The Athletic ranked Lincoln Riley among the best coaches in all of college football.
Lincoln Riley has taken the world by storm since his arrival in Norman, Oklahoma. Compiling a record of 45-8 since he took over for the legendary Bob Stoops prior to the 2017 college football season. He is consistently listed as one of the top coaches in all of the college football landscape.
College football analyst Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (link requires subscription) put together his list for the top 25 coaches. Three Big 12 coaches being named among the best.
Top 25 Coaches
- No. 15: Gary Patterson, Texas Christian
- No. 9: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Riley comes inside the top five once again, just as he did last year but moved up one spot to No. 4. He is clearly the No. 1 coach in the conference and is viewed among the best with Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, and Brian Kelly.
No. 4: Lincoln Riley (No. 5 Last Year)
He took over for Bob Stoops and has done nothing but win big and produced terrific quarterbacks and offenses. He’s 45-8 in his four seasons, with a No. 7 finish his worst. That consistency as record-setting QBs have come and gone merits a top-six spot here
Our Take…
Lincoln Riley has been one of the top coaches and that has been evident with four-straight Big 12 Championships since he has taken over. You can add two more championships with him running the offense that began in 2015. Three of his quarterbacks were drafted in the first two rounds. With Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray being selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft in back-to-back seasons. Offensively, he is one of the brightest minds in the game. Riley is worthy of a top-five spot in this year’s list from Feldman.
