Riley: No pressure to fire Stoops Radley-Hiles takes Twitter shot
NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said the decision to fire defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was his alone, and that he didn’t face pressure from administration.
"Oh no. Oklahoma doesn’t work like that,” Riley said Monday night to a group of almost 40 reporters. “Other places do and that’s why they go up and down. At Oklahoma, the people who make the decisions are the people that should make the decisions, and that’s why this place has been so good for so long."
There had been speculation that Riley faced pressure from either athletic director Joe Castiglione or university President Jim Gallogly. Riley didn’t want to get into the specifics of who he met with before making the decision, but he reaffirmed that it was his.
“Of course you have bosses,” he said. “I have people that I answer to, and I make them aware of big changes or anything going on in the program that we need to. And we have a great, open communication system with our president and that office, with Joe, of course, and his group. But no, this place wouldn’t be like it is — you wouldn’t see all them banners up over there if that’s how this place is run.”
Oklahoma officially announced Stoops’ dismissal Monday morning. Ruffin McNeill will fill in as interim defensive coordinator.
Riley downplays Bolton halftime situation
OU senior linebacker Curtis Bolton was seen walking out of Cotton Bowl Stadium at halftime Saturday against Texas, according to a Fox 25 photographer. Riley was asked Monday night about the situation.
“Blown out of proportion a little bit,” Riley said. “Sometimes guys get emotional and have to remove themselves from the situation a little bit. That’s a heated game. That’s a heated locker room. Curtis has been a warrior for us all year. He’s one of our emotional leaders no question, wears his heart on his sleeve like some of our guys do.”
Bolton was reportedly yelling, and teammates had to stop him before he got too far, according to the account. Bolton hasn’t been available to address the situation, but he tweeted after the game.
“I ain't ever quitting on this team, I think me being here for five years shows that. Leave all that rumor talk for the barbershop.”
Bolton was back on the field for OU’s first defensive series of the second half. Oklahoma gave up 48 points to Texas on Saturday, prompting Stoops' dismissal.
Bolton tweeted again Monday evening: “People will make up a whole story for some views, some of y’all reporters make me sick.”
Riley downplayed the blow up.
“I’ve never had an OUTexas game where there wasn’t emotional outbursts at halftime,” Riley said. “Hell, I was one of them. That’s college football. I’ve been in locker rooms we’ve been up 35-0 and had emotional outbursts. I mean, that’s reality inside the ropes as opposed to outside the ropes.”
Bolton leads the Sooners with 75 tackles.
While most Oklahoma players have expressed gratitude for Stoops in the wake of his firing, freshman defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles tweeted a different take Tuesday night.
"It's different when you love the coach you playin for," Radley-Hiles tweeted. "Happy birthday OG, @ RuffinMcNeill."
The tweet, sent at 6:48 p.m. Tuesday, has been deleted.
OU defensive captain Kenneth Murray, right around the time of Radley-Hiles' tweet, talked about how much Stoops meant to him.
"He gave me a shot when nobody else gave me a shot," Murray said. "You don't start as a true freshman every day. Every freshman in the country doesn't come in and just start. He believed in me a lot from the jump. For that I'm forever grateful and forever thankful.
"He's a great guy, a great coach and I love him to death."