Flashback: Lincoln Riley's hometown thought he would work for NASA. But as much as he relished playing the game, Riley suspected his playing days were over when he passed on small school college football to attend Texas Tech. 0:46 The Muleshoe Mules had a combined 1-20 record in the two years preceding the hiring of head football coach and athletic director Jason Richards in January 2020. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft during back-to-back seasons. David Wood was Rileys high school football coach. Riley has surpassed actor Lee Horsley as Muleshoe's most famous son. Mayfield and Murray became the No. He played out the year on the defensive line instead. When Wood talks about Riley, it sounded like Lou Holtz, who a couple of months ago came through Oklahoma City and noted his innate ability to immediately see and comprehend the intricacies of football. And it's no mirage. "I think grit, never giving up and just playing . Riley was a defensive end during his sophomore season at Muleshoe, but he was shifted to quarterback for his final two years. Hes going to kind of do everything.. As you might expect, Runnels, who could double as a one-woman Chamber of Commerce, has a special sweet spot for Riley. It attracted 10,000 souls. It would be a challenge, Simmons said, but one that the then-26-year-old coach accepted and conquered. Current OU wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons, who was at Texas Tech for 10 years as a full-time assistant or support staff member, has witnessed Rileys fast trajectory as a college football coach. When OU was searching for a new offensive coordinator in 2015, Stoops called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley. 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The rapid rise of Lincoln Riley, from small-town quarterback to one of the most promising football minds in America, is rooted deep in this arid soil. Thats something they never felt in Norman, where fans would recognize Rileys wife, Caitlin, at the grocery store and knew their daughters names. It shaped who I am, Riley says. "I thought he was more in the realm of NASA or something like that," Wood said. Whatever he chose to do, hed be something special. Hes a great, great dad, Caitlin Riley said. Riley was three months shy of his 34th birthday when promoted to replace the retiring Bob Stoops. No telling if the city founders had any inkling the name might itself become a celebrity of sorts. Of course, some weeks are slower than others in this farming town of 5,000, located 70 flat, High Plains miles northwest of Lubbock. The town would never forget. In Texas, playing football is practically a birthright. Football offered a nice escape. Riley is a Muleshoe native who played quarterback and defensive end for the Mules football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. From Muleshoe to Clemson, Riley carries on the principles of Mike. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), AgTexas Farm Credit awards $9,000 in local scholarships Muleshoe Journal | Intl' Scholarship News, AgTexas Farm Credit awards $9,000 in local scholarships. Volunteer. We was driving over a Country where 36 years before as a boy 18 years old I had helped drive a bunch of cattle from that very place to Western Kansas, and there wasent a house or a chicken in a whole county. Its probably one of the most supportive communities youll find in the state of Texas, said Richards, who had been Flour Bluffs offensive coordinator for the past five seasons. He felt that it was a good opportunity for him. That includes a winless 2019 season and missing the playoffs the past two years. Herald-Times. Wes Wood has hit the ground running, already meeting with the coaching staff and some of his new players. Wood said that Riley got the Mules coaching staff into a meeting with Leach before the 2008 season, and then helped the coaches install the Red Raiders spread offense. So when they hear insults hurled his way from Oklahoma, where the pettiness extended this week all the way to the state Senate, they spring quickly to his defense. "We'll see," Riley said. But when they worked there during high school, the boys learned valuable life lessons such as time management and the importance of every worker in the chain. Everybody in Muleshoe's been real supportive. Good call. Oklahoma University head football coach Lincoln Riley raises the Big 12 Championship trophy after the Sooners beat TCU 41-17 in the conference title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas last December. He was brought up in Muleshoe after all, raised with its good Christian values. But by then, the town had already galvanized around its team, and Muleshoe was firmly on the football map. Today, he contends that their prank, now a part of town lore, was delayed payback for Friona painting the previous seasons score all over Muleshoes own weight room. We were so close in age, it became a friendship, but he was a friend I respected. Back in the early 1980s, Horsley starred on television as Texas oilman Matt Houston, who doubled as a private investigator. But the last 103 years havent been all wins and Roses. A few years later, Leach offered Riley a full-time job as a wide receivers coach. Hell never forget his roots, Muleshoe Mayor Cliff Black said last week. A rocket scientist. (Reyes) is a stud. Riley was on the football and track teams at Muleshoe (Tex.) Really? I really saw his potential to be a rocket scientist, Wood said in 2015. They were married in 2007. The selection committee sorted through 112 applications and interviewed six applicants on Jan. 22 and 23 before determining that Richards would be their choice. I cannot wait to get in here and meet the kids and staff, Richards said. Registration is at 7:15 to 8:00 at the football field first session is for incoming . Jeremiah Barron struggled with injuries last season, but also has the potential to be a versatile player for Muleshoe. How did Lincoln Riley zoom from Muleshoe High School to the Sooners new head coach? But I think its a wonderful move.. 866-495-5172 Already a member? In a ceremony held Jan. 28 in the Muleshoe High School Library, Jason Richards signed on as the new head football coach/athletic director for the Muleshoe Mules. But Riley is still so young in the profession, and the longer he stayed in Norman, the more he risked the fan bases appreciation of him running dry. As soon as the band quit marching, itd just be a few of us, some parents and the coaches wives in the stands, Stacy Conner, pastor at the First Baptist Church and a Riley family friend, jokes. As of September 2019, Harrell and Riley kept in touch often via text message. The theories are numerous, but some here who know the Rileys wonder if the sprawl of Los Angeles might offer a semblance of anonymity. In West Texas, Muleshoe's team was for decades a source of disappointment. He was a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech in the spring and summer of 2003 before starting his coaching career as a student assistant there under head coach Mike Leach for three seasons (2003-05), working with the offense. That plains was the prettiest country I ever saw in my life, as flat as a beauty contest winner's stomach, and prairie lakes scattered all over it. Cattle ranching, dairy farming, wheat, cotton. The next year, with Mike settling in as quarterback, the Mules won three games. a job as an assistant coach who worked with receivers. ", And so, Wood said, he hitched his career to, "Lincoln helped me get established and stay here," Wood said as he prepared for his 22nd season at the school. Dont change anything.. Some speculate the injury mightve changed his trajectory, but the next season, Riley led Muleshoe to new heights as its quarterback anyway. We were on the way to San Antonio and the bowl game and we were obviously thinking we were going to have our normal role at that Alamo Bowl game, said Simmons, who coached wide receivers at the time. While at Muleshoe High, Riley learned under the tutelage of David Wood, who just retired last month after 23 years coaching the Mules. Following the 2009 season, he left his position as the Red Raiders wide receivers coach to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at East Carolina under head coach Ruffin McNeill. But Muleshoe wanted discipline, he said. Questions? (Courtesy of Bryan Terry / The Oklahoman). Rodriguez, Alan ( Jr.) Lopez, Jaxher ( Jr.) Dominguez, Ryan ( So.) Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley yells from the sideline during a game. Everybody is so supportive. Column: 15 minutes of fame flies by. October 1, 2022, 12:22 AM. He's certainly more comfortable in his job than he was a year ago at this time. Two years into that gig, Riley found himself promoted to head coach when Stoops unexpectedly retired in June of 2017. But after Riley walked on at Texas Tech, then-Red Raiders coach Mike Leach encouraged him to get off . Wes Wood, the coachs son who led the Mules to a state title as quarterback in 2008, said that season cemented Riley as his childhood hero. They celebrated East Carolina University victories when their oldest son spent five seasons as the Pirates offensive coordinator. HomeDirectoryPhotosAboutContactAdvertise. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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