressive and non-confrontational, which is how OSU and their fan base like to work.
Some other possibilities and the odds I give them:
- He dies on the job (70%)
- He gets promoted to AD (15%)
- He gets fired (10%)
- He coaches out the entire contract (5%)
- He wins a Rose Bowl and rides off into the sunset (<.001~%)
What other possibilities are there? What do you think is likely? Do you, like me, find it interesting to ponder how this era ends, or, like most things OSU, is this topic boring?
PS. We hit 1 million views (on the new site) today. We had 250k on the old wordpress blog before moving over. Good job maintaining enough passion to care about this crap. It's hard. Rage on!
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