New York Jets: Pros, cons of Lincoln Riley as potential head coach

The hot name to be the next head coach of the New York Jets is Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. But should he be the next man to head up Gang Green?

When the Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay, the move got a lot of buzz and publicity, mostly due to his age at the time they hired him. When they hired him, he was only 30 years old and had only nine years of NFL coaching experience on his resume.

Now, everyone is looking for the next Sean McVay, especially teams like the New York Jets, who now have the man they believe to be their franchise quarterback: Sam Darnold

The name that every fan is throwing out to be the next McVay currently doesn’t have a job with an NFL team. That man is, of course, Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley.

Should he be on the radar of the Jets, and should the Jets hire Riley if he’s willing to come to the Big Apple? Let’s lay everything out on the table.

Pros

Lincoln Riley has the Oklahoma Sooners offense rolling for the second-straight season. He’s now on the radar of fans because of that, and because of his innovation when his team has possession of the football. He seems to be a wizard on offense, and that’s what people are looking for in the NFL today with how the game has evolved.

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Even though it’s not the NFL, Riley is a head coach, and that’s appealing too. Albeit for only two years, being the man at the top is key to fans wanting him. That goes a long way with fans.

Cons

The Sooners offense has been great in the last two seasons, but we have to consider the circumstances. They play in the Big 12 and that conference — to put it as polite as possible — isn’t exactly known for defense. So while Oklahoma is putting up great numbers, that has to be taken into account.

Moreover, he’s in his second season at the helm of the Sooners and has no NFL coaching experience. When the Rams hired McVay, he’d been coaching pro football for nine seasons already — one season in the UFL and eight in the NFL. Perhaps that means the Jets should consider Riley as an offensive coordinator first, then potentially as a head coach.

He’s only coached 23 games in college, and while he’s done well in the regular season (20-2 record), the postseason is where you make your mark in the NFL. The Sooners did win the Big 12 Championship Game, but they couldn’t outscore Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal last year.

Final Conclusion

There isn’t enough on the résumé to definitively say whether or not Riley is the right guy for the future of the Jets. In this league, sometimes you have to take calculated risks in order to succeed, but if you take them, they could also blow up in your face…big time. Thus, the organization must weigh if the reward is worth the risk.