Oklahoma senator wants to name inches of highway after departed coach Lincoln Riley
Sooners fans already made it pretty clear they were having a hard time accepting that Lincoln Riley left to coach at USC. One Oklahoma senator has gone next-level fanboy in wake of the football coach's departure.
According to ESPN, Republican Sen. Bill Coleman proposed a bill on Tuesday that would rename three inches of a lane on State Highway 325 to "Lincoln Riley Highway" and that Coleman will pay for the signage himself.
Yes, you read that correctly. Not the whole highway. Heck, not even an exit. Just three inches of concrete at the end of a westbound lane that stretches to the end of the state's panhandle and heads toward the Pacific Coast.
Coleman explained he "felt the State of Oklahoma needed an appropriate goodbye to this former head coach whose sudden departure left many in shock" and that it's "only fitting as this is the last three inches one sees before leaving our great state heading west."
What was once shocking for fans has probably evolved into laughter at this point, as many have taken to social media to poke fun at Coleman's proposition.
It should also be noted that, while those three inches appear on the surface to be a tribute to Riley, Coleman appears to still be bitter over the football coach leaving.
"While we are all free to pursue employment elsewhere, there is a level of professionalism that is expected to be adhered to," Coleman said in his statement. "From all indications, professionalism was pretty much absent in how this departure was executed."
It sounds like Coleman is willing to pay for a few inches of concrete but still won't be sending Riley a Christmas card this year.
Maybe he'll be less bitter by the time the bill gets considered by the Senate on Feb. 7.
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