Well it's definitely not a feather in Riley's cap that he had to fire these people this quickly. You'd wish he'd just showed up with a staff the equal or better of any in the SEC.
But to those who are concerned about that, I'd urge you to look at the overall picture and realize the take away from what Riley just did is outstanding. It's not too surprising that Riley basically brought most of his staff with him to start with. That's what almost always happens. It's fast. Eichorst may or may not have told Riley he had an open check book. Riley was used to Oregon State, where just like with recruits he had to attract and keep coaches at a B-level program. (And here an "anti-Riley" may chime in that goes for Riley too and they're partly right.) And also, maybe most importantly, Riley knew his first order of business would be establish it as "his" program with "his" culture. Transplanting in his staff was really important in doing that.
But now he's getting calibrated to Nebraska - recognizing the level of competition is incredibly high, even to make it out of the West, that in recruiting the Nebraska brand still has some heft but only goes so far, that the expectations are through the roof and the fans want it now, that his AD has told him to do what it takes and the resources will be there.
Now he could just ride this thing out with his buddies for a few more years, milking the cash, living large, enjoying the fantasy of being the coach at a big time program, and treating this Nebraska gig as an unlikely bon-bon landing on his lap just before he rides into the sunset of a sweet retirement down in Texas. Oh boy. Life is good, isn't it?
But instead he says, "You know what? We aren't going anywhere unless we make adjustments, of all kinds, and we have to be fast, and super aggressive or there is no point." He is already competitive as hell anyway, and just like any coach he wants to prove that he has the talent and skills to win big. And he actually really likes the place and gets it and admires the people who support it and wants to do well by them. And his AD keeps saying, "Whatever it takes."
Is it "weird" or "concerning" that he is changing out so much of his staff so quickly? I suppose it is if a person wants it to be, but it actually doesn't matter much. Riley's shown he upgrades when he replaces.
But isn't it better to have stability on a staff? I suppose it is when you've found the right staff.
The important thing isn't what Riley brought in when he started. It's that he is acting with urgency to position Nebraska to win going forward, and that so far when he's done this he appears to know what he's doing. But does Riley really have enough talent personally to pull it off? Hell if I know. But complaining about him isn't going to change the fact he IS going to be the coach long enough for us all to find out, and doesn't help anyway.
I have no idea if he can live up to these words, but when people say, hey Nebraska, where ya been?, this is Riley answering, "It ain't where we been, fat boy, it's where we're going'.