Lincoln Riley wasn’t thrilled about Oklahoma moving to the SEC?
On Monday, OU and Texas officially became members of the SEC, a decision that had been years in the making. In the summer of 2021, news first broke that both teams were looking to leave the Big 12 to pursue a better future in the SEC, a report that came after administrators at both schools had been exploring the possibility for months.
Riley was Oklahoma’s coach at the time. And according to Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, he may not have been too enthusiastic about a league change. In an appearance on SEC Network on Monday afternoon, Castiglione referenced former Oklahoma coaches who weren’t thrilled about the school’s conference change.
“I will tell you without reservation that every coach we talked to was excited,” Castiglione said. “And you know what, the ones who weren’t are no longer here.”
The veteran OU director left it at that, but it wasn’t hard for anyone watching and everyone else on set to wonder if Castiglione was making a pass at Riley.
Riley looked like a lifelong player at Oklahoma after replacing Bob Stoops following his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. Oklahoma lost just two games in each of Riley’s first five seasons with the school and went 10-2 in 2021 when USC parted ways with Clay Helton.
That change led to Riley becoming the Trojans’ coach following a late-season loss to Oklahoma State. Stoops returned to coach Oklahoma’s bowl game before former Oklahoma assistant and Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables was hired to be the team’s new coach.
While Venables leads Oklahoma’s football team in the SEC in 2024, Riley is also in charge of a team that will be switching conferences this summer. The Trojans are one of four Pac-12 teams headed to the Big Ten this season as the Big Ten expands to 18 teams. And like Oklahoma and Texas’ move, USC’s move to the Big Ten was also years in the making. Both USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave for the Big Ten in the summer of 2022 after Riley’s first season in Los Angeles.
