Ryan Kartje wrote a long feature for the Los Angeles Times on Lincoln Riley, and it's worth your time.
The piece catches Riley in a contemplative place, just after his 40th birthday last month. Riley's birthday gift from his wife Caitlin was an hour-long video in which friends, family and colleagues shared their favorite memories with Lincoln. What struck Lincoln was the same truth that hits many coaches, only most don't tend to realize it until they're older -- in the end, no one remembers the wins and the losses.
Riley has long professed to be the type of coach who doesn't care about legacy -- he never would've left Oklahoma if he was -- and his 40th birthday gift reinforced that belief.
So, too, did the untimely passing of Riley's best friend in coaching, Dave Nichol. Nichol was a graduate assistant at Texas Tech when Riley arrived, and the pair remained close since. Nichol was set to be Riley's inside receivers coach and assistant head coach for offense until cancer took him at the age of 45.
Riley said in a recent interview he planned to retire at 50, and he acknowledged to the Times that there is no date circled with a definitive retirement date, it's more of just a feeling.
Still, he also said this:
“I know right now, there are things I want to do,” Riley said. “I don’t want to have regrets when I’m done, at the end of my life. I do think about that. I just don’t want to have regrets, especially with anything that has to do with my family. It’s hard not to consider the possibility of starting over in life.”
It's hard for Riley not to consider the possibility of starting over in life.
That could mean walking away, living off his millions in anonymity while working part-time at Hobby Lobby. Or it could simply mean moving up a level, where coaches live a semblance of a normal life from February through July.
Riley has discussed the possibility with Sean McVay, another Southern Californian transplant who found wild success at a wildly young age and has also discussed the possibility of an early retirement... who has also yet to actually walk away.
“The guys in the NFL, their lifestyle is awesome in a lot of ways,” Riley said. “Once their season is done, life is a lot different than a college coach out of season.”
All in all, the piece makes Riley look like a... normal, relatable human being. Give it a read.