Lincoln Riley worried that he was set up to fail at Oklahoma

On The Riley Files, Oklahoma insider Kegan Reneau very carefully explained what motivated Lincoln Riley and shaped his thought process when he considered staying at Oklahoma and weighed the Sooner job against the USC job.

“I think Lincoln felt that way, that if I’m not gonna get this building, I’m not gonna get this amount of staff, I’m not gonna get this amount of trainers or nutritional staff, if I’m not gonna get all the things that Alabama has, and that Georgia has, and that A&M and Tennessee have, and Florida — if I can’t have that, then we’re behind,” Reneau said. “That perspective of Lincoln is going unnoticed because that, to me, tells me that Oklahoma failed in giving Lincoln the confidence that they had the resources and all the things we’ve talked about with Brent Venables and donors and boosters.

You look at the bigger staff that Venables got. Oklahoma had these things, they were ready to do it. Were they ready to do it Lincoln Riley’s way? I think that’s the conversation that we end up having here: Oklahoma, for some reason, felt maybe reserved to give their golden boy everything that he wanted. Lincoln Riley needed the trust and the confidence from his bosses, more specifically (Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione) that he had everything ready and able for him to use, to be able to take down Nick Saban in Alabama and take down Kirby Smart. I don’t think Oklahoma is scared of Texas A&M, but the conversation is along the lines of this:

“Lincoln Riley was NOT scared to compete in the SEC. I know that about him as a person. I feel confident in saying that … but I do think he was a little bit scared to fail, and those are two completely different perspectives.”

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The Lincoln Log: Inside Lincoln Riley's first year at USC

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire