Is this what we get for firing a 10-3 coach in 2003??

T

TMul

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This isn't a Solich firing/Pederson debate deal, I am so over that one and have seen 100,000+ threads on the deal-I'm over it. What's done, has been done. And please don't go there with this one. Hopefully no threadjacks.

Was talking to my Uncle in Bayard, Nebraska about NU football and what the mess Pelini has on his hands-he truly feels this is a bigger job then what Devanney had to overcome. At the end of 2003 the defense was playing great against teams it should play great against, we lost to teams we should have except for 1 Pelini game he has each year-Mizzou with B. Smith that year. The offense was "the problem", supposedly.

Fast forward to Callahan, the offense is the problem/recruiting so we do a total overhaul from option based personnel to what we have now. Whatever you want to call it. While Cally's selling pitch is he can get recruits to the league. He goes on to have 4 years of recruiting to try to make his WCO plan work and it doesn't. Totally neglecting the defense in the process while compounding the fact he hired a Big 10 D-Coordinator.

Now we have what we have today, a gutted defense possibly the worst he's seen since pre devanney, and an offense that can't run and can only pass the ball with success on rare occasion. And relatively poor special teams.

This team has no identity and there's a reason for that, based on the fact of what just went down the last 4 years and all the drama with the Solich deal. Killing the defense and an offense that doesn't work while recruiting players based on a fallacy/fantasy and no player development. Yes I know the vast majority of the blue chips want to go to the league, that sales approach is debatable.

So what we have today is a complete overhaul of NU football-all aspects. All the records except one will be broken, and they probably need to be, Kansas will win in Lincoln. And hopefully the fans don't break the last one.

With all that being said, he and I are of the conclusion for NU to get back to where they're accustomed to being, it will take a Devanney/B. Snyder type of HC with the best possible assistants. I wasn't around for Devanney, but knew he had TO on his staff. I was around to watch KSU explode under Snyder and his staff was absolutely loaded-IMO if he had staff loyalty like TO did, KSU definitely has a MNC and probably dominates the North until he retired/maybe he's still coaching??

My question is if Pelini is the man, and I'm not questioning his hire, does he have the best possible assistants to get the job done?? My thing is that it usually takes a defensive genius (Pelini) and an offensive one to go with it for an overhaul. Just like Stoops pulled at OU, him and Leach. USC was Caroll/Chow. KSU was Snyder/Stoops.

When P. Carroll was hired I remember him being quoted that he hired the best possible assistants he could get. My thing with Watson is that you all remember the 2001 Buffs running all over NU, yes Barnett brought in a helluva transfer from Northwestern with Chris Brown, but that team was full of Slick Rick stud recruits on the O-line and defense. Yes Watson is a descent O-Coordinator and plays to the hands he's delt, I just don't know.

Thoughts??

 
I'm not so sure about Watson. Maybe its Cotton. I dont know for sure. What I can tell is that this team is a far better passing team than running team. Yet theres this big ado that NU HAS to run the football. Why? I'm certainly a believer in what a good running game can do, but they dont have one. Whover's calling the plays seems quite culpable in these losses.

 
hskrpwr13 said:
I'm not so sure about Watson. Maybe its Cotton. I dont know for sure. What I can tell is that this team is a far better passing team than running team. Yet theres this big ado that NU HAS to run the football. Why? I'm certainly a believer in what a good running game can do, but they dont have one. Whover's calling the plays seems quite culpable in these losses.
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Yea I understand what you're saying, but I think Watson is trying anything whatsoever to protect the defense in an attempt to run the ball. Key being attempt.

My post was more based on long term thinking. Meaning I think that it will take 2 stud/genius coordinators on both sides of the ball and I don't know if Watson is it or if he's capable of transitioning the offense to a spread/option based one.

 
Like I'm sure others will say, I think its still a little too early to tell exactly who the problem is. I mean, honestly our offense and defense suck. Is it the lack of talent. The lack of development. Poor coaching? There are so many variables. Its hard to have a good D with the type of O we have playing the way its playing...and visa versa.

Interesting thoughts though. I do think pelini is still the right guy though...and I think (hope) he has the balls to replace people if they need to be cut. That was my biggest gripe with callahan. Still way to early to be talking like that though.

 
One thing I hope is that Watson doesn't try calling running plays all game (@ 1 or 2 yards a pop) just to prove a point to all of us who insist we need a running game above everything else.

Also..I seriously doubt Devaney or maybe even Osborne could do much better in this climate of scholarship reduction...A 10-fold (or 25?) increase in TV coverage allowing teams like ECU to get on the tube on a weekly basis-attracting blue-chippers they wouldn't have a prayer for "back in the day"...Not to mention the effects of the Internet (youtube).

Devaney was notorious for offering scholarships to players he knew would never start in a game, just to keep them from going to the KSU's or Missouri's of the world.

Can't do that anymore.

Missouri looked like the best Offense we've faced EVER..I can't even think who was 2nd best..And I have a feeling more teams will be emulating them in the near future with their heavy reliance on inside slants...Almost makes you want to try playing 3 ILBs and moving your safeties up 5 yds off the line.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing Missouri play OU..Unless it's on the same time as Our game with ? whoever we play then.

I do think it's premature to label this team as lacking an identity or that any branch of the team sucks..We're just playing some of these schools "best ever" teams at a time when we're starting over (sorta).

You gotta remember, some of Devaney's or Osborn's assistants weren't always that good..Some had to grow into it and evolve after getting schooled by the Florida teams..The main trick seems to be continuity...That and adaptability.

 
I was going to start a similar thread, but you pretty much hit this one right on the head. Anyone that wasn't blind and knew anything at all about football knew that Calllllllahan and his staff were not good coaches and were not the right fit for our program. But I was hoping that at least they would stock the shelves with enough talent so that when we did get a decent coach we would have enough talent to compete, ala Oklahoma and Alabama. But that was another bill of goods we were sold by SP/BC. Not only was he a worse coach than Solich, but he was a worse recruiter, too. There were very few players that Calllllllahan "took" from top level schools. Heck, he wanted Maclin to walk on, but gave scholarships to guys like Brooks and Hardy? He gave Kunalic a scholarship when he had a better kicker in his own back yard? There will be more Solich recruits in the NFL than there will be Calllllllahan recruits, and at least Solich knew what he needed and how to utilize and coach his players.

I know, I know dedhoarse but Bill put us in a hole that is going to be very, very tough to get out of. It was tough enough to build a football factory in this state, but to do it again, with the way kids are today and how college football has changed, wow. It's gonna be even more difficult then Bob Devaney had it. I was hopeful that we were on the right track but the last couple of games really have me down, again. I knew that SP/BC ruined Nebraska football but I had no idea how bad it really was.

 
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I was all for the Solich firin but soon as we hired Callahan I knew it would of been better to keep Frank, I never would of imagined Callahan would of been as bad as he was but i knew he wouldnt lead this team nowhere!

 
This proram was headed down before BC got here, he just hurried it along a little.

Go back to you our wonderful last 9-3 team. We lost to every ranked team we played. And we lost to Missouri that year to. And we lost badly to those three. Pelini was on the staff.

Who knows if we would have been better if he had been hired. I think so, but no one really knows.

The problem is we play much better teams than we did then or in the 90's. College football has changed. Every team, well except for Nebraska seems to have a game breaker on the field. But that really is a hope for us. We do not have skilled players that light up the score board. That means there are openings for them on this team. It should make recruiting that type of player a little easier I think. We just need the ability to find those players, they will not be the 5 star guys, but players like Missouri found in Maclin and Daniel. But the one thing we have control over is fan actions. We need to be better fans now than we have ever been. We need to supprt Bo more than we have supported any coach at Nebraska. We need to stand and cheer, stay till the end and know he will fix the problem.

The stadium emptying int he the third quarter on National TV is not good. It tells those kids that are watching we are the same as other programs. We need to be different than everyone else. We are not a recruiting mecca and never will be. We have to sell our fan base and our facilities over terrain and night life.

We as a group have to help Bo. Be positive and patient. I am afraid it is the only way back, and it is going to take awhile.

 
skersfan said:
This proram was headed down before BC got here, he just hurried it along a little.

Go back to you our wonderful last 9-3 team. We lost to every ranked team we played. And we lost to Missouri that year to. And we lost badly to those three. Pelini was on the staff.

Who knows if we would have been better if he had been hired. I think so, but no one really knows.

The problem is we play much better teams than we did then or in the 90's. College football has changed. Every team, well except for Nebraska seems to have a game breaker on the field. But that really is a hope for us. We do not have skilled players that light up the score board. That means there are openings for them on this team. It should make recruiting that type of player a little easier I think. We just need the ability to find those players, they will not be the 5 star guys, but players like Missouri found in Maclin and Daniel. But the one thing we have control over is fan actions. We need to be better fans now than we have ever been. We need to supprt Bo more than we have supported any coach at Nebraska. We need to stand and cheer, stay till the end and know he will fix the problem.

The stadium emptying int he the third quarter on National TV is not good. It tells those kids that are watching we are the same as other programs. We need to be different than everyone else. We are not a recruiting mecca and never will be. We have to sell our fan base and our facilities over terrain and night life.

We as a group have to help Bo. Be positive and patient. I am afraid it is the only way back, and it is going to take awhile.
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yes but they were a 7-7 embarrassment the year before. while the D wasnt as bad as last years, it was still pretty terrible. so while 9-3 was great, it was a marked improvement. I think if given the chance to continue working with those kids bo would have had that defense ready for ranked teams the ext year. how much can you expect out of a guy in one year?

 
I said I thought he would do better, but no one really knows.

I was trying to get the point accross that no one can work miracles in a year. He needs time and support. He now sees what was apparent last year. He has to face it every single day and has to hear what we as fans thinks every single day. He needs to know we support him and we will be behind his every move. He needs to know we think he is doing everything he can to right this ship.

These are things some of us tried to get accross early in the year. What would happen if things did not go as desired. We are starting to see some of the first cracks in support. This can not continue. If it does we will have the same thing we had with BC, and advisary. You saw how Bo reacted to the media. He is confrontational to say the least.. He needs our support, he demands our support and we need to give it for the good of the program. He will know if there are problems that need corrected. He will make the changes if he does not feel we are headed in the right direction. He wants to win worse than any of us. We have love of a team, he has that same love and the feeding of his family and the rest of his staff to worry about.

Give it time, this is not a easy fix is what I am saying. There is no magic wand to wave.

 
I think you are correct on that, but it was the first game of the season, and they were not playing as good as they were later in the year. They had a lot of problems that game if I remember right. It was at Arrowhead correct.

We have not been credited with a victory over a ranked team since Oklahoma in 2001 if memory serves me.

Either way, it takes time. He needs it. We need to give it and stay on board is all I am saying.

This was bound to happen and it is going to get worse before it gets better. I just wish he had not promised it would not happen again. It will at least twice this year.

 
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