Coach Mike Riley’s USFL Generals professional football team
Written By Kerry Eggers, May 14, 2022 Updated 5/15/2022 3:10 PM
This is part of Kerry Egger's "Reflections
from a week spent in Alabama accompanied by the better half …"
•
Mike Riley is back in the saddle, and loving every minute of it.
“It’s really been fun to be
coaching again,” says the Corvallis native, now serving as head coach of the
New Jersey Generals in USFL 2.0, the latest effort to build a viable secondary
professional league beneath the NFL. The Generals lead the North Division with
a 3-1 — the loss coming to the USFL’s only undefeated team, Birmingham — going
into Saturday’s game against New Orleans. (Editor’s note: The Generals
defeated New Orleans 27-17 Saturday to improve their record to 4-1 in leading
the USFL North.)
All eight teams in this
incarnation of the USFL — initially a spring and summer league that existed
from 1983-85 — are situated in Birmingham this season, thus saving on travel
expenses. They play a 10-game schedule that began on April 16 and concludes in
mid-June, with the top two teams making the playoffs in each division.
Riley, who began his career as a
grad assistant at Cal in 1975, is coaching for the first time since he left his
position as offensive coordinator of the XFL’s Seattle Dragons before the 2020
season due to the health of his wife, Dee. The Rileys have lived in their
Corvallis home since then, with Dee coping with symptoms that suggest early
onset dementia.
When USFL president Brian Woods
reached out last fall to extend an offer to serve as head coach of the
Generals, Riley accepted. He knew there would be a high level of coaching, with
names such as Jeff Fisher, Kevin Sumlin, Skip Holtz and Bart Andrus among the
other head coaches in the league. He had experience in the lesser pro leagues.
And he very much missed being part of the game.
The bonus was the league’s
location. Dee is a Birmingham native who met Mike when both attended the
University of Alabama in the early 1970s. She has friends and family in the
area who could help with company and care.
“If it were ever going to work,”
Riley says, “this was it.”
The Rileys arrived in Birmingham
for the Generals’ two-week training camp, but it soon became clear the living
situation wasn’t going to work. Mike seriously considered resigning, but was
convinced by his children, Matt and Kate, to continue. Dee flew home and is
being cared for by her children. She and Mike talk daily on the phone.
“Even though that did not work
out as I’d hoped, (Birmingham) was still a good place for her to be and to
reconnect with a lot of close friends and some family,” he says.
Everything else concerning the
Generals has been good for Riley, 68, who may own the record for coaching in
more professional leagues and at more levels than anyone in history. He was the
head coach of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers (1999-2001), of the World League’s
San Antonio Riders (1991-92), of the Alliance of American Football’s San
Antonio Commanders (2019) and of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1987-90,
winning a pair of Grey Cup championships). That is in addition to college
stints at Oregon State (1997-98 and 2002-14) and Nebraska (2015-17).
With the Generals, Riley
assembled a staff of six full-time assistants and a pair of interns. Two of his
assistants are familiar names to Oregon sports fans. Jay Locey — a Corvallis
High classmate who coached with Riley at Linfield and Oregon State before
serving as head coach at Linfield and Lewis & Clark — coaches tight ends,
running backs and special teams. James Rodgers — the ex-Beaver great who
interned with Riley at Nebraska and lived with the Rileys in Corvallis for a
spell — coaches receivers and return specialists.
“I’m really thankful to have Jay
and James here,” Riley says. “Jay had just retired (from Lewis & Clark), so
the timing was perfect. We’ve been close since high school, and he is an outstanding
coach with so much experience. James and I have been close since he played for
me. He has a great connection with young people. Having his own (position
group) for the first time is good for his career. He coaches very specifically,
in a very detailed manner, just like he was as a player.”
After the draft in February,
Riley and team executive Billy Devaney — with whom he worked at San Diego and
Nebraska — set about forming a 45-man roster. Only 38 players suit up on game
day, making it difficult to plug holes when injuries occur. But the quality of
play is high.
“There is a lot of talent,” Riley
says. “These guys were good college players and a number have NFL experience.
Almost all of them have at least attended an NFL team camp.”
I watched parts or all of the
Generals’ first three games on TV and was in person at Alabama Birmingham’s
brand new Protective Stadium to see their 21-13 victory over Pittsburgh last
Saturday. Riley splendidly called the plays, as he has done all season.
“It adds a ton of work — it takes
a lot of personal quiet time to prepare — but it’s fun for me,” he says. “Those
times in my career in college when I didn’t call the plays, I really missed it.
I felt like a spectator. I like it because I want that kind of personal
accountability. People always ask, ‘Why did you call that play?” I didn’t like
to answer that kind of question not knowing why.”
Unlike most coaches, Riley — who
quarterbacked Corvallis High to a state championship in 1970 — doesn’t use a
play chart when calling plays. He quickly judges the situation and conveys the
play to his signal-caller.
“First coach I’ve had who doesn’t
use a play-calling sheet,” quarterback De’Andre Johnson says.
“I don’t like reading off the
paper,” Riley says. “I’ve never been able to do that. I try to be prepared and
have a feel for what might work in any situation.”
The Generals have a balanced
offense, much like Riley’s teams at Oregon State. They rank second in the
league in total offense and rush offense and third in pass offense. The
Generals run more often than they throw, in part because Johnson — who shares
QB duties with Luis Perez — is an outstanding runner who ranks fourth in the
USFL in rushing and is superb with the run/pass option.
“My experience in these leagues —
the three I’ve been in (WFL, AAF and USFL) — tells me that with the short time
we have for training camp, it’s hard to have the precision in a drop-back
passing game that you’d like to have,” Riley says. “I find it very hard to
protect against all the different blitzes, to have the timing and chemistry you
need to complete passes. So it’s very important to run the ball and have a good
play-action package.”
As always, Riley has made a good
impression on his players.
“He’s a great players’ coach,”
Johnson says. “He listens to what you have to say, but he’s not afraid to tell
you the truth if you’re doing things wrong. And he’s not afraid to try new
things. He’s the only coach (in the USFL) going with a two-QB system. And he’s
a cool guy, laid back. He likes to tell jokes and old ball stories. We’ve heard
a lot of stories about his days (playing for) Alabama.”
Riley has likewise been impressed
with the attitude and demeanor of his players.
“It’s a nice group of guys,” he
says. “They‘re eager to play football. They’re hungry — just like me.”
So is Locey, who wondered if his
coaching career was over after resigning at Lewis & Clark after the 2021
campaign.
“It’s been awesome,” says Locey,
who won an NCAA Division III national championship at Linfield in 2004. “The
guys want to excel, and the fun part of it is, there’s an absolute love for the
game. It’s fun at all levels you coach, but this has been a good group of kids
to be around in every way.
“Mike is doing a really good job,
and doing it in a positive way. He has so much knowledge of the game, and he’s
a great teacher. The cool thing is, there aren’t a lot of outside
responsibilities (in the USFL). It’s just about preparing a team and coaching
football.”
The future of the USFL depends
not on game attendance — other than for the Birmingham Stallions, who have a
local following, the games draw virtually nothing — but on television ratings.
Fox Sports has ownership in the league, with every game aired live on one of
five networks (NBC, Fox, FS1, USA or Peacock). TV ratings so far have been
“positive,” but there is plenty of season to be played.
If there is a USFL again in 2023,
Riley would like to coach again.
“At the same time, I can’t make
any long-term plans,” he says, mindful of his wife’s situation. “I don’t know
what the future brings, but I’m grateful for the opportunity right now. I’m
thankful for every day I get to do this. I don’t take anything for granted.”
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