Lincoln Riley: 'I'm not going to be the next coach at LSU'

Lincoln Riley will not be the next head coach at LSU.

The source of that information is Lincoln Riley.

Riley, in his fifth season as the head coach of Oklahoma, told reporters Saturday night after OU dropped a heartbreaker to Oklahoma State that he is not going to Baton Rouge.

Riley had been a rumored target of LSU athletic director Scott Woodward for the vacancy in Baton Rouge. The LSU job has been officially open since Oct. 17, when the school said Ed Orgeron would not return in 2022.

Since then, Woodward’s search has been one of the biggest ongoing mysteries in the sport. Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel has reported that Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is Woodward’s top target. Woodward brought Fisher to A&M when Woodward was A&M’s AD, but Fisher has continually said he is not leaving his perch in College Station.

If Fisher sticks to his word, where will Woodward turn? Thamel listed Louisiana’s Billy Napier, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops as potential options. There’s also the chance Woodward could pull a big name out of left field. He is known to play his searches close to the vest and go after marquee names.

“Where LSU goes if it’s not Fisher is the biggest mystery hovering over the carousel,” Thamel wrote.

As for Riley, he has a 55-10 record in five seasons at Oklahoma. Oklahoma won the Big 12 in his first four seasons and also has three College Football Playoff appearances under his belt. The 10-2 Sooners will fall short of those goals this season.

With Saturday night’s loss in Stillwater, Oklahoma will not play in next weekend’s Big 12 title game. Instead, it will be a showdown between Oklahoma State and Baylor. And with two losses, OU is almost certainly eliminated from the CFP picture.