ORLANDO, Fla. _ Uh-oh, not again.
First, it was Nebraska coach Scott Frost who left UCF to return to his alma mater and now there is rampant speculation that the job at Josh Heupel's alma mater _ Oklahoma _ might soon be open.
When the Cleveland Browns fired Hue Jackson earlier this week, Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, who mentored Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield in college, was immediately elevated as the No. 1 candidate for the job.
"The truth is for me, I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here," Riley said in a news conference earlier this week when asked about the Browns opening. "I love coaching college football. I certainly don't have that itch right now. I don't know that I ever will. But I'm never going to be a guy that stands up here and says, 'No way, no how,' with any of these things ever happening. I don't know that. But I know right now I could care less about the NFL."
Still, you can understand the anxiety among UCF fans who are just getting over the disappointment of Frost leaving after only two seasons. Let's face it, Heupel likely would be the first call the Sooners made to replace Riley if he were to leave.
Heupel is a hero in Sooner Nation: a Heisman runner-up who quarterbacked OU to its last national championship in 2000. He is also the school's former offensive coordinator who was controversially fired by former head coach Bob Stoops three seasons ago in a move that rankled many OU fans and boosters.
Additionally, the UCF coach's sister, Andrea Heupel, is married to Dan Boren, who is the son of David Boren _ the influential former OU president and ex-governor of the state.
What does this all mean?
Astonishingly, it means the ineptness and incompetence of the Cleveland Clowns could actually have a major impact on the future of the UCF Knights.
