This all started 20 years ago

Solich back then mentioned we were heading more towards the spread.  Dailey wasn't really like many/any of the QBs we had recruited in the past.  He was recruited as a dual threat.  He didn't possess the speed and size of guys like Jammal Lord, Frazier, etc.  Barney Cotton was hired to run a run first attack with a pretty high tempo.  Before joining our staff in 03', Cotton was the OC at New Mexico State where they led their conference in passing efficiency, rushing, and total offense.  This is where the spread was to be born.  We were going to spread the field, run first, and quite a bit of short passing routes in space.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to really see what Cotton had in mind because he was only here the one year and had to work with a QB named Jammal Lord.  I'm not going to bag on Lord at all, but he wasn't what was needed for the spread.  He completed less than half of his passes, and he threw more INTs than he did TDs.  This is one of the reasons Dailey got to play as much as he did in 03' and not redshirt.  They were grooming him to be the starter in 04' implementing more of the spread concepts.   

 
corncraze said:
We should have hired Alvarez as TO's replacement. If we did, we likely would have won another title.
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Good point, corncraze.  Also, Alvarez resume was a NU roots (linebacker).  In B1G, Urban, Franklin, Harbaugh, Chryst and probably some more all returned to home roots (born and/or student athletes).  3 Huskers HC's (Billy, Bo, MR)  was not related at all with NU football program ..... outside and distance influence. 

Scott Frost ???

 
Toe said:
So would you use the same reasoning with Riley this year?
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Without knowing how the rest of the season plays out, I would use the same reasoning.  However, if we continue to play like we did last Saturday then a change probably has to be made.  Solich went from 7-7 the year before to a 9-3 record.  So, there was decent improvement made.  It seems unlikely that we'll win as many games this year as we did last year.  I should note though that Solich did a complete overhaul while Riley removed and added just a couple of pieces.  Here's a list of the new coaches in 03':  Barney Cotton, OC; Bo Pelini, DC; Tim Albin, RB; Marvin Sander, Sec.; and Jimmy Williams, LB.  These guys were all brand new for the 03' season. 

 
HuskerMav11 said:
To be honest with myself, it's complete hindsight and obviously somewhat of a foolish statement.

I think Frank was showing signs of improvement and was let go too early. I agree 
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Frank was the wrong choice for HC but he wasn't terrible, just losing steam. They bring in Bo as D.C. and we have a decent season.... then a bunch of fools with money run off our winning team and replace it with a pro coach who has zero ability to transition to the demands and time constraints of college ball.

In my opinion when TO retired we should've stunned Charlie McBride and when he came to they should have said "Damn Coach, you hit your head! Are you alright?! What do we do next Coach?"

But since they picked Frank and Bo was working out, they should've stuck with that.

What I wouldn't give to see Buckhalter and Alexander taking handoffs from Crouch and smashing through the line.

 
junior4949 said:
... Solich went from 7-7 the year before to a 9-3 record.  So, there was decent improvement made.  ...
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I don't disagree with your main point but comparing records isn't really a good metric here.

In '02, Nebraska lost to 4 ranked opponents (#19 Iowa State, #7 Texas, #11 K-State, #13 Colorado), and only lost to Texas by a field goal.

In '03, Nebraska only played two ranked opponents (#24 Oklahoma State, and #16 Texas), winning against OSU, but blown out by Texas.

The expectation in '03 was that we'd win the conference. That didn't happen. We also had some pretty big losses that year. People had a very similar attitude as they did with Bo. It wasn't just the record, but quality of our losses.

The thing that scares me is the '03 team wasn't a bad team. Mediocre at worst. I'd say slightly above average. The 2014 team wasn't a bad team either.

The guys we have on the field right now. They look bad. Our O'Line is getting blown up. Our defense can't seem to create any pressure or cause any havoc for that matter. Tanner Lee makes a lot of bad decisions. Special teams is a flop. Across the board, I feel like I'm watching Appalachian State. Some might say that's more of an insult to them than it is to us.

 
Mavric said:
You know what Frank still has in common with Nebraska?  

Both still have their last conference championship in 1999.

If he can't even win a conference championship in the MAC.....
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I don't think Nebraska can win a conference title in the MAC either

 
MLB 51 said:
Weren't there off field issues that factored into Solich being fired?
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I've heard there were, but don't you find it a bit ironic we fired Solich for off field issues while we allowed some of the players who had far worse off field issues to continue to play during the run?  Was it worse than a third offense DUI? 

HuskerMav11 said:
I don't disagree with your main point but comparing records isn't really a good metric here.

In '02, Nebraska lost to 4 ranked opponents (#19 Iowa State, #7 Texas, #11 K-State, #13 Colorado), and only lost to Texas by a field goal.

In '03, Nebraska only played two ranked opponents (#24 Oklahoma State, and #16 Texas), winning against OSU, but blown out by Texas.

The expectation in '03 was that we'd win the conference. That didn't happen. We also had some pretty big losses that year. People had a very similar attitude as they did with Bo. It wasn't just the record, but quality of our losses.

The thing that scares me is the '03 team wasn't a bad team. Mediocre at worst. I'd say slightly above average. The 2014 team wasn't a bad team either.

The guys we have on the field right now. They look bad. Our O'Line is getting blown up. Our defense can't seem to create any pressure or cause any havoc for that matter. Tanner Lee makes a lot of bad decisions. Special teams is a flop. Across the board, I feel like I'm watching Appalachian State. Some might say that's more of an insult to them than it is to us.
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The record in 03' was better than the record in 02'.  Yes, there were some bad losses in there with KSU being one in 03'.  We were never expected to win the conference in 03'.  OU started the year ranked #1 and held that ranking until losing in the Big 12 title game.  We started the season unranked.  However, everything done in 03' was with a completely new staff.  Lord wasn't the QB to make Cotton's spread work because he was far too erratic of a passer.  In Lord's defense, he wasn't recruited for the spread.  Our 08' defense wasn't nearly as good as our 09' defense despite many of the players being the same.  Don't you suppose by year two (04') Bo's defense would have been quite a bit better?  I don't know how things would have turned out, but I doubt they could have been any worse than the Callahan era.     

 
The record in 2003 looks a lot better than how the season went.  

We beat a 9-4 OK St team by 10 the first game of the year.  We beat a 9-4 Southern Miss team lost to three other Power 5 teams by at least two scores.

We did not beat another team with a winning record.

We beat a 3-9 Penn State team by 8.  We beat a 5-7 Colorado team by 9.

We were not that competitive in our losses.  We lost to Missouri by 17.  We lost to Texas by 24.  We lost to Kansas State by 29.

So 9-3 looks good.  But it was about as lackluster of a 9-3 record as you can get.

 
Which is exactly why I stated that Solich's firing and Bo's firing felt pretty similar. The records they produced were not that bad, but people were generally unhappy with the quality of games, and as Mavric pointed out, quality of losses.

Whether or not you feel either deserved to get fired is completely subjective. However, stating that the program improved from '02 to '03 based solely on record alone(and even ranking for that matter) is kind of a hard sell.

But as I've stated, that's not to say that Solich shouldn't have been fired or Bo shouldn't have been fired. Hind-sight is 20/20.

 
Saying 03 was better than 02 is like saying 05 was better than 04 and 16 was better than 15.  The fact is 02, 04, & 15 shouldn't have happened in order to make average seasons look better.

 
HuskerMav11 said:
Which is exactly why I stated that Solich's firing and Bo's firing felt pretty similar. The records they produced were not that bad, but people were generally unhappy with the quality of games, and as Mavric pointed out, quality of losses.

Whether or not you feel either deserved to get fired is completely subjective. However, stating that the program improved from '02 to '03 based solely on record alone(and even ranking for that matter) is kind of a hard sell.

But as I've stated, that's not to say that Solich shouldn't have been fired or Bo shouldn't have been fired. Hind-sight is 20/20.
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What is the point of having a coach go out and completely overhaul his staff if you're going to fire him anyway before he even completes his first year with the new staff?  We can argue all day long whether the 02' or 03' season was better, but it has absolutely nothing to do with what's being discussed.  Solich got basically an entirely new staff.  The wheels did not fall off the cart.  He was fired anyway.  Most of us that were pi$$ed that Solich got fired was because he wasn't given enough time with his new staff.  Most people were pi$$ed with Callahan because he wouldn't make staff changes.  Most people were pi$$ed with Bo because he hire inexperienced yes men.     

Can anyone here honestly say they didn't think the defense this year would struggle early in the year?  Riley made a change at DC.  Diaco brings in a new scheme.  We knew there were going to be growing pains.  I do believe we are slowly but surely getting better.  Unfortunately, the offense is causing bigger problems now.  It's tough sledding when a QB scores more points for the other team.   

 
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