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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Baker Mayfield stays close to Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley and has been told cleveland.com they'll be friends for life. But he was noncommittal Wednesday when asked if he'll be here for the next coach of the Browns.
"I love Linc, but we have what we have," said Mayfield. "He's doing his thing and I'm doing mine. Not worried about that. Coach (Gregg) Williams is our head guy now, Freddie (Kitchens) is our offensive coordinator and we need to roll. We need to believe in that. We have the team that is capable of winning in this locker room. Have to trust that. "
But Mayfield believes Riley's style would translate to the NFL.
"All coaches are different," he said. "You have your guys like Gregg Williams who are proud leaders, and you guys who do not talk as much – Lincoln is one of those guys. What it comes down to is the players trusting the coach and who's in charge. They have to believe in that. Without question, they have to follow. I think his style would work, but that's just because of who he is. He's smart. He gets his guys to believe in him. That's what it is. So does Gregg. "
During Riley's Monday press conference, shortly after Hue Jackson was fired, he was asked if he'd be interested in the Browns' vacancy.
"No, not right now," said he. "You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful. The truth is for me is I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here, I love college football. I certainly do not have it right now. I do not know that I'll never go, but I'm never going to be a guy that's gonna stand up here and say "No way, no way will any of these things ever happen." I do not know that. I know right now I could not care less about the NFL. "
One thing is for sure: Mayfield and Riley loved working together at Oklahoma, where Mayfield went 33-6, including his first two with Riley as his offensive coordinator and his last year as his head coach. Under Riley's tutelage, he won the Heisman Trophy, came out of the national title and became No. 1 overall pick.
"Coach Riley always let me be myself," Mayfield told cleveland.com last month. "If I was not myself, I was not a passionate person, then I was not playing to my potential and I was not doing it. the best possible position, that's why I think he's the best coach in the country. "
Riley thrilled that Mayfield is planting his flag with the Browns
When Riley had to announce last season that Mayfield was not starting against West Virginia because of a crotch-grabbing gesture towards the Kansas bench, he got choked up.
"No matter how long I go coaching … I do not know that I'm going to have a lot of things to do with it," "Riley said then." We've been a lot together. He's a great heart that he has a lot of people who have a lot of luck in his life.
Their relationship pre-dates Oklahoma.
"He offered me when I was at Texas Tech and he was at East Carolina," Mayfield told cleveland.com. Then he added with a smile, "so I would have gone there and he would've left me."
Riley stuck by Mayfield through his ups and downs and his growing breads off the field at Oklahoma.
"He was there at the same time," said Mayfield. "He saw the change in me and he was so much time in it."
What did the Browns get when they drafted Mayfield?
"They got a lot," Riley said. "They got a guy who believes in himself. There's a situation that he is not confident and prepared for. A competitor and a guy who's going to be completely bought in. Not any one person can turn a thing around. It's a big group but you've got it up front and I'm excited for Baker to have this opportunity. I know he's really excited about it.
"There will be ups, there will be downs, but he'll continue to get better and better." Anytime you go through stuff like having somebody for that long period of time, that's going to make the relationship even more close. "
Question is, will they be reunited here one day?
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