love the part about Lincoln Riley being disloyal, turning his back on OU, all that jazz, while OU prepares to ditch their longtime conference and join the one with their geographic rivals in Florida and Georgia (and all that sweet $$$$$$$$$)
The ball was set in motion on the Big XII when Nebraska bolted, then CU, then aTm. If it's OU and TX keeping your conference from fading into obscurity, then maybe the BXII leadership should've done better. He did as well as he could after the fact, but too little, too late.
In any event, the two things are incomparable, but one of those typical things that goes around the internet in meme form and sounds so witty to people incapable of deeper thought (like sports writers). OU owed nothing to the other conference teams, and if they were upset about the "secrecy" element of it, they can blame aTm, or better yet, harken back to how all the other teams left before OU and TX and how much of a surprise all those were. It's still 3 years notice.
Riley, at the very least, owed OU admin the courtesy of a heads up maybe not the minute he got an itch to talk to others, but certainly when he got serious, which wasn't on Sunday like he claims. I'm beyond being mad about him leaving. I do ultimately think he was in over his head and maybe he thinks he can fix the things he fucked up at OU with a fresh start at USC (although with the same people in the fold, it's unlikely). He is still very young and learning a lot on the fly. And that's the problem here-- he handled it like a kid, or an immature adult. I guarantee that with a few more years behind him, he'd do things differently with the way this has played out. It is unprofessional to say the least to blow what was a pretty good opportunity this season to make a run by not having his head fully in the game. He owed it to his employer to fill them in. What he did is the same thing teenagers do when they want to avoid confrontation.
OU is going to get somebody to run a tight ship. And all the rah rah culture lip service that coaches give is going to be more than just lip service like it was under Riley. The buzz is getting really heavy about Venables at this point. I would've said no way 5 years ago, and in fact I'm pretty sure I did, but more and more he looks like a good selection. No NFL aspirations, still has friends and good memories in Norman, knows the admin, recognizes it as a final destination job, etc... There are a few others I'd be happy with too, but BV has those things going for him.
