Lincoln Riley Rejects Reports Kyler Murray’s Father is Controlling Son’s Career
With the NFL Combine set to begin in Indianapolis, Kyler Murray remains the most intriguing name in the NFL Draft. He’s a Heisman winner who turned down millions to play Major League Baseball. But teams are apparently still questioning his passion for the sport and wondering whether or not his father, Kevin, is the one ultimately pulling the strings on his son’s career.
This report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network stated as much, when he said, the transfer from Texas A&M “raised some questions as to how well he will handle the adversity in the NFL”, pondering what happens if Murray isn’t drafted by the team that he wants or if he isn’t starting, would he go back to baseball?
As for the role of Murray’s father, Kevin, Pelissero reported, “Everyone I’ve spoken to that has done some level of homework on Murray has raised some level of concern about the role of his father, Kevin Murray, who doubles as Kyler’s QB coach, and whether or not he’s really the one calling the shots on Kyler’s career.”
Kevin Muray told NFL Network that Kyler is the one making the decisions and his family is simply there to support him.
Well OU head coach Lincoln Riley was having none of that on Tuesday morning, tweeting out the following:
Couldn’t be further from the truth..in 3 yrs coaching him, not 1 conversation with Kevin about ANYTHING football-related..turned out decent-
This kid gave up more than what people would ever believe for 1 reason-
His love of this game
Those doing their homework already know- https://t.co/irfujD3PT7
— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) February 26, 2019
For the record, I’d take Lincoln Riley’s word here. He’s putting his own reputation on the line and is doing it with complete and total confidence. If Kevin Murray was truly a helicopter parent at his worst, Riley would eventually be exposed for this tweet. I read it as him having little to no concern over Kevin Murray being the puppet master for his son, which is a good thing for all involved.
But with so much intrigue and relative mystery around Murray, do not be shocked if these reports and rumors continue to circulate right up until the NFL Draft begins in April.
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