LOOK: Lincoln Riley gets an influx of interesting new Twitter followers
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley has said he has no intention to leave Norman. But as of Friday, Riley has some notable new followers from a different blue blood.
LSU basketball coach Will Wade, LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson and several LSU football commits have followed the current Sooners head coach on Twitter.
After rumors began swirling a few weeks ago, Riley went public and strongly denied the idea that he might move to Baton Rouge.
“I coach at the University of Oklahoma,” Riley said. “You know how I feel about this place and this program. We’ve all been down this road many times before. You guys know where I stand and that hasn’t changed.”
Despite his denial, coaching carousel speculation does not slow down, and several people think Riley still might make the move.
Riley, 38, is in his fifth year at Oklahoma, and he boasts a 55-9 record. He has led the Sooners to three College Football Playoff appearances, though they have never made the title game. Considered an offensive savant, Riley also coached two Heisman Trophy winners in quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
He is a native of West Texas and played college football at Texas Tech. Riley was a walk-on in 2002 and backed up current Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. His only coaching job outside of the Big 12 was a five-year stint as an assistant at East Carolina from 2010-2014.
No. 10 Oklahoma is currently 10-1, and they have a top-10 date with No. 7 Oklahoma State on Saturday. If they win, they play a rematch with the Cowboys for the Big 12 title. If they lose, the Cowboys play Baylor for the conference title.
They are 4.5-point road underdogs in Stillwater for the 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC.