Rhule Positivity & is the Solich Curse Broken?

People talk a lot about curses and 20+ years of bad football.   Both are wrong imo.  Bo won a lot of games here and fielded some quality teams.   We fired him after beating Iowa and that is when we truly started to suck.  That isn't a curse,  just piss poor management internally.   Bo did need to go but the timing was poor and the decisions made following lead to 10+ years of bad football.   Not sure if it's good or not but we are turning the page again after beating Iowa.   Full circle in a weird way but sure seems like the future is bright.  

 
I didn't even think about this until now, but Frank Solich's first game as head coach was at home against Louisiana Tech. His final game as HC of NU was on the road against Colorado, both of which happened again this year.

Is the game this weekend yet another element of breaking the Solich curse?

 
Ulty said:
I didn't even think about this until now, but Frank Solich's first game as head coach was at home against Louisiana Tech. His final game as HC of NU was on the road against Colorado, both of which happened again this year.

Is the game this weekend yet another element of breaking the Solich curse?
Click to expand...
Bingo  :yeah



 
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There was never a Solich curse, a 9-win curse, or Bo curse.  That is low hanging fruit that comes up every year.  Take a step back from tunnel vision and see what really happened.  Be warned though, the realization will upset the loyal fanbase thinking.

The troubled history of Nebraska's success has been a combination of 3 things: 
Evalution, Administration, and Tom Osborne

When Osborne retired after winning his 3rd championship, Nebraska football was coveted.  They had a choice of a dozen great coaches to take over if they had asked.  

You could wonder how many experienced head coaches or top coordinators would have been interested in Nebraska as a head coach.  Including Bob Stoops (Florida's DC for 3 years - hired by OU as HC in 99; also served under Bill Snyder at KSU) and Nick Saban (MSU HC that went to LSU in 99).  

But what did Nebraska do?  And did they even attempt to put a group of people together to interview coaches?  NO.  

Osborne retired.  He promised Solich the job.  Solich had no HC experience.  Had no OC or DC experience.  Osborne said Solich and that's what Nebraska did, and said "Whatever you want Tom".  So Nebraska hired Solich.  

This was strike #1.

Osborne should have removed himself from it all, enjoyed going out with a championship as a head football coach.  He had no experience interviewing, hiring or evaluating Head Coaching prospects.  He should have stayed out of it.  And with his stature of success, kept quiet about his opinions and thoughts.  Just go fishing or run for office.  But stay out of it.

Strike #2 was a huge mistake by the new AD Pederson.  When he saw Nebraska fans and boosters getting fed up with blowout losses to Iowa State, Penn State, Kansas State, Miami and Colorado, he made a coaching change without a backup plan.  It took months for him to court Houston Nutt to come here, and knowing that no other coach was all that interested, the NFL Oakland Raiders fired Bill Callahan and they soon made a deal.  

Strike #2 was Administration and Evaluation - hiring an NFL Head Coach that had only 2 years of Head Coaching experience, and Zero experience as a Head Coach of a College Football team and running a program.

Strike #3
The administration fired Pederson, and brought on Tom Osborne once again to save the day.  The first task as the new AD, fire Callahan.  So he did.  And everybody cheered.  Now the next task is to interview as many possible Head Coaches that are interested, and right the ship.  But what does Osborne do?  He quietly and politely interviews 3 guys for the job.  Three!  Turner Gill, Bo Pelini, and Jim Grobe.  Gill and Pelini had never been head coaches before!  Grobe was at Wake Forest and iffy about the job, and declined.  So Osborne decides the next Husker head football coach will be between Turner Gill and Bo Pelini.  He hires Pelini, and makes the remark that he kinda sorta reminds him of Devaney.  Husker fans eat it up.  But was this the best decision or the smartest way to go when you have the power to hire anyone?  Was there no one else to talk to?  No one to help you out and say "Hold on now Tom, I know you like a few guys, but let's find someone who has run a football program before and has some proven success"?  Nope.  Osborne hired Pelini on a hunch.

Strike #4
More decision making by the Administration and Osborne

Osborne felt strongly about some financial issues with the Big 12 conference.  And he pulled us out of the Big 12 conference, as did Colorado first, plus Missouri and Texas A&M.   He got us in the B1G ten, and when the question was asked about who Nebraska would play on Black Friday, Wisconsin said they wanted to, Penn State said they wanted, but Tom declined and personally picked Iowa.  So everyone said "Ok Tom".... again.   
By this point, the former football Coach Osborne has had his hands in on picking Solich, picking Bo, moving the team to a new conference, picking Iowa for Black Friday.  I mean, as much as we respect him as a coach, Nebraska was being run by Osborne and his decisions and choices and his way of making those decisions and choices.  Just him.

Strike #5
More terrible evaluations and Administration stuff.  
Osborne steps down.  There is a lot of heat on Pelini with the cupcake schedules and getting blown out in big games.  Osborne doesn't want to be a part of it because he hired him.  Pelini wins games, loses ugly, and says some stuff we all know he wishes he didn't say.  Plus he challenges Nebraska to fire him.  Firey and passionate, but also a  smart guy as he knows if they do terminate him he will get paid the rest of his contract while he's gone.  The new administration then blows another opportunity.  Besides hiring Mike Riley who was being forced out at Oregon State and in his 60's, who else did the Admin interview?  In a time that has hiring consultants and tons of younger coaches excited for a chance to coach at Nebraska.  This was another failed attempt at firing and hiring the wrong guy with a lack of interest in the process.  

Now I appreciate yall for taking the time to see my personal POV, and I know it may not agree with the M.O. of Solich curse and 9 wins mantra, but this is just how I have seen it as it happened.  And I appreciate Osborne the football coach big time.

I could also go on with the hiring of Moos and Frost and Trev Alberts and Mickey Joseph and so on.  But honestly, Moos wasn't a bad AD hire, he brought a lot of new coaches to the athletic teams (baseball, hoops, etc).  And we all knew it was a temp job he would do for a few years.  But most importantly - hire Scott Frost from UCF and not F that up by hiring someone else.

I don't believe in Solich curse.  I believe bad Evaluations, Administrations, Decisions and Tom Osborne having heavy input on the program's direction has been a combo piece that we have all witnessed nearly 25 years.  And I am hopeful Trev and Rhule can build this football program back up with the bigger picture in mind.  It's been a long journey, but I am willing to wait it out as I keep getting older with time. 

 
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admo said:
There was never a Solich curse, a 9-win curse, or Bo curse.  That is low hanging fruit that comes up every year.
Click to expand...
I think you could've mic dropped this post right here because you're absolutely right, but I do appreciate the fortitude you showed in the following paragraphs. Somewhere, 84HuskerLaw is shedding a prideful tear.

Jokes aside, I do agree with you regarding the over-arching problem being evaluation and administration. As for all the TO stuff, I kind of get why he has become a bit of a popular punching bag, but I'm not sure I really agree with how much of a scapegoat he has become. If we rewind back to 1997, we would've been hard-pressed to find a Husker fan who didn't think TO should've been involved in the process. TO was an internal hire himself. Solich was the last Nebraska coach to win anything of real substance, and people believed that he would do things the right way. By all accounts, T.O.'s choice was a decent one. Most other coaches probably would've come in and completely nuked the way Nebraska did things, perhaps leading to the downfall sooner than it happened, perhaps not.

And I thought he did OK as an AD. The Pelini hire was well-received locally and nationally and for 3-4 years seemed like a great decision. The move to the B1G has been incredibly successful from a financial and security standpoint. Sure there are some bumps and bruises and things TO probably should've done differently, but I'm not sure I can support a full on dunk fest of what he did following his retirement as head coach. It seems like the only way one would come to that conclusion is by exclusively viewing it all through the prism of modern day, and that's not really fair.

 
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admo said:
There was never a Solich curse, a 9-win curse, or Bo curse.  That is low hanging fruit that comes up every year.  Take a step back from tunnel vision and see what really happened.  Be warned though, the realization will upset the loyal fanbase thinking.

The troubled history of Nebraska's success has been a combination of 3 things: 
Evalution, Administration, and Tom Osborne

When Osborne retired after winning his 3rd championship, Nebraska football was coveted.  They had a choice of a dozen great coaches to take over if they had asked.  

You could wonder how many experienced head coaches or top coordinators would have been interested in Nebraska as a head coach.  Including Bob Stoops (Florida's DC for 3 years - hired by OU as HC in 99; also served under Bill Snyder at KSU) and Nick Saban (MSU HC that went to LSU in 99).  

But what did Nebraska do?  And did they even attempt to put a group of people together to interview coaches?  NO.  

Osborne retired.  He promised Solich the job.  Solich had no HC experience.  Had no OC or DC experience.  Osborne said Solich and that's what Nebraska did, and said "Whatever you want Tom".  So Nebraska hired Solich.  

This was strike #1.

Osborne should have removed himself from it all, enjoyed going out with a championship as a head football coach.  He had no experience interviewing, hiring or evaluating Head Coaching prospects.  He should have stayed out of it.  And with his stature of success, kept quiet about his opinions and thoughts.  Just go fishing or run for office.  But stay out of it.

Strike #2 was a huge mistake by the new AD Pederson.  When he saw Nebraska fans and boosters getting fed up with blowout losses to Iowa State, Penn State, Kansas State, Miami and Colorado, he made a coaching change without a backup plan.  It took months for him to court Houston Nutt to come here, and knowing that no other coach was all that interested, the NFL Oakland Raiders fired Bill Callahan and they soon made a deal.  

Strike #2 was Administration and Evaluation - hiring an NFL Head Coach that had only 2 years of Head Coaching experience, and Zero experience as a Head Coach of a College Football team and running a program.

Strike #3
The administration fired Pederson, and brought on Tom Osborne once again to save the day.  The first task as the new AD, fire Callahan.  So he did.  And everybody cheered.  Now the next task is to interview as many possible Head Coaches that are interested, and right the ship.  But what does Osborne do?  He quietly and politely interviews 3 guys for the job.  Three!  Turner Gill, Bo Pelini, and Jim Grobe.  Gill and Pelini had never been head coaches before!  Grobe was at Wake Forest and iffy about the job, and declined.  So Osborne decides the next Husker head football coach will be between Turner Gill and Bo Pelini.  He hires Pelini, and makes the remark that he kinda sorta reminds him of Devaney.  Husker fans eat it up.  But was this the best decision or the smartest way to go when you have the power to hire anyone?  Was there no one else to talk to?  No one to help you out and say "Hold on now Tom, I know you like a few guys, but let's find someone who has run a football program before and has some proven success"?  Nope.  Osborne hired Pelini on a hunch.

Strike #4
More decision making by the Administration and Osborne

Osborne felt strongly about some financial issues with the Big 12 conference.  And he pulled us out of the Big 12 conference, as did Colorado first, plus Missouri and Texas A&M.   He got us in the B1G ten, and when the question was asked about who Nebraska would play on Black Friday, Wisconsin said they wanted to, Penn State said they wanted, but Tom declined and personally picked Iowa.  So everyone said "Ok Tom".... again.   
By this point, the former football Coach Osborne has had his hands in on picking Solich, picking Bo, moving the team to a new conference, picking Iowa for Black Friday.  I mean, as much as we respect him as a coach, Nebraska was being run by Osborne and his decisions and choices and his way of making those decisions and choices.  Just him.

Strike #5
More terrible evaluations and Administration stuff.  
Osborne steps down.  There is a lot of heat on Pelini with the cupcake schedules and getting blown out in big games.  Osborne doesn't want to be a part of it because he hired him.  Pelini wins games, loses ugly, and says some stuff we all know he wishes he didn't say.  Plus he challenges Nebraska to fire him.  Firey and passionate, but also a  smart guy as he knows if they do terminate him he will get paid the rest of his contract while he's gone.  The new administration then blows another opportunity.  Besides hiring Mike Riley who was being forced out at Oregon State and in his 60's, who else did the Admin interview?  In a time that has hiring consultants and tons of younger coaches excited for a chance to coach at Nebraska.  This was another failed attempt at firing and hiring the wrong guy with a lack of interest in the process.  

Now I appreciate yall for taking the time to see my personal POV, and I know it may not agree with the M.O. of Solich curse and 9 wins mantra, but this is just how I have seen it as it happened.  And I appreciate Osborne the football coach big time.

I could also go on with the hiring of Moos and Frost and Trev Alberts and Mickey Joseph and so on.  But honestly, Moos wasn't a bad AD hire, he brought a lot of new coaches to the athletic teams (baseball, hoops, etc).  And we all knew it was a temp job he would do for a few years.  But most importantly - hire Scott Frost from UCF and not F that up by hiring someone else.

I don't believe in Solich curse.  I believe bad Evaluations, Administrations, Decisions and Tom Osborne having heavy input on the program's direction has been a combo piece that we have all witnessed nearly 25 years.  And I am hopeful Trev and Rhule can build this football program back up with the bigger picture in mind.  It's been a long journey, but I am willing to wait it out as I keep getting older with time. 
Click to expand...


You made a critical error of omission in your "Strike #1" -- Solich, who was an EXCELLENT Assistant Coach for Nebraska, stayed all those years BECAUSE he was promised the HC job by Osborne. Had Osborne not made that promise, Solich would have left for a HC job somewhere else long before Osborne retired. Clearly, Osborne recognized the value Solich offered his program, so he did what he had to do to keep that talent in Lincoln.

 
admo said:
There was never a Solich curse, a 9-win curse, or Bo curse.  That is low hanging fruit that comes up every year.  Take a step back from tunnel vision and see what really happened.  Be warned though, the realization will upset the loyal fanbase thinking.

The troubled history of Nebraska's success has been a combination of 3 things: 
Evalution, Administration, and Tom Osborne

When Osborne retired after winning his 3rd championship, Nebraska football was coveted.  They had a choice of a dozen great coaches to take over if they had asked.  

You could wonder how many experienced head coaches or top coordinators would have been interested in Nebraska as a head coach.  Including Bob Stoops (Florida's DC for 3 years - hired by OU as HC in 99; also served under Bill Snyder at KSU) and Nick Saban (MSU HC that went to LSU in 99).  

But what did Nebraska do?  And did they even attempt to put a group of people together to interview coaches?  NO.  

Osborne retired.  He promised Solich the job.  Solich had no HC experience.  Had no OC or DC experience.  Osborne said Solich and that's what Nebraska did, and said "Whatever you want Tom".  So Nebraska hired Solich.  

This was strike #1.

Osborne should have removed himself from it all, enjoyed going out with a championship as a head football coach.  He had no experience interviewing, hiring or evaluating Head Coaching prospects.  He should have stayed out of it.  And with his stature of success, kept quiet about his opinions and thoughts.  Just go fishing or run for office.  But stay out of it.

Strike #2 was a huge mistake by the new AD Pederson.  When he saw Nebraska fans and boosters getting fed up with blowout losses to Iowa State, Penn State, Kansas State, Miami and Colorado, he made a coaching change without a backup plan.  It took months for him to court Houston Nutt to come here, and knowing that no other coach was all that interested, the NFL Oakland Raiders fired Bill Callahan and they soon made a deal.  

Strike #2 was Administration and Evaluation - hiring an NFL Head Coach that had only 2 years of Head Coaching experience, and Zero experience as a Head Coach of a College Football team and running a program.

Strike #3
The administration fired Pederson, and brought on Tom Osborne once again to save the day.  The first task as the new AD, fire Callahan.  So he did.  And everybody cheered.  Now the next task is to interview as many possible Head Coaches that are interested, and right the ship.  But what does Osborne do?  He quietly and politely interviews 3 guys for the job.  Three!  Turner Gill, Bo Pelini, and Jim Grobe.  Gill and Pelini had never been head coaches before!  Grobe was at Wake Forest and iffy about the job, and declined.  So Osborne decides the next Husker head football coach will be between Turner Gill and Bo Pelini.  He hires Pelini, and makes the remark that he kinda sorta reminds him of Devaney.  Husker fans eat it up.  But was this the best decision or the smartest way to go when you have the power to hire anyone?  Was there no one else to talk to?  No one to help you out and say "Hold on now Tom, I know you like a few guys, but let's find someone who has run a football program before and has some proven success"?  Nope.  Osborne hired Pelini on a hunch.

Strike #4
More decision making by the Administration and Osborne

Osborne felt strongly about some financial issues with the Big 12 conference.  And he pulled us out of the Big 12 conference, as did Colorado first, plus Missouri and Texas A&M.   He got us in the B1G ten, and when the question was asked about who Nebraska would play on Black Friday, Wisconsin said they wanted to, Penn State said they wanted, but Tom declined and personally picked Iowa.  So everyone said "Ok Tom".... again.   
By this point, the former football Coach Osborne has had his hands in on picking Solich, picking Bo, moving the team to a new conference, picking Iowa for Black Friday.  I mean, as much as we respect him as a coach, Nebraska was being run by Osborne and his decisions and choices and his way of making those decisions and choices.  Just him.

Strike #5
More terrible evaluations and Administration stuff.  
Osborne steps down.  There is a lot of heat on Pelini with the cupcake schedules and getting blown out in big games.  Osborne doesn't want to be a part of it because he hired him.  Pelini wins games, loses ugly, and says some stuff we all know he wishes he didn't say.  Plus he challenges Nebraska to fire him.  Firey and passionate, but also a  smart guy as he knows if they do terminate him he will get paid the rest of his contract while he's gone.  The new administration then blows another opportunity.  Besides hiring Mike Riley who was being forced out at Oregon State and in his 60's, who else did the Admin interview?  In a time that has hiring consultants and tons of younger coaches excited for a chance to coach at Nebraska.  This was another failed attempt at firing and hiring the wrong guy with a lack of interest in the process.  

Now I appreciate yall for taking the time to see my personal POV, and I know it may not agree with the M.O. of Solich curse and 9 wins mantra, but this is just how I have seen it as it happened.  And I appreciate Osborne the football coach big time.

I could also go on with the hiring of Moos and Frost and Trev Alberts and Mickey Joseph and so on.  But honestly, Moos wasn't a bad AD hire, he brought a lot of new coaches to the athletic teams (baseball, hoops, etc).  And we all knew it was a temp job he would do for a few years.  But most importantly - hire Scott Frost from UCF and not F that up by hiring someone else.

I don't believe in Solich curse.  I believe bad Evaluations, Administrations, Decisions and Tom Osborne having heavy input on the program's direction has been a combo piece that we have all witnessed nearly 25 years.  And I am hopeful Trev and Rhule can build this football program back up with the bigger picture in mind.  It's been a long journey, but I am willing to wait it out as I keep getting older with time. 
Click to expand...
Good stuff admo.  
 

I do think Tom deserves his share of the blame for the state of the football program, though I do disagree with you about the Big10 move.  It’s a better conference financially and stability wise.  

 
I wish it was just about the coach.  It's more complex than that (if we're talking about "curse" as in doomed to continue being not relevant).

We may be doomed to continue because of a lot of elements that are discussed individually, as if one or two of those things are "the reason we're not winning," when in fact we've accumulated over the years the whole losing package of elements and built a culture of losing. 

I feel that a new Nebraska football has settled in over the years.  Replacing the AD, the HC and all of his assistants, the players, the facilities, etc, has not only failed to change things to the right direction, they have failed to stop the downward slide into pretty much getting worse each season. 

Has the Rhule hire turned that around?  Of course not:  it's just another coach.  What needs to change are things only a coach cannot change, there's just too much of it after a twenty year gradual (and accelerating) downhill slide.  It's the culture, not some one or two things polluting the Nebraska culture, but now The Nebraska Culture.  The coach could be a good start, but he and everyone involved needs to recognize that Nebraska football does not have broken legs or a heart problem, but something more like sepsis.  

 
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