Oklahoma coaching search: Barry Switzer suggests Mike Leach as Lincoln Riley replacement
ByRILEY GATES 2 hours ago

The Oklahoma Sooners are in search of a new head coach after the groundbreaking news Sunday that Lincoln Riley left Norman to become the next head coach at USC. Many names surfaced as a replacement for Riley, but legendary Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer told ESPN 102.3 in Sioux Falls that he would hire Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach for the job.

?Texas Tech, he had 10-win seasons,? Switzer said of Leach. ?Texas Tech he was ? Washington State, he wins 10 with Washington State. He just now got to Ole Miss, I mean, Mississippi State, who isn?t a powerhouse in the SEC, you know that. They?re a cellar team and all of a sudden, he?s got them in bowl contention. Well, they?re already in bowl play. He would be my guy. ?I would go Mike Leach, because you?ve got to have an offensive coach. You?ve got to have a head coach, you?ve got to have an offensive coach, you?ve got to have one that recruits the quarterbacks, the quarterbacks knows that he coaches them, they work out the game plan together and he calls plays. That?s exactly what Lincoln Riley does and Lincoln Riley coached for Mike Leach for years.?

Leach has a history with Oklahoma, as he spent the 1999 season as the Sooners? offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. But that job lasted one year, before Leach was hired by Texas Tech as the school?s next head coach in 2000. Leach won double-digit games once with the Red Raiders, winning 11 games in 2008, but the 2009 season was his final year with the Red Raiders, as he was accused of misconduct of one of his players. He went 84-43 in 10 years at Texas Tech, where Riley was an assistant for him for seven years.

After a few years away from coaching, Leach was hired by Washington State. He spent eight years with the Cougars, winning 11 games once in that time. After the 2019 season, Leach was hired by Mississippi State, a job he has now had for two years. The Bulldogs went 4-7 in Leach?s first season but went 7-5 this year and are headed to a bowl game.

While Leach might not have the notoriety or success of some other names in the search, he does have experience with explosive offenses and talented quarterbacks. Switzer believes that is crucial for the job in Norman.




?We?ve, got to hire a head coach that recruits quarterbacks and receivers,? Switzer said. ?We got to have an experienced head coach, like Lincoln was, that recruited quarterbacks. Quarterbacks knew of his capabilities, seem to support what he?s accomplished. There?s about three or four guys out there like that. I can start naming them. There?s not many of them. Lane Kiffin does that at Ole Miss. He?s been around a lot different places, you got some baggage, but he?s a hell of a coach you got. You got one guy that coached them all, Mike Leach. Mike Leach, Mississippi State, he coached Lincoln Riley. He taught Lincoln Riley the system and all, and he?s won everywhere he?s been.?




Riley has not been too many stops in his coaching career and seemed like a perfect fit for the Sooners. Bob Stoops hand-picked Riley to be his successor ahead of the 2017 season and the Sooners have thrived under Riley. In five seasons at Oklahoma, Riley went 55-10, won four Big 12 titles and made the College Football Playoff three times.