OSU's Mike Riley to be Inducted Into the Winnipeg Hall of Fame

Riley’s 2006 team became only the second club in OSU history to win at least 10 games in a season.

Mike Riley Photo: OSU Athletics

WINNIPEG, MB - One of the most successful head coaches in the history of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ organization will be inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame in June, the football club announced Thursday.

Former Bomber, and current Oregon State head coach Mike Riley is the lone inductee into the football club’s Hall of Fame for 2007.

He will be honoured at this year’s Winnipeg Football Club Legacy Dinner, slated for Wednesday, June 13 at Canad Inns-Polo Park.

“I am very appreciative of the Winnipeg Football Club and this induction into their Hall of Fame,” Riley said.

“This is very special for our entire family and we are looking forward to coming to Winnipeg and being part of this event. The city of Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers have meant a great deal to us and I am very proud of the time that we lived in the city and were part of the football organization.”

Riley first joined the Bombers as the team’s secondary coach in 1983 and spent three seasons in that capacity with the football club.

Following a one-year stint at University of Northern Colorado as the Bears’ defensive coordinator, Riley returned to the Blue Bombers as the team’s head coach.

In his four seasons (1987-90) as the Blue & Gold’s head coach the team compiled a 40-32 regular season record. He still ranks as the fifth winningest head coach in team history.

Riley helped shape the careers of a number of CFL All-Stars including Tom Clements, Scott Flagel, Ken Hailey, Willard Reaves, Perry Tuttle, Chris Walby, Tyrone Jones, James West and James Murphy.

The crowning achievement of his tenure with the Bombers was leading the team to Grey Cup wins in 1988 and again in ‘90.

Riley began his CFL coaching career as a guest coach with the Edmonton Eskimos in the early-1980s, where he got to know then Eskimos assistant coach Cal Murphy. Murphy was subsequently hired as head coach of the Blue Bombers and hired Riley as an assistant on his staff.

Riley already had a connection with the Blue Bombers franchise before then. His father, Bud, coached the team from 1974 until 1977. The elder Riley compiled a 34-28-2 record during his tenure with the club.

“What is important to remember is that Mike’s first opportunity as a head coach at the pro level came with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and he really excelled once given the opportunity,” said dinner chairman and former Bomber player Joe Poplawski. “He really restored and re-established the pride in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by helping lead the team to two Grey Cups.

“The one story I remember about Mike is when a young defensive back wound up fumbling the ball and the other team scored a touchdown as a result. The defensive backs coach said to Mike ‘Do you want me to tear a strip off him?’ Mike said there was no need to do that and that he knew he made a mistake. That was the type of individual Mike was. He got to know his players and respected them as men and as individuals.”

Riley has also had a distinguished coaching career south of the border.

He is currently the head coach of the Oregon State University football program. In the six years he has guided the Beavers to some of their most exciting campaigns.

Riley’s 2006 team became only the second club in OSU history to win at least 10 games in a season, including wins over No. 3-ranked USC, No. 24 Hawaii and Oregon.

He is also the first OSU coach to win more than one NCAA-sanctioned bowl game in school history, capturing the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl, the 2004 Insight Bowl and 2006 Sun Bowl titles. He also served as the Beavers head coach between 1997 and ’98.

As an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Southern California from 1993 until ‘96, Riley helped groom the likes of future NFLers in quarterback Rob Johnson, wide receivers Keyshawn Johnson and Johnnie Morton and offensive lineman Tony Boselli.

In 1999 he graduated to the NFL himself when he was hired as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.

He spent four years in the NFL, including a stint as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints, before returning to Oregon State.

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