Nebraska fires Riley; UCLA goes with Kelly

Nebraska fired coach Mike Riley on Saturday after three seasons in which he was unable to return the Cornhuskers to national prominence or even make them a factor in the Big Ten.

Riley was under contract through February 2021 and is due a buyout of more than $6.6 million.

“Mike Riley has brought tremendous professionalism and energy to the Nebraska football program, but unfortunately, those attributes have not translated to on-field success,” athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement. “After a thorough review of all aspects of our football program, I have chosen to move in a different direction.”

The Cornhuskers finished the season 4-8 after a 56-14 loss at home to Iowa on Friday. The four wins were the program’s fewest since going 3-6-1 in 1961.

UCF coach Scott Frost, the quarterback on the 1997 Nebraska team that split the national championship with Michigan, is the popular choice of the fans to replace Riley.

Frost has No. 13 UCF 11-0 and playing in the American Athletic Conference championship game next week against No. 17 Memphis.

“I expect to find a leader for our football program that will put our studentathletes in a position to compete for championships and grow as young men. I am confident our next coach will meet that standard.” Moos said.

Riley was 19-19 and lost 12 of the last 18. Nebraska had losing records two of Riley’s three seasons.

UCLA tabs Kelly: Chip Kelly is headed to UCLA with plans to create another Pac-12 powerhouse.

The coach who helped changed college football with his groundbreaking offense at Oregon agreed to a five-year, $23.3 million deal to return to the sideline with the Bruins.

Kelly, who turned 54 on Saturday, spent the past year out of coaching after four seasons in the NFL. He entertained serious overtures from Florida this month before deciding to take charge of the sleeping giant of a program at UCLA, which hasn’t won a conference title since 1998.

Kelly replaces Jim Mora, who was fired last Sunday with one game left in his sixth season in Westwood.