Lincoln Riley downplayed talk of NFL teams’ interest in him and his offense.
“That got blown out of proportion a little bit,” the second-year University of Oklahoma head coach said during Big 12 Media Days, via Jori Epstein of the Dallas Morning News.
Riley, 34, became an NFL story this offseason when Kirk Herbstreit revealed that most NFL teams have picked Riley’s brain about his offense. The ESPN college football analyst later added that he expected NFL teams to “knock on [Riley’s] door” in the future.
The Riley hype machine picked up steam when Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer called Riley “what [Chip] Kelly once was” for NFL coaches and scouts and predicated NFL offenses will “look a little more like Oklahoma” this fall.
Riley clarified Monday that his chats with NFL staffers came while they were in Norman scouting his players, including Baker Mayfield, Orlando Brown and Mark Andrews.
The coach would not get into specific conversations with NFL teams or level of interest about his offense. He said some lasted only a few minutes, while others delved into scheme intricacies and best team management practices, according to Epstein.
“All these chances to talk are very helpful for us,” Riley said. “It’s been nice to have a few more resources [we can] bounce ideas off.
“We’re appreciative to have the chance to visit with those people.”