Eichorst drop ball

SE held to most of his original statements that he was not going to comment on a HC till end of the season. Obviously, the fire was raging out of control and he has to issue some type of statement on coach. I do recall tho, BO enjoyed all the coaching rumors that he was leaving some time ago, and he too waited a long time before he addressed the rumors (I still believe he was actively trying to leave NE for other programs). Maybe SE was giving him a taste of his own medicine? The rumors started very early in the season from some reliable source that coach was out- I too believe something changed along the way.

 
So let's assume that Eichorst had decided to keep Bo, and under pressure from the media and fans, does make a statement in November that Bo's job is safe. All is well, right?

Fast forward to next year. We're having the same kind of year, maybe a bit worse. And this time Eichorst really is undecided. Again, the media and fans ask for Bo's status. This time Eichorst declines to answer. You think speculation was bad when Eichorst says it's has policy to evaluate at the end of the season? How bad do you think it'd be when he's set the precedent to give a vote of confidence, but doesn't this time? And then what if Bo wins the Iowa game to save his job? Recruiting is still damaged by rampant speculation, and the hostility between pro-Bo and anti-Bo is even worse because the anti-Bo crowd was sure he was gone. And the speculation is just as bad the next year because everyone knows he's hanging by a thread.

There's a reason for having a long term policy and sticking to it.

Besides, maybe Eichorst really does evaluate the season as a whole at the end, instead of having knee jerk reactions to each win or loss.

The only person who deserved some feedback during the season is Bo. We don't know whether that happened. It doesn't sound like it from how Bo was talking, but Bo could probably be defensive in a 12-0 season. And maybe his job really was in jeopardy but Eichorst put out feelers for a replacement and wasn't getting takers.

One more thing, how many times have you heard an owner or AD give his coach a vote of confidence, and then fire him at the end of the season anyway? Even when Eichorst did it, there were still people trying to believe it only means Bo's job is safe until the bowl game. Even some of the media were trying to clarify the remarks.

 
As I said at the time, he only should have said something if he was 100% sticking with Pelini no matter what. Perhaps he was and thus I would have been in favor of him saying something. But what if the Penn State game would have gone about like Iowa and we finish the season with two straight terrible games? That might have been more than many people (read: the people with all the money) could have taken. I think Pelini was close enough to being gone that it was still not sure up to the end. SE was probably leaning toward keeping him but even 90% sure isn't good enough to say something before the end of the season, imo.

 
There is also the possibility that the AD has been testing the waters during the season, and discovered/decided that there were no better options available to him outside of retaining Bo.

In the meantime, I see us locking up defensive linemen left and friggin right. I have a sinking suspicion the Blackshirts are about to be filthy unit for the next few years. Optimism rising.

 
tin-foil-hat.jpg


And I have to agree, it's pretty funny when someone attempts to explain human behavior, especially in a situation where that person is looking in entirely from the outside, and claims there's only one explanation that makes sense...

 
From outside looking in, there was plenty to be concerned with... a sub nine win regular season for the first time since Bo's first year, the recruiting didn't seem to be going well, blow out losses, and embarrassing sideline tirades. Media speculated. Fans were speculating too. There were a lot of people who were talking about what Bo would need to do to cement his job status... and that was pre UCLA loss. When SE made a statement supporting Bo... it was perceived on the outside that a decision to keep Bo was made.

From the inside, SE was in his first year as AD and didn't want to rock the boat SP style. Bo had scored a pretty decent recruiting class over the last couple years and was being undone by injuries and youth. Bo had probably told SE that he felt good about the class he was building for this year. The defense actually improved down the stretch. We seem to have a couple of good young QBs and a solid number of skill guys that will be returning. When Nebraska lost to Iowa, SE probably thought that the normal frustration with a loss would blow over in 24 hours and people would get excited for the bowl. When they didn't, SE was compelled to say something. But no decision had been made. SE had been in contact with Bo all year and the two were on the same page. The rage that Pelini showed during the post game was simply letting the media know... look, quit trying to push me around here.

The recruits of the past couple weeks were in direct correlation to the coaches hitting the trail and not the SE statement.

Outside of the state, and outside of our fan base, there is probably very little reaction to the loss to Iowa and the Bo sideline and media stuff. We just think it's bigger because we think about it all the time.

Clinkscales said in his interview on Big Red Wrap Up that he thought Bo was sticking up for his players during the Iowa game and that he was impressed with how many wins the team got with all of the adversity they had on the injury front.

 
tmfr15 said:
Clinkscales said in his interview on Big Red Wrap Up that he thought Bo was sticking up for his players during the Iowa game and that he was impressed with how many wins the team got with all of the adversity they had on the injury front.
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But everyone has injuries! We are no different. Clinkscales isnt any good and will be downgraded to a one star for not going to the SEC. Bo still can't recruit.

Fire Bo!

 
tmfr15 said:
From outside looking in, there was plenty to be concerned with... a sub nine win regular season for the first time since Bo's first year, the recruiting didn't seem to be going well, blow out losses, and embarrassing sideline tirades. Media speculated. Fans were speculating too. There were a lot of people who were talking about what Bo would need to do to cement his job status... and that was pre UCLA loss. When SE made a statement supporting Bo... it was perceived on the outside that a decision to keep Bo was made.
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Neither of the bolded were in play until after the last game.

 
Bye Bye Big XII said:
Hujan said:
The only explanation that makes sense is that Eichorst personally thinks Bo should be terminated, but got rejected by the few top coaching targets he might have called (e.g., Chris Peterson) or could not get booster support for the buy-out, and was forced to stick with Bo for the time being. In that case, the surprisingly positive endorsement at one of Pelini's worst times could be explained on the grounds of needing to save recruiting (which the endorsement obviously helped).
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Wrong.
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I think SE couldn't get a better option for Bo at a price NU was willing to pay. The $7+ million buyout in addition to a higher paid staff may have been to much to to justify.

 
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