Lincoln Riley is Oklahoma’s new head football coach at 33 years old. One of the sport’s rising stars, he’ll take over for Bob Stoops, the winningest coach in school history, who retired after 18 seasons on Monday. Riley has been Stoops’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, and now he’ll be the youngest head coach in the FBS.
Stoops’ retirement press conference in Norman doubled as the introduction for Riley. During his remarks, Riley thanked his former boss, but he had to struggle through it. He became visibly emotional and began to cry at points during his remarks:
Lincoln Riley very emotional when thanking Bob Stoops. #sooners pic.twitter.com/KIl86SAGd8
— Sam Gannon (@SamGannon87) June 7, 2017
“To coach and his family — shoot,” Riley said, and then paused for about 40 seconds. “He gave me a chance a few years ago that I’ll never forget. His guidance has been incredible, and to be the guy to take over for him is an incredible honor. So thank you.”
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8648885/usa_today_9690356.jpg)
Riley arrived at OU for the 2015 season after five seasons as East Carolina’s offensive coordinator. He was previously an assistant at Texas Tech.