Begin the Erstad Era

Narrowed the candidates down to two, then talked to Erstad again and Erstad said he was fully committed to the job, and TO canceled other interviews because Erstad was the guy he wanted.

Erstad cares about Nebraska baseball. He's interested in developing players, and he's not that interested in the money. Osborne also thinks Erstad isn't using this job as a stepping stone for other jobs.

Then TO called quite a few of the players and didn't find anyone who wasn't supportive of Erstad.

 
Erstad is humbled and honored. It's a little faster than he expected to get a head coaching gig, but sometimes it's the right place and time.

 
Erstad says the kids get it, the structure is in place. They know what it takes, and they'll get it done.

Erstad still taking classes to earn his degree.

 
Erstad agrees that he's still not ready for this job from a recruiting standpoint and coaching standpoint, but he's going to lean on his staff to help out.

Press questions now...

 
Erstad doesn't think it'll take long to turn the team around. Have a lot of talented young pitchers and a good class coming in. It's just a matter of getting the guys to play hard and learn how to win, and he's going to teach them how to win.

 
The wife, apparently, said "Fine, whatever!" when Darrin asked her if he should take the job. (laughter from the press)

 
Wife told him, the effect you could have on these kids is amazing. Look at how many people Coach Osborne affected in his life, and you would be in that position, too. Erstad felt that was pretty powerful.

His kids love the players and they're there all the time, so they'll be around and it won't be a hardship for him with the time he has to dedicate to the job.

 
da skers said:
The guy is obviously a good baseball coach...and knows Nebraska but as one friend said...this on the surface would be like hiring Garrison to replace Bo Pelini if he left.
Click to expand...
Umm, kind of. But while Garrison was an asst HS coach for 3 years between playing and coaching at NU, Erstad played 14 years in the majors. That's a pretty big difference. Playing time doesn't necessarily equate into coaching experience, but there have been major leaguers (Pete Rose, Frank Robinson to name a couple) who go straight from playing to managing an MLB team, or at least a fairly high minor league team. Granted, most start lower in the minors or are asst coaches first.

 
Erstad says he didn't have an inkling about becoming the head coach when he moved back here. He didn't even have the offer from Anderson before he moved here.

Ledbetter will stay in Operations, but the other two positions will be filled by new guys. Former coaches not retained. The first guy in has to be a stud recruiter. Erstad will have to lean on him a lot. Second guy has to be an incredible pitching coach. Everyone has to have a lot of fire.

 
Erstad says once you get a recruit on campus they fall in love with the facilities. They're pretty good.

Recruiting will be a challenge in the Big Ten, but they're just going to have to not miss. Do good talent evaluations and get it right the first time.

 
A lot of what he's saying is fluff. I'm sure there'll be good articles from LJS and OWH about this in a few hours, so I'm going to sign off.

 
One interesting tidbit - Erstad said one of the first people he called was Mike Anderson, who was very supportive. Anderson offered his support and help in getting going.

Anderson is a stand-up guy. Results on the field may not have been there, but I've never heard anything that makes me think Mike Anderson isn't a heck of a man. I've met him several times, and each time I was struck by how down-to-earth and genuine he seemed.

Bubba will be contacted and Erstad will stay in touch, but he'll be treated like any other recruit.

 
Wow, Erstad as head coach... Aside from the Big 10 move, this might be Osborne's most brilliant move as athletic director, or his most stupid.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top