Lincoln Riley praising Baker Mayfield’s performance on Thursday Night Football should have Oklahoma fans battery-throwing mad, alright.
At one point in time, Lincoln Riley and Baker Mayfield did extraordinary things together at Oklahoma.
Mayfield was Riley’s first star quarterback at OU. They worked together in Norman for three years. The first two were when Riley was Bob Stoops’ offensive coordinator. When Stoops retired and Riley took over the Oklahoma program, Mayfield led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, winning the 2017 Heisman Trophy in the process. So much has changed for these former Sooners.
Riley left for USC this offseason. Oklahoma fans hated every second of his unthinkable departure. As for Mayfield, he went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2018 NFL Draft. After four up-and-down seasons in Northeast Ohio, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers this past offseason before being released earlier this week. He made his Los Angeles Rams debut on Thursday night.
Blessed with one of the greatest wins of his playing career, Riley congratulated his new “neighbor” on his first victory as a fellow Angeleno. Oklahoma fans are absolutely in shambles over this.
Lincoln Riley welcomes Baker Mayfield to Los Angeles, Oklahoma fans are livid
Admittedly, Mayfield’s run in Los Angeles is only temporary. The Rams are having a season from hell after winning the Super Bowl. Their star quarterback in Matthew Stafford has been placed on injured reserve. Even if the Rams come alive down the stretch, Los Angeles is a massive long shot to make the postseason. At the very least, Mayfield is proving to everyone that he can still play.
Although Mayfield will almost certainly never be coached by Riley again, the fact they are thriving in the same metroplex is rather shocking to say the least. Riley has USC back, while Mayfield had been holding onto dear life as an NFL starting-level quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders are not world beaters, but a win is a win is a win, especially on a new team on an incredibly short week.
Eventually, Sooners fans will get over the successes of former players and coaches as soon as Brent Venables get things turned around in Norman. He may have OU bowling in year one, but the Sooners went 6-6 in his first season at the helm. Not to say Oklahoma is going to fire him after two years, but Venables inherited one of the better situations in the Power Five. It must improve.
Mayfield and Riley are showing Oklahomans that good things happen when you go to Los Angeles.
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