Nebraska Football: 5 possible head coach replacements for Mike Riley

Nebraska football is moving on from Mike Riley and it’s time to look at who might replace the head coach in Lincoln.

As the saying goes “nice guys finish last”, and unfortunately for Mike Riley, this rings true in the head coaching profession. Riley was fired following the Huskers 56-14 annihilation at the hands of border rival Iowa. The game seemed to symbolize Nebraska’s struggles throughout the season: an ineffective offense backed up by a porous defense. Riley finished his career in Lincoln with an even 19-19 record.

Thus begins the saga of names being thrown around that will lead Nebraska back to the promise land and have the Huskers winning like they did under Tom Osborne. However, Nebraska is not the program it was 20 years ago, and their name recognition isn’t what it once was. This, however, will not stop athletic director Bill Moos’ search of a big name coach to lead the Huskers back to prominence.

Here are five names to keep an eye out for in this head coaching search.

5. Mike Leach, Washington State head coach

An obvious option to looks at, Bill Moos is the man responsible for bringing Leach to Washington State back in 2012 and has led the Cougars to an unprecedented run of success. Leach was also previously head coach at Nebraska’s former conference foe, Texas Tech and surely has some knowledge of how the Huskers program works.

Bringing in a coach of Leach’s pedigree, along with his explosive, high-flying offense, is sure to excite Nebraska fans everywhere. Leach’s success at relatively mediocre programs such as Texas Tech and Washington State could also lead some to say, “Just imagine the success he could have at a place like Nebraska?”

It isn’t by any means a “safe hire” but it could be on that surely brings excitement to the fanbase.