agree, Tommie does a great job just throwing balls up for pics.....his reception percentage would rise considerably if you included INT's!
Defending the firing or defending the coach
- Thread starter lo country
- Start date
have to agree.......but back to SE, need to run his a$$ off first........then find a new coach....SE will never admit he f'd up.......fire his a$$ now.
adc7236
New member
I hope not. A guy who has proved he can do less with more. He has the keys to a Ferrari in terms of talent but never seems to get his team where they need to be.....lately.
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Ratt Mhule
Active member
Not a huge fan of the staff. There are some guys that I like and I think do a good job. but overall not a big fan. However, I think a coach deserves more than one year to turn things around, so I will not be calling for the firing of Mike Riley. However, the guys PC mentioned are all fair game.
lo country
Mods
See my bolded comments. The scheme is tempting with a QB. And then IF we continue to pass..... Our pas first 40+ times a game no. A passing game like Stanford, predicated on a power run game with spread elements yes. As we currently have with Langs, no. Power running is the only way to win in the B1G IMO. See OSU unleash their RB. Baja ran through around and over Auburn with the run game. OU the same..... We need power, not pretty.
lo country
Mods
Reading the posts this morning, it seems that most are not for firing based upon the perception and its crazy to fire a one year coach. It would hurt us nationally (reputation) and make it even harder to get the "splash hire". Throw in SE would then choose a complete loser out of spite and we are stuck. I did notice very few in defense of not hiring based upon his abilities. Some say to keep based upon potential of his recruits....
That's what scares me the most. Hoping that he can turn things around with his guys.... Look at OSU. His guys, system and a division he was very familiar with.
That's what scares me the most. Hoping that he can turn things around with his guys.... Look at OSU. His guys, system and a division he was very familiar with.
SouthLincoln Husker
New member
50% of college football is about recruiting, the rest is teaching & calling plays. The reason Frank is not here is due to his lack of recruiting, Calahan could not teach & Bo lost his job because of his attitude, not football. In no way can you compare the pit of Oregon St. to Lincoln, NE, so please lets stop going there. We need a QB, OL & DE bad. The defense got better and Tommy surprised me in a good way this year. Good players can make an average coach look great. I am willing to give Riley the benefit of the doubt in year 1, but we must as see progress in year 2. Plus a top 25 recruiting class this year and a top 15 next year.
SouthLincoln Husker
New member
I hate the comparison to Oregon St. It is a pit compared to Nebraska and their are high school facilities that our better. Riley never had the tools or resources at OS. A team that Riley was at least 500 is 2-10 this year.
84HuskerLaw
New member
There are some who write negatively about Riley and Company and have done so since the day he was hired. They are not being reasonable or fair to anyone involved and are being completely unrealistic. Sadly, there have been coaching hires that were mistakes dating back to Frank and continuing on through Callahan and Pelini. The facts are not all in on Riley although I think if one had to make a decision (up or down) on Riley today, the answer would be negative. But no decision has been made nor will it be made at this point in time. He will be the coach next year and most likely the year after that, no matter whether his wins total more than 5 assuming he puts a team out on the field each game that plays hard and represents the University well. Wins and losses are NOT the only thing that matters. Pelini may have won 9 games a year but he did so in such an embarrassing way that no reasonable University of Nebraska leader (Regents, Admin, faculty, AD) could support him any longer. Callahan was a professional level coach with a propfessional level mindset and attitude. He is not suited for amateur sports. Frank was a poor recruiter and had personal issues that were a risk to the University's reputation that had been kept under the rug (USC fired their coach over drinking problems so it is not unprecedented) and maybe Frank realized after his drunk driving issues in Ohio that it would be his last shot and was able to straighten himself out.
Thus far, Riley has not apparently done anything but be a good and decent person and represent the University well in that regard. His football team has not bee very successful but that did some things right and were not a complete failure, being competitive in every game, including against a few highly respected opponents. Did we win? No - we lost about 7 that - had everything gone right and with a little extra luck - we could have possibly won.
The biggest single issue, in my not so humble opinion, Nebraska football has is an overall lack of talent. We have a number of good football players and almost no great football players. We have several positions without good players. We lack depth at nearly every position. These are simply true statements. The players we have made some varying degrees of improvement through the year and that is the coach's job - make the players better football players. This team could win all of its games if it had the following: an excellent QB, , 2 quality RBs with speed and power, two more excellent O linemen, 2 exceptional LBs and 1 top notch lock down CB. Even with these additional players, the games would be tight, close and hard fought battles. To get to a dominate team, you need 3 consecutive top ten recruiting classes and in those classes you have to have at least 75% 'hits' and add another 4 quality walk ons per year. We really don't have a quality second string level group at all.
After watching this year play out, I think it is remarkable the number of wins Pelini was able to procure with the talent he had and although he did recruit well in some cases, he was not progressing and it is very likely that this year's record would have been no better than 6 - 6 with a couple uglier losses and without the upset of Mchigan State.
Going forward, there is hope and there is risk. If a great coach contacts NU about the job, you certainly need to listen and evaluate. If a 'perfect' fit pop up, you must always do your due dilligence. Riley appears to be in good health and knows the game of football. recruiting will be the challenge. Going 5-7 doesn't help but it does show there is urgent need and players with hopes of playing early have a tremendous opportunity in Lincoln. Should we get a bowl invite, we need to take the opportunity and try to get one more win this season and gain some valuable momentum and a bit more practice and experience for some more future players. Practice is how a team gets better.
Thus far, Riley has not apparently done anything but be a good and decent person and represent the University well in that regard. His football team has not bee very successful but that did some things right and were not a complete failure, being competitive in every game, including against a few highly respected opponents. Did we win? No - we lost about 7 that - had everything gone right and with a little extra luck - we could have possibly won.
The biggest single issue, in my not so humble opinion, Nebraska football has is an overall lack of talent. We have a number of good football players and almost no great football players. We have several positions without good players. We lack depth at nearly every position. These are simply true statements. The players we have made some varying degrees of improvement through the year and that is the coach's job - make the players better football players. This team could win all of its games if it had the following: an excellent QB, , 2 quality RBs with speed and power, two more excellent O linemen, 2 exceptional LBs and 1 top notch lock down CB. Even with these additional players, the games would be tight, close and hard fought battles. To get to a dominate team, you need 3 consecutive top ten recruiting classes and in those classes you have to have at least 75% 'hits' and add another 4 quality walk ons per year. We really don't have a quality second string level group at all.
After watching this year play out, I think it is remarkable the number of wins Pelini was able to procure with the talent he had and although he did recruit well in some cases, he was not progressing and it is very likely that this year's record would have been no better than 6 - 6 with a couple uglier losses and without the upset of Mchigan State.
Going forward, there is hope and there is risk. If a great coach contacts NU about the job, you certainly need to listen and evaluate. If a 'perfect' fit pop up, you must always do your due dilligence. Riley appears to be in good health and knows the game of football. recruiting will be the challenge. Going 5-7 doesn't help but it does show there is urgent need and players with hopes of playing early have a tremendous opportunity in Lincoln. Should we get a bowl invite, we need to take the opportunity and try to get one more win this season and gain some valuable momentum and a bit more practice and experience for some more future players. Practice is how a team gets better.
Hammerhead
New member
For me, it's a mixture of seeing potential and just feeling like he deserves more time (not so much for his own sake, but for the sake of stability within our program).
There is a lot I did not love this year about the coaching but i have some hope. There were MANY open receivers this year that Armstrong either never saw or thought he saw something else. He wasn't recruited to be Eli Manning but expected to play like him. . MR needs to show his system to get better recruits. I'd prefer power over a pass happy game any day and every day, but since that is not the plan, I might as well embrace the vision. I'm willing to give MR a pass because some kids may not have wanted to play for MR and halfed it during the season. Their heart may not have been in it. As they graduate or transfer out, we can see what MR brings to the table. Good or bad. It appears the recruiting is on the upswing compared to past years from what I read.
Defense- They played better at the end of year but I'm not 100% sure they could play worse. I'm not a fan of Banker, his crying, or his scheme. I'm willing to accept the idea that talent in spots was weak, no depth, over thinking/switch to a new system, and general confusion for this year. Banker needs to figure it out or he's going to Bohl MR right out the door.The special teams were not great either. Lot of work needs to be done IMO.
MR is on a three year plan this year with me. In three years. NU will have seen a large enough sample of the offense, defense, and sp teams. Everyone can look at the recruits and see if he is drafting talent or guys that cannot cut it for whatever reason. We will see the W-L record. If NU is getting their butts wiped or competing every week. We will be able to see if 4th and 1 is a doable down or a mind numbing, bang your head on the wall collection of crap. Is clock management improving? Do they know when to kick a FG? The jury will be out in a few seasons if this was a good hire or not. Everyone in Missouri wanted Pinkel fired, but he gradually shifted the culture and won. I do not want the Huskers to be the college version of the Oakland Raiders. Firing coaches left and right. Never getting any consistency. Lastly, i want the coach to win since he's at NU. If he's fired, I no longer care about Mr. I will not follow him. This is the same for BO, Frank, and Cally.
Defense- They played better at the end of year but I'm not 100% sure they could play worse. I'm not a fan of Banker, his crying, or his scheme. I'm willing to accept the idea that talent in spots was weak, no depth, over thinking/switch to a new system, and general confusion for this year. Banker needs to figure it out or he's going to Bohl MR right out the door.The special teams were not great either. Lot of work needs to be done IMO.
MR is on a three year plan this year with me. In three years. NU will have seen a large enough sample of the offense, defense, and sp teams. Everyone can look at the recruits and see if he is drafting talent or guys that cannot cut it for whatever reason. We will see the W-L record. If NU is getting their butts wiped or competing every week. We will be able to see if 4th and 1 is a doable down or a mind numbing, bang your head on the wall collection of crap. Is clock management improving? Do they know when to kick a FG? The jury will be out in a few seasons if this was a good hire or not. Everyone in Missouri wanted Pinkel fired, but he gradually shifted the culture and won. I do not want the Huskers to be the college version of the Oakland Raiders. Firing coaches left and right. Never getting any consistency. Lastly, i want the coach to win since he's at NU. If he's fired, I no longer care about Mr. I will not follow him. This is the same for BO, Frank, and Cally.
louisianared
New member
I totally agree but there are problems that can be fixed, especially once we get a quarterback in that is made for this system. I've felt all year that they had to adjust and reign in the offense for Tommy to run it.
Yet another obstacle that Riley came into, he definitely didn't have a stacked roster.
On that same token there were teams that got lucky against us, goes both ways.
At times I didn't agree with the calls but I can understand why some of them were made. Example, on the 4th and 1 there were guys wide open, Tommy just chose the fade route.
I agree that the coaches have a ton of work to do. We do differ in being hopeful or not and there is nothing wrong with that. I am hopeful and optimistic because I believe Riley came into a massive rebuilding project and I do believe there was a very toxic and destructive environment surrounding the team. I liked the leadership and maturity the team showed this year.
Was a tough season and they could have easily given up after the Purdue game but they didn't. I saw a lot of positives and was really impressed with how the defense came together. I really think we are going to see some major improvements next year.
MichiganDad3
New member
Nebraska should never go 5-7. This tells me that this staff is terrible. Changes have to be made, but the question is when. IMO the answer is after SE is gone, which can only happen after harvey is gone. We will continue to suffer through bad football for at least one more year.
MichiganDad3
New member
I see many stating we have lack of talent, but I don't agree. We may have the best two DTs in the BIG. Jano, Cross and Ozigbo are very capable, but mis-used. We have good receivers. Before the season started, people were raving about how good our DBs were. Bo won 9 games with a lousy scheme on D, and an OC that failed at OSU. I don't see MR being a better recruiter than Bo, so I expect the talent to stay the same. I cringe when I think of an NFL style, immobile QB parked in the pocket, getting pounded in MR's offense. We had an easy schedule this year. Dark days are ahead with this staff.
Solich didn't coach the bowl game so you don't get to add that to his record. He was 9-3 his last year.