At what point do we stop bringing up Bo to defend Riley?

[knapplc]

Pelini provides the context for every conversation about Riley. The two will always be tied at the hip. It's not an excuse, it's a circumstance.

In what ways other than recruits? And whoever answers, don't get snippy. I'm asking in a polite curious manner... for context.

Let's say you dated a girl for seven years. Her impact on you will have changed you, molded you. Now you break up, and you have a new girlfriend. Those seven years with your ex don't just cease to exist.

The movie you went to with your buddy & his girlfriend, the one where you flipped out and spilled your soda on everyone, and they were all a little pissed but then everyone calmed down and laughed at you for being such a wuss, that doesn't un-happen. Your buddy and his girlfriend (now his fiancee, which sucks because she hates ZZ Top and 'Legs' is you & your buddy's favorite song) are going to remember that, and tell the story, and your ex's name will come up.

And you'll all remember that your ex talked with a bit of a lisp, but it was cute because you loved her but now it's kinda annoying and you'll all laugh about it, kinda awkwardly, because the breakup was rough.

Sure, your new girlfriend is great and has become good friends with your buddy's fiancee, and it's nice because your ex and her never really hung out. But it's still kinda weird to have those two be all chummy and every time they go shoe shopping together, you'll remember how it's different now.

You've still got that shirt your ex gave you, the one you wear on Saturday and hope never starts to get worn out around the neck because you hate shaving and it ruins your shirts, because this shirt is super-comfy. But every time you wear it you remember your ex, and at some point you know your new girlfriend is going to want to pitch it if she finds out your ex gave it to you.

Your family will like your new girlfriend, but inevitably your idiot cousin Jeff will get drunk and compare your girlfriend's butt to your ex's. And your other cousin will tell Jeff to shut his pie hole and complain that he's always getting drunk at Thanksgiving and making a scene. And grandma will burn the gravy because she's trying to whack everyone with that wooden spoon she used to spank your dad with when he was a kid.

It'll take a few years for everyone to stop bringing your ex up. Even when that mostly happens, at some point someone is going to mention her again, because even after you've been with your girlfriend for five years, you're still going to wear that shirt on Saturdays, and your buddy's wife (can you believe they actually got married?) will remember that your ex got it, and she'll tell your fiancee (she turned out to be the one) about it at her bachelorette party, and there'll be a huge fight because YOU SAID YOU GOT RID OF ALL HER STUFF! but eventually you'll make up and the wedding will go on.

And then six more years go by and your wife and your buddy's wife take a weekend to shop up in Chicago, and you go to the top shelf in your closet to pull out your Saturday shirt only to find that your wife has tossed it when you weren't looking. And you'll think of your ex again, and miss that shirt.

 

[Kernal]

Look, I know we are only 3 games into the Mike Riley tenure, and that Riley is playing with a roster that was put together nearly 100% by Bo and the previous staff. But, at what point do we stop bringing up the negatives of Bo and his staff, just in the effort to defend Mike Riley and his staff?

I fully supported the firing of Bo. Although I didn't care as much about his sideline demeanor as most fans, Bo's win-loss record and performance in big games wasn't getting it done.

When Mike Riley was hired, I fully knew he who he was, and was aware of his performance at Oregon State. He had some good and bad years at OSU, in a very difficult situation. But, I could understand a lot of concerns with him from fans.

I came into this season with moderate expectations. I was very concerned about the overall talent and depth on the team. But, I thought that Riley and his staff could get the team to improve in the on-field performance. The first 3 games have produced extremely mixed results. Yes, the BYU game was lost on a fluke Hail Mary, but NU was also almost blown out in the first half and didn't finish the game in the 4th. The Miami game was also very alarming. I think Miami has more speed and talent than NU, but that doesn't excuse the poor start, lack of execution, and overall lifelessness shown for most of the game. A 1-2 record is still a 1-2 record. Yes, BYU and Miami are good teams, but it's not like NU was starting out with 2 teams ranked in the top ten.

I state the above because it seems like whenever someone brings up negative items regarding the Riley and the new staff, it seems like someone has to follow-up with a negative point or comparison to Bo. Yes, I guess it's good to see a calm demeanor on the sidelines, but it doesn't do much good if the coach doesn't win. Yes, it's a positive is a good representative of the University, handles the media well, and is universally well-liked. But, frankly, those are minor aspects of a coach for me, and winning is the biggest aspect of a coach for me. But, all of these "positives" about Riley seem to be in comparison to the previous guy. When can we let it go with Bo (insert Frozen GIF) and just talk about Riley and his team's performance, and not have every thread be a comparison to Riley and Bo?

A lot of the criticism of Riley is veiled defense of Pelini, which we saw in full bloom following the first game with threads such as "I hope you're happy now."

There's no legitimate justification for the Riley hate after one, two or three games, and there's no explanation other than Pelini's fans are still butthurt. I wish they would take their carnival to Youngstown where I understand Pelini has gotten the old gang back together again.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Look, I know we are only 3 games into the Mike Riley tenure, and that Riley is playing with a roster that was put together nearly 100% by Bo and the previous staff. But, at what point do we stop bringing up the negatives of Bo and his staff, just in the effort to defend Mike Riley and his staff?

I fully supported the firing of Bo. Although I didn't care as much about his sideline demeanor as most fans, Bo's win-loss record and performance in big games wasn't getting it done.

When Mike Riley was hired, I fully knew he who he was, and was aware of his performance at Oregon State. He had some good and bad years at OSU, in a very difficult situation. But, I could understand a lot of concerns with him from fans.

I came into this season with moderate expectations. I was very concerned about the overall talent and depth on the team. But, I thought that Riley and his staff could get the team to improve in the on-field performance. The first 3 games have produced extremely mixed results. Yes, the BYU game was lost on a fluke Hail Mary, but NU was also almost blown out in the first half and didn't finish the game in the 4th. The Miami game was also very alarming. I think Miami has more speed and talent than NU, but that doesn't excuse the poor start, lack of execution, and overall lifelessness shown for most of the game. A 1-2 record is still a 1-2 record. Yes, BYU and Miami are good teams, but it's not like NU was starting out with 2 teams ranked in the top ten.

I state the above because it seems like whenever someone brings up negative items regarding the Riley and the new staff, it seems like someone has to follow-up with a negative point or comparison to Bo. Yes, I guess it's good to see a calm demeanor on the sidelines, but it doesn't do much good if the coach doesn't win. Yes, it's a positive is a good representative of the University, handles the media well, and is universally well-liked. But, frankly, those are minor aspects of a coach for me, and winning is the biggest aspect of a coach for me. But, all of these "positives" about Riley seem to be in comparison to the previous guy. When can we let it go with Bo (insert Frozen GIF) and just talk about Riley and his team's performance, and not have every thread be a comparison to Riley and Bo?

A lot of the criticism of Riley is veiled defense of Pelini, which we saw in full bloom following the first game with threads such as "I hope you're happy now."

There's no legitimate justification for the Riley hate after one, two or three games, and there's no other explanation other than Pelini's fans are still butthurt. I wish they would take their carnival to Youngstown where I understand Pelini has gotten the old gang back together again.

At the same time, a lot of "defense" of Riley is veiled criticism of Pelini. My question is "Can we have legitimate discussions about the performance of Riley and his staff without turning it into a Riley vs. Bo debate?"

 

[Kernal]

Look, I know we are only 3 games into the Mike Riley tenure, and that Riley is playing with a roster that was put together nearly 100% by Bo and the previous staff. But, at what point do we stop bringing up the negatives of Bo and his staff, just in the effort to defend Mike Riley and his staff?

I fully supported the firing of Bo. Although I didn't care as much about his sideline demeanor as most fans, Bo's win-loss record and performance in big games wasn't getting it done.

When Mike Riley was hired, I fully knew he who he was, and was aware of his performance at Oregon State. He had some good and bad years at OSU, in a very difficult situation. But, I could understand a lot of concerns with him from fans.

I came into this season with moderate expectations. I was very concerned about the overall talent and depth on the team. But, I thought that Riley and his staff could get the team to improve in the on-field performance. The first 3 games have produced extremely mixed results. Yes, the BYU game was lost on a fluke Hail Mary, but NU was also almost blown out in the first half and didn't finish the game in the 4th. The Miami game was also very alarming. I think Miami has more speed and talent than NU, but that doesn't excuse the poor start, lack of execution, and overall lifelessness shown for most of the game. A 1-2 record is still a 1-2 record. Yes, BYU and Miami are good teams, but it's not like NU was starting out with 2 teams ranked in the top ten.

I state the above because it seems like whenever someone brings up negative items regarding the Riley and the new staff, it seems like someone has to follow-up with a negative point or comparison to Bo. Yes, I guess it's good to see a calm demeanor on the sidelines, but it doesn't do much good if the coach doesn't win. Yes, it's a positive is a good representative of the University, handles the media well, and is universally well-liked. But, frankly, those are minor aspects of a coach for me, and winning is the biggest aspect of a coach for me. But, all of these "positives" about Riley seem to be in comparison to the previous guy. When can we let it go with Bo (insert Frozen GIF) and just talk about Riley and his team's performance, and not have every thread be a comparison to Riley and Bo?

A lot of the criticism of Riley is veiled defense of Pelini, which we saw in full bloom following the first game with threads such as "I hope you're happy now."

There's no legitimate justification for the Riley hate after one, two or three games, and there's no other explanation other than Pelini's fans are still butthurt. I wish they would take their carnival to Youngstown where I understand Pelini has gotten the old gang back together again.

At the same time, a lot of "defense" of Riley is veiled criticism of Pelini. My question is "Can we have legitimate discussions about the performance of Riley and his staff without turning it into a Riley vs. Bo debate?"

I wish we could. The problem is, Riley is into his third game. There's really not much to criticize or applaud about his tenure yet, other than the speculation about recruiting abilities, etc.,.

I think too some people are trying to make themselves feel better about the Riley hire by pointing out things he's doing differently, ostensibly better, than Pelini.

 

[JJ Husker]

You didn't get the memo? One game. One lost game is the cutoff for bringing Pelini into the conversation of how or why this team performs the way they do. We are to ignore the facts that Riley has had only part of one off season to attempt to install totally new systems with players recruited for other types of offense and defense. A few measly months to deal with the leftover baggage of the bunker mentality that placed the players at odds with anyone outside Bo's circle of trust. One game, that is all some gave it. Some went to 3 games (a 2nd loss) but they were ignoring the memo. The real trendsetters didn't even give it one game. They started with their pathetic little hissy fits the day MR was announced as coach and continue to this very day. What do you think is a reasonable amount of time where MR and staff have more influence on what happens than the guys who were here for the previous 7 years? How long?

BTW, Pelini is not brought up as an excuse for everything. But, when we're talking about existing talent level, it is valid. When we're talking about a propensity for playing incomplete games, like coming out flat for the first quarter of the Miami game, his name might get mentioned because that trait was a hallmark Bo's teams recently. And then we can go into all of the unavoidable comparisons; Bo's teams were good against the pass while the new system looks to stop the run first. Both have been horrendous against their specific kryptonite. Seems logical they would get compared and contrasted. The demeanor of the men is night and day. Really, people can't fathom why their differences get mentioned in about everything? Really? One was a raving, foul mouthed, lunatic who could burn a reporters soul with his eyes, who would lose his composure and transfer that lack of control to the team to the point it would affect how they played. The other guy, the polar opposite. Nice guy, too nice really, gives authentic answers in pressers, is widely liked be everyone (except for a handful of a$$hat Nebraska fans), enjoys and likes the game and seemingly everything about it. I can't even come up with an analogy of the extreme ends of the spectrum our coaching situation just underwent. Yet there are people who don't understand why it is inevitable that the past coach is still being brought into discussions after only 3 games in the new regime? WTF, we're still hashing out sh#t from Solich and Callahan but 3 frikken games for MR and some apparently have had their fill of it and think enough is enough already? I don't get it.

 

[knapplc]

It isn't realistic to talk about Riley without mentioning Pelini for the first year-ish. We didn't talk about Osborne without comparing him to Devaney. Frank was always compared to Osborne. Callahan was always compared to Osborne & Solich. Pelini was always compared to Callahan, Solich & Osborne. Riley has mostly been compared to Pelini and Osborne (because of demeanor, I guess).

Pelini's seven years here, the culture he instituted, the reputations he earned both locally and nationally, the players he recruited, the conversations he's engendered... none of that just ceases to exist because he's gone, and it doesn't not have an impact on the next guy because three games, five games, a full season have passed by.

I get why it's tiresome. Every. Single. Conversation. for a while, no matter the topic title or who started it, became a Taylor Martinez conversation there for about two years. It was annoying, but it was unstoppable.

 

[jsneb83]

When he wins a championship

 

[Count 'Bility]

Ive seen and heard callahan/pedersen excuses for bo as late as last season. So to answer the question id say abput 7 years to never.

 

[The Dude]

I still blame Solich, to be perfectly honest.

 

[NebraskaHarry]

Sounds like a win - win for Riley. He loses, it's Bo's fault. He wins, he's a great coach. At least for the first... 3... 4 years? Does this apply to Banker and the other coaches as well?

 

[teachercd]

Personally, I want Riley to get the blame now because it will be that much sweeter when he wins the West this year...good coaches make good things happen

 

[Redux]

Lets not act like this is a Nebraska exclusive. Anytime a new coach comes in, the initial struggles will be the previous regimes fault. Warranted or not, that is the way it is.

Riley deserves a season or two to turn Bo's players into his own. But just because Bo recruited them, at one point they become Riley's. I feel like we are alreafy seeing that transition in Tommy Armstrong.

The point is people are going to use whatever hook helps strengthen their position on a certain topic, it's a matter of seeing through the standard crap.

 

[GBRedneck]

Look, I know we are only 3 games into the Mike Riley tenure, and that Riley is playing with a roster that was put together nearly 100% by Bo and the previous staff. But, at what point do we stop bringing up the negatives of Bo and his staff, just in the effort to defend Mike Riley and his staff?

I fully supported the firing of Bo. Although I didn't care as much about his sideline demeanor as most fans, Bo's win-loss record and performance in big games wasn't getting it done.

When Mike Riley was hired, I fully knew he who he was, and was aware of his performance at Oregon State. He had some good and bad years at OSU, in a very difficult situation. But, I could understand a lot of concerns with him from fans.

I came into this season with moderate expectations. I was very concerned about the overall talent and depth on the team. But, I thought that Riley and his staff could get the team to improve in the on-field performance. The first 3 games have produced extremely mixed results. Yes, the BYU game was lost on a fluke Hail Mary, but NU was also almost blown out in the first half and didn't finish the game in the 4th. The Miami game was also very alarming. I think Miami has more speed and talent than NU, but that doesn't excuse the poor start, lack of execution, and overall lifelessness shown for most of the game. A 1-2 record is still a 1-2 record. Yes, BYU and Miami are good teams, but it's not like NU was starting out with 2 teams ranked in the top ten.

I state the above because it seems like whenever someone brings up negative items regarding the Riley and the new staff, it seems like someone has to follow-up with a negative point or comparison to Bo. Yes, I guess it's good to see a calm demeanor on the sidelines, but it doesn't do much good if the coach doesn't win. Yes, it's a positive is a good representative of the University, handles the media well, and is universally well-liked. But, frankly, those are minor aspects of a coach for me, and winning is the biggest aspect of a coach for me. But, all of these "positives" about Riley seem to be in comparison to the previous guy. When can we let it go with Bo (insert Frozen GIF) and just talk about Riley and his team's performance, and not have every thread be a comparison to Riley and Bo?

A lot of the criticism of Riley is veiled defense of Pelini, which we saw in full bloom following the first game with threads such as "I hope you're happy now."

There's no legitimate justification for the Riley hate after one, two or three games, and there's no explanation other than Pelini's fans are still butthurt. I wish they would take their carnival to Youngstown where I understand Pelini has gotten the old gang back together again.

But there's plenty of room for Riley doubt, regardless of how you felt about Pelini. I know a lot of guys that hated Pelini and couldn't wait for him to get fired, and who are also completely disgusted with the Riley hire. It's rarely accurate to generalize a group of people based on one single criteria.

 

[Spooky Tooth]

Pelini provides the context for every conversation about Riley. The two will always be tied at the hip. It's not an excuse, it's a circumstance.

I think my point is that it doesn't need to be EVERY conversation. Can't we discuss Riley's gameplan or Banker's D without it turning it into a Bo vs. Riley conversation? Riley should be able to be evaluated by fans without having the previous guy used as context.

Got to put this in context. I agree that it's silly to not question anything the staff does under Riley. My problem, and here is the context, is with that segment of fans (and posters) who can't restrain themselves from dogpiling on the staff for EVERYTHING they do that doesn't work out right. These yokels can be counted on to come over to any thread that compliments the staff and pee all over it. It's like a Pavlovian response for them. That's the context. If they would just bring some semblance of balance to what they say, others wouldn't overreact to their criticism.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[obert1]

When we win