Riley Next Up as Charger Coach

After leaving his job as USC offensive coordinator to coach Oregon State, Mike Riley got the Beavers headed back toward respectability, and now he’ll try to do the same thing for the San Diego Chargers.

Riley, 45, signed a guaranteed five-year contract on Thursday, becoming the Chargers’ fourth coach in four years. This is his first NFL job. He replaces June Jones, who left the Chargers to coach at the University of Hawaii, and he inherits a team that hasn’t had a winning record in three seasons. Riley will make $750,000 a year, more than five times his Oregon State salary of $135,000.

Riley was 8-14 in two seasons at Oregon State, which one of his predecessors called “a coach’s graveyard.” The same might be said of the Chargers, who were 5-11 in 1998.

“There’s a great opportunity to improve and to work to get better, get more wins. That’s what we’re all after,” said Riley, who grew up in Corvallis, Ore., home to Oregon State. “I decided that this may be the greatest opportunity in my career, and one that I’d really like to try. So I took that opportunity.”

The Chargers’ lone Super Bowl appearance was four years ago, and they’ve gone 26-39 since.

Riley was head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL from 1987-90, and was named the league’s coach of the year twice. He was at USC from 1993-96.

Oregon State was 5-6 last fall, its best record since 1971.

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Amid speculation that he might become the next coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Holmgren talked for hours Thursday with club President Bob Whitsitt at Kirkland, Wash., then moved on to dinner with billionaire owner Paul Allen.

Holmgren, coach of the Green Bay Packers for seven seasons, left Seahawk headquarters with Whitsitt after about five hours of talks with team officials.

“The meeting was productive,” Whitsitt said. “Obviously, we still have more conversations to continue with, which we will be doing into the evening.”

“As I said earlier, we’re not going to give you a big play-by-play every time we’re interviewing people. But I guess you know he’s here and we’re talking.”

Holmgren issued a statement through the Seahawks.

“We have had a good day getting to know Bob, Randy [Mueller, the Seahawks’ vice president of football operations] and the organization and we will continue to talk,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with a number of things, including the design of the new stadium.”

The Seahawks reportedly are willing to give Holmgren a $21-million five-year contract.

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Doug Flutie, who won the Heisman Trophy in college and six most outstanding player awards in Canada, was named the first-ever Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

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Kevin Gilbride was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as their offensive coordinator. Gilbride was fired as San Diego’s coach in October after going 6-16. . . . The Tennessee Oilers fired defensive backs coach Greg Brown and defensive line coach Rex Norris and said they would not re-sign special teams coach Russ Purnell.

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NFL Playoffs

This weekend’s second round:

SATURDAY

* San Francisco at Atlanta

9:30 a.m., Channel 11

* Miami at Denver

1:15 p.m., Channel 2

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SUNDAY

* Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets

9:30 a.m., Channel 2

* Arizona at Minnesota

1:15 p.m., Channel 11