When Lincoln Riley said Saturday night that he wouldn't be LSU's next coach, Oklahoma fans exhaled.
A day later, Sooner Nation is in shock. Riley is leaving Oklahoma, but not for the SEC. He's headed to USC to be the next Trojans coach, a seismic move in an already historic college coaching carousel. Riley's hire is massive for USC, the Pac-12 and West Coast recruiting, and gives the program a jolt it has been lacking since the Pete Carroll era.
His stunning departure cuts deep for Oklahoma, which brought Riley in to galvanize its offense and then promoted him to follow a Hall of Famer in Bob Stoops. Riley, 38, delivered with four conference titles, three College Football Playoff appearances, four Associated Press poll top-seven finishes and a 55-10 record in Norman. He molded back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as well as other standouts such as Jalen Hurts.
Like other schools, Oklahoma never expected to be looking for a new coach in this cycle. Coaches simply don't leave OU often. OU hasn't conducted a true coaching search since hiring Stoops in 1998. A coach hasn't left Oklahoma and coached the following season since Chuck Fairbanks departed for the New England Patriots after the 1972 college season.
Oklahoma is an A-list job by any measure. The Sooners have won 50 conference titles and seven national titles. They have dominated the Big 12 under Stoops and Riley. But the upcoming move to the SEC creates some unease around the program. For all the recent success Stoops and Riley had, neither could win a CFP game. Will Oklahoma remain an upper-crust college program when it joins the SEC?
Athletic director Joe Castiglione has been in his post since 1998 and is one of the nation's best and most respected administrators. OU also has made recent facilities upgrades, although it likely needs even stronger financial and resource commitments in the coming years to keep pace with the best in the SEC.
ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday reported that Oklahoma would target Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, who came from Texas Tech, as a candidate to replace Riley. Here are some other names OU could consider.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops: The Stoops name very much resonates in Norman, and Mark seems ready for a move after stabilizing and elevating the Kentucky program. He has guided UK to eight or more wins in three of the past four seasons, and the Wildcats will be making their sixth consecutive bowl appearance. At 54, Stoops likely has one big move left, but he agreed to an extension with Kentucky through the 2027 season Tuesday. His SEC experience would help Oklahoma in its upcoming transition. Bob Stoops' influence on the Oklahoma search will be an interesting subplot, and he likely will advocate for his younger brother. One thing working against Mark is Riley's historic success on offense and whether he could come close to matching it, given the style Kentucky typically uses. But Stoops is a proven winner and a strong recruiter who would fit in well with the Oklahoma program.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell: He has been mentioned for every other top-tier coaching vacancy, so why not one more? Campbell already coaches in the Big 12 and has had success against Riley's teams in recent years. Iowa State faced Oklahoma in the league title game just last season. He has a solid background on offense and with quarterbacks, and Iowa State's defense -- under coordinator Jon Heacock -- has become the envy of many around the sport. Campbell, 41, seems like the type of coach Castiglione would hire, but he might not want to make a move within the league. He could stay at Iowa State until a job such as Notre Dame opens.
Bob Stoops: Bringing him back is likely a long shot, but you know what they say about shots that are never taken. Stoops, 61, stepped down from Oklahoma in June 2017 and hasn't expressed a strong desire to return. He enjoys his analyst work with Fox and a life away from the daily rigors of coaching. But Stoops will coach Oklahoma in its upcoming bowl game and could get the itch to return to the sideline. The College Football Hall of Fame selection led Oklahoma to a national title in 2000, 12 conference championships and a 190-48 overall record.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel: The hire could be awkward, and I'd be a bit surprised if it happened. Bob Stoops fired Heupel as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator in early 2015 and replaced him with Riley. Heupel went on to reboot his coaching career at Missouri before landing his first head-coaching job at UCF, where he went 28-8. The 43-year-old then became a surprise choice to lead Tennessee, where he engineered a dramatic offensive improvement in his first season this fall. Heupel quarterbacked Oklahoma to its most recent national title in 2000, when he was an All-America selection and a Heisman Trophy runner-up. He would keep OU on an offense-centric path after Riley.
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables: If Venables indeed wants to be a head coach, this is the job to target. He served as an Oklahoma defensive assistant from 1999 to 2011, spending the final eight seasons as the team's primary defensive coordinator. Venables, 50, truly blossomed after leaving for Clemson, where he has been part of two national championship teams and six CFP squads. In 2016, he won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. He's one of the most respected defensive coaches in the country but also knows how to coexist with dynamic offenses. Venables is a Kansas native who started his coaching career at Kansas State, his alma mater.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin: His stock is hot after guiding Ole Miss to its first 10-win regular season. Like Mark Stoops, Kiffin also would bring plenty of SEC experience to a program that soon will join the league. Unlike Stoops, Kiffin wouldn't face any concerns about having an exciting offense or top quarterbacks. Oklahoma would remain a top destination for quarterback recruits and quarterback transfers. Kiffin, 46, is 76-41 overall as a college coach. Despite Ole Miss' success this season, quarterback Matt Corral and other key players will move on to the NFL. Kiffin seems ready for another jump.
Nevada coach Jay Norvell: The veteran coach served as Oklahoma's co-offensive coordinator under Stoops from 2008 to 2014, after which both he and Heupel were fired. Like Heupel, Norvell went on to land his first head-coaching job at a Group of 5 program and has done well at Nevada, going 33-26 overall and 30-17 since the start of the 2018 season. Norvell, 58, has extensive Big 12 experience from stints at OU, Nebraska and Texas, and has recruited the region for most of his career. He also has a strong offensive background, a potential requirement for Castiglione after Riley.
Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch: Another internal promotion seems unlikely at OU, but Grinch, the team's defensive coordinator since 2019, likely would have the best chance among current assistants. He has interviewed for FBS head-coaching jobs in recent years and brings experience from several Power 5 programs, including Missouri, which joined the SEC in Grinch's first year as an assistant. Oklahoma's up-and-down defense could give the school some pause, but Grinch, 41, has been around a lot of good coaches and seems ready to lead his own program.