When Lincoln Riley took over as head coach at Oklahoma in 2017, he wasn’t just replacing a legend in Bob Stoops—he was reshaping the quarterback position across college football. He was a walk-on QB at Texas Tech in the spring and summer of 2003 before starting his coaching career as a student assistant there under coach Mike Leach for three seasons (2003-05), working with the offense. At just 43 years old, Riley had already developed the air-raid and was poised to weaponize them with unprecedented results. Fast forward eight seasons, and Riley owns a resume that would make any coach blush: three Heisman-winning QBs – Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, and Caleb Williams, three No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks, and a reputation as the game’s most gifted ‘quarterback whisperer’.

The 2018 Big 12 Coach Of The Year has built two blueblood programs in his own image—Oklahoma and now USC—and it all traces back to a tiny town in West Texas where discipline was born in the dust, and ambition ran through cotton fields.

Who are Lincoln Riley’s parents?

Lincoln Riley didn’t come from a coaching family. He came from a family of grinders—of West Texas grit and no-nonsense work ethic. His parents, Mike and Marilyn Riley, both 70 now, hail from Muleshoe, Texas, a town so small it feels like a single street with a high school football field at the end. But for the Rileys, it was the center of everything.

Mike Riley quarterbacked for the Red Raiders in the 1960s, laying the groundwork for the football IQ his son would later inherit. But he didn’t turn his Saturdays into a coaching career. Instead, Mike owned and operated a cotton warehouse in Muleshoe, a job requiring year-round hustle and an intuitive sense of timing—skills his son would adapt to calling plays. Marilyn, meanwhile, grew up on a farm, spent her life in agriculture, and anchored the family with a rural resilience that can’t be taught on a chalkboard. Lincoln’s younger brother Garrett Riley also followed the family’s football calling—he’s now the offensive coordinator at Clemson.

Where did Marilyn Riley and Mike Riley meet?

Mike and Marilyn’s story began like many small-town romances do—quietly, with shared values and a common path. Both graduated from the University of Texas, and both returned to Muleshoe to build a life around agriculture and family. Marilyn joined Mike in the cotton business after college, a full-circle nod to her upbringing. In a household where faith, farming, and football overlapped.

What is the ethnicity of Lincoln Riley’s parents?

Ethnically, Mike and Marilyn Riley are white Americans, and their identity is deeply tied to the American heartland.

Inside Lincoln Riley’s relationship with his parents

Lincoln Riley’s decision to enter coaching came as a surprise even to his own father. “Never thought about it growing up,” Mike Riley admitted. It wasn’t until Lincoln’s senior year of high school that the spark for coaching lit up—and once it did, it burned fast. But through all the milestones, the family stayed back in Muleshoe, letting Lincoln chart his path while cheering loudly from the sidelines.

When Stoops retired and handed over the Oklahoma job to Riley in a lightning-fast decision on June 7, 2017, Mike and Marilyn didn’t have time to make the six-hour drive to Norman. Still, the celebration echoed through their hometown. “We’re very excited,” Mike said. “Kind of overwhelmed. Everybody in Muleshoe’s been real supportive. Small town, feels like he’s their own.” That’s the real magic of Lincoln Riley. He’s college football’s golden mind, but he’s also the kid from Muleshoe who never forgot where he came from.