Lincoln Riley quickly shot down the rumors.
Oklahoma’s head coach missed his weekly noon press conference and nightly radio show on Tuesday due to “personal matters,” and was replaced by assistant head coach Dennis Simmons for the former. Paired with that, social media speculators found flights tracked from Norman to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the location of LSU, which is currently without a head coach for the 2022 season.
Lincoln Riley has done a lot in a short amount of time as a head coach. But there’s no doubt that him being on the practice field this morning in Norman with his team while also being on a flight to Baton Rouge is the most remarkable accomplishment of his career. Truly amazing.
— Gabe Ikard (@GabeIkard) November 10, 2021
Despite the rumblings of a potential midseason job interview before the Sooners’ matchup against No. 13 Baylor at 11 a.m. on Saturday, the fourth-year coach wasn’t on the flight.
“Personal matter,” said Riley on Thursday, making up the 30 minute availability via Zoom. “Had nothing to do with my job, football, anything like that. Personal matter that I was dealing with, and dealt with it. It didn’t take away from any of our preparation here thankfully, and it's back to normal now.”
On the Jordy Culotta Show, a podcast that covers Louisiana sports, Chris Sadler, a pilot, confirmed he was flying into Norman from Baton Rouge because his daughters attend OU and he owns houses in both towns.
Maybe... Maybe the LSU community jumps to conclusions just a little too quickly. pic.twitter.com/gYeq0byt8G
— The Jordy Culotta Show (@CulottaShow) November 11, 2021
Riley said his mom texted him asking if he was OK while the rumors swirled, but he confirmed the situation was nothing more than a false rumor.
“I was here working, doing my thing,” Riley said. “I’m kind of sheltered during the season. I’m sure there’s a good story I'll hear later on. It was a lot more boring I’m sure than what’s out there.”
