[BostonCard]

That's a fascinating move on many levels.

First of all, Riley.
He supposedly turned down several jobs one would think would be better than Nebraska in order to stay in Corvallis - notably U.-S.-C.. Now he decides he wants to go to a program in an area of the country he doesn't know and that just fired their coach whose worst year was 9 wins (three years with 9 wins, three years with 10 wins, 9 wins this year and the team (at least) has one game remaining).
So, what is going on?
My guess is that he has become quite annoyed with the carping in Corvallis - that Riley has lost it or cannot get them to "the next level". Possibly he is also worried about prospects at OSU and in the Pac 12. If the other programs have their act together, OSU is probably the second hardest place to recruit to in the Pac 12 and he many not feel good about the younger talent on hand. Nebraska is not quite a recruiting power house, but its better positioned versus its rivals.

For Nebraska, they are getting a 61 year old coach with a middling won-loss record from a far away part of the country. Given the circumstances at OSU, I think he has been very successful, but the circumstances will now be different. By personality, he does seem to be the anti-Pellini. He's very understated, rather proper with his language, and seems to be acknowledged as a nice guy. Nebraska doesn't seem to believe they need ground-up rebuilding - or I would think they would have gone with a younger, more fire-breathing type of guy.

For Oregon State, interesting to see how much they opt for high-profile for the next guy. Of course there is only so far high-profile they will be able to go, but they may have some resources due to new Pac 12 monies. Riley was reportedly making about $1.5 million a year ago. Somehow my instinct is that the less of a national name they hire, the better they guy will be in the long run.

Thanks CTCard, you saved me from writing a long post on my thoughts, which echo yours almost perfectly (this is where I miss the up arrow).  I will note that Nebraska just fired a coach who went 66-27 over the last 7 years and hired a coach who went 45-42 over that same period.  Meanwhile, Riley left a job where he basically had a "lifetime" contract* for a team that just fired a coach who in eight years never had fewer than 9 wins in a season.

I suppose the logic for Nebraska goes that Riley is a good coach, who did the best he could in the armpit of Pac-12 recruiting (sorry to anyone from Corvalis, but I agree with CTCard's assessment), and I've always respected what Riley has done at OSU.  On the other hand, Riley may have been getting tired of the inherent limitations of coaching at Corvalis, made worse  by the rise of Oregon as the dominant program in the state, if not the Pac-12, and with getting blamed for OSU's poor performance.  For OSU, I wonder if it is a bit like Washington's reaction at USC hiring Sarkisian (that is, "thank you for taking him off our hands).  They may feel like Riley lost his touch, and though they are thankful for him helping bring the program up from the ashes, I suspect they are not all that broken up about him leaving.  So maybe what looks like a WTF move is actually a win-win-win.  Whatever the outcome, good luck to Riley.  As I said, I've always kind of liked and respected him as much as any opponent's coach in the Pac-12.

BC

* As I understand it, Riley's contract at OSU went through 2021, but had a clause that automatically tacked a year on for every year he had at least 6 wins and went to a bowl game.

[BostonCard]

That's a fascinating move on many levels.

First of all, Riley.
He supposedly turned down several jobs one would think would be better than Nebraska in order to stay in Corvallis - notably U.-S.-C.. Now he decides he wants to go to a program in an area of the country he doesn't know and that just fired their coach whose worst year was 9 wins (three years with 9 wins, three years with 10 wins, 9 wins this year and the team (at least) has one game remaining).
So, what is going on?
My guess is that he has become quite annoyed with the carping in Corvallis - that Riley has lost it or cannot get them to "the next level". Possibly he is also worried about prospects at OSU and in the Pac 12. If the other programs have their act together, OSU is probably the second hardest place to recruit to in the Pac 12 and he many not feel good about the younger talent on hand. Nebraska is not quite a recruiting power house, but its better positioned versus its rivals.

For Nebraska, they are getting a 61 year old coach with a middling won-loss record from a far away part of the country. Given the circumstances at OSU, I think he has been very successful, but the circumstances will now be different. By personality, he does seem to be the anti-Pellini. He's very understated, rather proper with his language, and seems to be acknowledged as a nice guy. Nebraska doesn't seem to believe they need ground-up rebuilding - or I would think they would have gone with a younger, more fire-breathing type of guy.

For Oregon State, interesting to see how much they opt for high-profile for the next guy. Of course there is only so far high-profile they will be able to go, but they may have some resources due to new Pac 12 monies. Riley was reportedly making about $1.5 million a year ago. Somehow my instinct is that the less of a national name they hire, the better they guy will be in the long run.

Thanks CTCard, you saved me from writing a long post on my thoughts, which echo yours almost perfectly (this is where I miss the up arrow).  I will note that Nebraska just fired a coach who went 66-27 over the last 7 years and hired a coach who went 45-42 over that same period.  Meanwhile, Riley left a job where he basically had a "lifetime" contract* for a team that just fired a coach who in eight years never had fewer than 9 wins in a season.

I suppose the logic for Nebraska goes that Riley is a good coach, who did the best he could in the armpit of Pac-12 recruiting (sorry to anyone from Corvalis, but I agree with CTCard's assessment), and I've always respected what Riley has done at OSU.  On the other hand, Riley may have been getting tired of the inherent limitations of coaching at Corvalis, made worse  by the rise of Oregon as the dominant program in the state, if not the Pac-12, and with getting blamed for OSU's poor performance.  For OSU, I wonder if it is a bit like Washington's reaction at USC hiring Sarkisian (that is, "thank you for taking him off our hands).  They may feel like Riley lost his touch, and though they are thankful for him helping bring the program up from the ashes, I suspect they are not all that broken up about him leaving.  So maybe what looks like a WTF move is actually a win-win-win.  Whatever the outcome, good luck to Riley.  As I said, I've always kind of liked and respected him as much as any opponent's coach in the Pac-12.

BC

* As I understand it, Riley's contract at OSU went through 2021, but had a clause that automatically tacked a year on for every year he had at least 6 wins and went to a bowl game.