2. His communication with the media was inconsistent and reactive. More importantly, how did he connect with coaches? Remember the audit that was done of the athletic department? Coaches didn’t always feel their input or insight was valued. Eichorst put a significant premium on the “student-athlete experience.” He gave the athletes laptops and post-graduation opportunities. He emphasized recruiting elite kids. But the functioning paradigm of college sports still revolves around the coaches. Maybe, some argue, it shouldn’t — maybe it should be more about athletes, and maybe they should get paid. But it isn’t, and they don’t, and Eichorst struggled to connect.
3. Don’t underestimate the Black Friday flip-flop. That one looked bad. Really bad: One NU administrator described it to me as “shooting our foot off.” Nebraska essentially embraced not playing on Black Friday anymore on one Tuesday, then Eichorst reversed course by Thursday, calling it a clarification. Now, Iowa and Wisconsin are likely headed to that Black Friday game and NU is relegated to playing Minnesota. Eichorst looked like a politician on those two different days. He admitted he made a mistake, but it was an unforced error.