Mike Riley Michael Joseph " Mike " Riley ( born July 6 , 1953 ) is an American football coach , currently the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers of the Pacific - 12 Conference . Riley has also coached in several professional leagues , and is a former head coach of the San Diego Chargers of the NFL and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL . Early life and playing career . The son of a high school football coach , Riley was born in Wallace , Idaho , and spent his first dozen years in northern Idaho . The family moved from Wallace down to Lewiston in 1959 and up to Moscow in 1962 , when his father , Bud Riley , became a collegiate assistant coach for his alma mater , the Idaho Vandals , under new head coach Dee Andros . After three seasons on the Palouse , Andros was hired at Oregon State and Bud Riley joined him in Corvallis in 1965 for eight seasons , first as the secondary coach and later as defensive coordinator . Riley was a hometown hero in Corvallis from his athletic days at Corvallis High , where he led the Spartans as the starting quarterback to consecutive state title games in 1969 and 1970 . CHS came up short against Medford in 1969 , 27 – 0 , but avenged the loss the following season when they met Medford again and came out victorious 21 – 10 . As the son of a coach , Riley had a peripatetic youth and spent his first twelve years in northern Idaho , but he considers the college town of Corvallis his hometown , where he went to junior high and high school . Riley graduated from CHS in 1971 and opted not to play his college football in the Pac - 8 , but for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC under legendary head coach Paul " Bear " Bryant . He had family connections to the state and school : his father was born and raised in Guin and his uncle , Hayden Riley , was Alabama ' s head baseball coach ( 1970 – 79 ) and the former head basketball coach ( 1960 – 68 ) . ( Mike ' s cousin , Major Ogilvie , would become a star running back for the Tide in the late 1970s ; Ogilvie ' s mother Peggy is one of Bud Riley ' s five sisters . ) In his four seasons at Alabama as a reserve defensive back , the Tide won four SEC titles and the 1973 UPI ( Coaches ' Poll ) national championship , though they lost the 1973 Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame on New Year ' s Eve . ( Until 1974 , the final Coaches ' Poll was released before the bowl games . ) Coaching career . Riley began his coaching career immediately after his playing days ended , first as a graduate assistant at California in 1975 , and then as a graduate assistant at Whitworth in Spokane , where he received his master ' s in physical education . In 1977 , he was hired as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Linfield College in McMinnville , Oregon . During his stay at Linfield he assisted head coach Ad Rutschman ’ s Wildcats to a six - year record of 52 – 7 – 1 , which included five conference titles and an undefeated NAIA Division II championship season in 1982 . He became an assistant coach in the Canadian Football League in 1983 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers . Hired at age 33 , Riley became the youngest head coach in CFL history in 1987 at Winnipeg . He led the Blue Bombers from 1987 – 1990 and won two Grey Cup s during his tenure . He also coached the San Antonio Riders of the defunct WLAF . He was hired to coach the San Antonio Texans of the CFL in 1993 , but the team folded before it could begin play . Riley returned to the college ranks in 1993 when USC head coach John Robinson offered him the position of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach ; he later became assistant head coach . The " Mesa Tribune " named him the league ’ s top assistant coach in 1993 after leading the Trojan offense to record setting numbers . USC quarterback Rob Johnson earned numerous Pac - 10 and NCAA records under Riley ' s tutelage and would later become a fourth - round NFL Draft pick . " He ' s a player ' s coach , who gets the most out of you by treating you like normal , " Johnson later said . Riley remained at USC through the 1996 season , helping the Trojans to post - season victories in the Freedom , Cotton , and Rose Bowls . USC won an outright league title , shared another , and finished second once . Oregon State . Riley was hired as the head coach at Oregon State in 1997 to replace Jerry Pettibone , who had resigned at the end of the 1996 season . Riley ' s initial contract was a five - year deal at $ 185 , 000 per year . In the Beavers ' first season under Riley , they posted a record of 3 – 8 . This was a difficult season for Riley as he attempted to run his NFL - style offense with players recruited by Pettibone to run the wishbone triple - option . The 1998 season was another big step in the right direction , with the Beavers posting a 5 – 6 record , their best record since 1971 . The 1998 season was capped off by a double - overtime 44 – 41 win over the Oregon Ducks in the Civil War game . Although his first stint with the Beavers only lasted two seasons , Riley is considered , by FSN commentators , to have laid the foundation for the success of the Beavers in the years to come . The 1999 team , led by Dennis Erickson , posted a 7 – 5 record and earned a trip to the Oahu Bowl , which ended a streak of 28 straight losing seasons . NFL . In January 1999 , Riley left the Beavers to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers of the NFL , signing a five - year deal at $ 750 , 000 per year . Riley coached the Chargers from 1999 to 2001 , with a record of 14 – 34 . His last game was indicative of his last season , as the Chargers played well , but one poor play turned the tide . The 2001 Chargers ended their season with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks , after Doug Flutie passed for 377 yards and drove for the tying field goal with 16 seconds remaining , but poor special teams play led to a long Seahawks kick return and subsequently a 54 - yard winning field goal . Riley was fired as head coach of the Chargers after three seasons and was an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints in 2002 . He was offered the Alabama job in December 2002 after Dennis Franchione left for Texas A & M . Riley was also under consideration for the UCLA job during that period . Return to Oregon State . After spending the 2002 season with the New Orleans Saints , Riley returned to Corvallis to become the head coach at Oregon State in 2003 following Erickson ' s departure to San Francisco of the NFL . Riley agreed to a seven - year contract that started at $ 625 , 000 per year and increased incrementally to $ 950 , 000 in year seven . Continuing on their new success , the Beavers won bowl games in 2003 and 2004 before having a down year in 2005 . After starting the 2006 season 2 – 3 , the Beavers went 9 – 4 on the regular season , including an upset of # 3 USC in Corvallis . The Beavers completed their impressive season with a win over Missouri in the Sun Bowl in El Paso , Texas , ending their season with a 10 – 4 record . In 2007 , the Beavers again started 2 – 3 and finished 8 – 4 on the regular season , including an upset of # 2 Cal in Berkeley . The Beavers finished the year 9 – 4 with a win in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco over the Maryland Terrapins . In 2008 Riley ' s Beavers knocked off # 1 - ranked USC 27 – 21 at Reser Stadium . The Beavers went into the Civil War with a chance to reach the Rose Bowl as Pac - 10 champions but were defeated by Oregon , 65 – 38 , and instead accepted another invitation to the third place Sun Bowl , where they beat Pittsburgh in a defensive struggle , 3 – 0 . Though winless in bowl games as a player , Riley has a 5 – 1 NCAA football bowl record as a head coach , having won the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl , 2004 Insight Bowl , 2006 Sun Bowl , 2007 Emerald Bowl , and 2008 Sun Bowl . Riley is a combined 8 – 1 in bowl games as a head or assistant coach . In the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl , the Beavers lost to the BYU Cougars of the Mountain West Conference . In Riley ' s second stint at OSU , the Beavers have produced three current NFL quarterbacks , Sean Canfield , Matt Moore , and Derek Anderson . Following the 2009 season , Riley was rumored to be up for the USC vacancy created by the resignation of Pete Carroll . Those rumors were put to rest when Riley signed a three - year extension at OSU through the 2019 season . During the 2012 season , Riley snatched his 75th career win surpassing Lon Stiner as Oregon State ' s all time winningest coach .