The cause for Nebraska's collapse is...

cestrup

All-Conference
Sep 23, 2021
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Frank was terrible but not his fault he wasn't cut for the job. Ohio is more his style.
It’s hard to follow a legend. It just is. I don’t know if he was terrible but Nebraska has fell off a cliff since that time. There were a couple years under Pelini where we were contenders but couldn’t stay healthy or win the big games
 
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TruHusker

All-Conference
Sep 21, 2001
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This is I don’t get. Many opine for the days of power football, the option and the fullback. Like just running the same plays TO did was going to work. Well, enter Frank who had the keys to the Ferrari, had pretty much the same coaching staff and the same power football but couldn’t match TO.
After that it became a comedy of errors. Ole Billy slash Callahan might have done some good things but he saddled himself with the worst D coordinator of all time. The revolving door kept hitting Nebraska in the butt clear up through last year.
Lots of people to blame, the list is long, the great players of the past long gone. We, as fans and a state were spoiled rotten by what I think was the greatest coach of all time. No one could replicate what TO did, no one did and no one will. Run every single play he had in the playbook arsenal and we still don’t win. TO bailed Bob out when his teams began to falter. Everyone is still trying to catch the magic today. Maybe this year?
 

RedMyMind2.0

Senior
Apr 9, 2020
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This is I don’t get. Many opine for the days of power football, the option and the fullback. Like just running the same plays TO did was going to work. Well, enter Frank who had the keys to the Ferrari, had pretty much the same coaching staff and the same power football but couldn’t match TO.
After that it became a comedy of errors. Ole Billy slash Callahan might have done some good things but he saddled himself with the worst D coordinator of all time. The revolving door kept hitting Nebraska in the butt clear up through last year.
Lots of people to blame, the list is long, the great players of the past long gone. We, as fans and a state were spoiled rotten by what I think was the greatest coach of all time. No one could replicate what TO did, no one did and no one will. Run every single play he had in the playbook arsenal and we still don’t win. TO bailed Bob out when his teams began to falter. Everyone is still trying to catch the magic today. Maybe this year?
I agree that many hands were in play with the demise of the program but going from National Title to getting records broken against you over and over in those shorts years feels just as damaging as Frost taking Riley into the pits of hell. I hope that rising from the ashes is more productive long term than wadding through the decades of mediocrity that came after Tom.
 

oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
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It wasn’t the offense that was Callahans problem it was the horrendous defense giving up 40, 50 even 70+ points.
False, it took the better part of two years not having a shitshow on offense during transition, and even then, the end result wasn't good enough. Pelini's offenses a few years later were better.
 
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Laner2

Senior
Dec 27, 2007
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Osborne's staff was getting long in the tooth and didn't want to put in the effort to recruit at a high level (allegedly, but probably true). Plus TO wanted that staff to stay together after he left (again allegedly but again probably true). This was not the reason Frank failed but it didn't help.
 

Zeke Husker

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Aug 23, 2025
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False, it took the better part of two years not having a shitshow on offense during transition, and even then, the end result wasn't good enough. Pelini's offenses a few years later were better.
You’re right the result want good enough because they needed to score 80 points in order to win. Year 1 was rough yes. Pelini offense in 09 was not better who are you trying to kid.
 
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UltimateGarageHusker

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Jul 29, 2023
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Osborne's staff was getting long in the tooth and didn't want to put in the effort to recruit at a high level (allegedly, but probably true). Plus TO wanted that staff to stay together after he left (again allegedly but again probably true). This was not the reason Frank failed but it didn't help.
This is heads on. TO wasn’t expecting the drop off in effort of the assistants. They lost their mojo in both coaching and recruiting. By the time Frank was allowed to restaff the powers to be had already hired their butcher in the form of Pederson
 

TouchdownTom

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Jul 10, 2025
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You’re right the result want good enough because they needed to score 80 points in order to win. Year 1 was rough yes. Pelini offense in 09 was not better who are you trying to kid.
We win the Big Ten championship against Texas easily if only we had a mediocre offense instead of one that ranked 102nd.
 
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SuperBigFan69

All-Conference
Apr 17, 2021
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Was it really that big of a drop off with Frank and Bo?

I think sometimes people ONLY remember TO's last 4-5 years, but most of his career he was winning 9-10 a year. The last 5 years were amazing, for sure.

Frank pretty much did 9-10 a year and so did Bo.

The Billy C, even though he recruited well, would be the only logical answer.
 
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Was it really that big of a drop off with Frank and Bo?

I think sometimes people ONLY remember TO's last 4-5 years, but most of his career he was winning 9-10 a year. The last 5 years were amazing, for sure.

Frank pretty much did 9-10 a year and so did Bo.

The Billy C, even though he recruited well, would be the only logical answer.
TOs 9-10 win seasons were not the same as Bo's. TO was getting 9-10 wins out of a 12 game schedule, while Bo was doing it over 13-14 games
 

inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
14,188
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Two HOF coaches in a row (now three with Frank) is like being struck by lightning. The run of wins, big games, conference and national titles ran 40 years, as good as any run in college football history. In my mind, three things happened during the Solich years. He didn't follow up anyone who could compare to Alexander and Correll, so Crouch needed to generate more yardage and became the focus. When Charlie left, Bohl (who turned out to be a very good HC) didn't have the chops at DC. Frank didn't have the juice on the recruiting trail. Parents sending their kids to play for TO hit way different than sending them to play for Frank. So player quality fell from the types of kids you need to compete for a natty. Callahan brought in good players but would fire his DC. Pelini brought play back up to Frank standards, but admin types hated him and he hated them. Riley had a good season with the older Pelini players. Then the bottom dropped out.
 

ZJSARENOTFREE

All-Conference
Oct 16, 2017
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It TO would have just let Bryne do his job who knows what would have happened.
This is the answer. Frank was the cause, but part of his downfall was that coaching staff was aging big time. The OL recruiting also went way down hill which ended up being the nail in the coffin for what we were trying to do.
 

cornhead1.

Sophomore
Jul 13, 2025
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Not IS, but WAS. Frank, Callahan, Riley and Frost all played major roles for different reasons. I am not close enough to it to say TO or a specific administrator, but it sounds like they may have contributed.

Rhule and company are going in the right direction, now take care of Cincy and we are off to the races...I really like what Rhule has done in 2+ years, but now can he take the next step which is winning 9-10 games with a semi-soft schedule?
 

mgbreeze

All-Conference
Dec 16, 2004
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Animated GIF
 

oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
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You’re right the result want good enough because they needed to score 80 points in order to win. Year 1 was rough yes. Pelini offense in 09 was not better who are you trying to kid.
Maybe you need to work on your reading comprehension. I said a few years after Callahan which would be the 2010-2011 seasons. And they were more successful than any of Callahan's seasons.
 

itseasyas1-2-3

All-Conference
Sep 6, 2021
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Two HOF coaches in a row (now three with Frank) is like being struck by lightning. The run of wins, big games, conference and national titles ran 40 years, as good as any run in college football history. In my mind, three things happened during the Solich years. He didn't follow up anyone who could compare to Alexander and Correll, so Crouch needed to generate more yardage and became the focus. When Charlie left, Bohl (who turned out to be a very good HC) didn't have the chops at DC. Frank didn't have the juice on the recruiting trail. Parents sending their kids to play for TO hit way different than sending them to play for Frank. So player quality fell from the types of kids you need to compete for a natty. Callahan brought in good players but would fire his DC. Pelini brought play back up to Frank standards, but admin types hated him and he hated them. Riley had a good season with the older Pelini players. Then the bottom dropped out.
I agree with about 10% of this.
 

big red23

All-Conference
Dec 15, 2003
10,114
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I am still a firm believer in that Frost, Davidson and Osborne sold their souls to the devil against Missouri on November 8th, 1997. That is the only thing that makes sense when I see games like Iowa last year.

Devil has a curse on the program for that win.

We haven't been legit since...

^ surreal humor everyone, I am not a crazy person
 
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BobVH5150

Junior
Jul 9, 2025
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I see Nebraska Football's last 20 years as a systemic failure at the highest level. Chancellor, Board of Regents, President. Any of these people could've overruled TO handing his job to Solich. None did, because it would've been viewed as dirty. But it's also dirty that Bill Byrne, our best AD of the last 25 years, did not get to do his job in 1998. If he had, Osborne may have been insulted, but he'd have publicly walked away quietly. Then they hired narcissist Steve Pederson as AD. He fires Frank and Osborne quietly walks away, focusing on politics. The inept, incompetent leadership triumvirate begs Tom to rescue them after their second bad decision. Then, Osborne is back as AD and he hires Bo, and at least part of that is about "setting things right.". But it's not right, because for all of Pelini's personnel genius inside his defensive schemes, and for all of his excellence as a relationship builder with players, he had obvious shortcomings which need no rehash. Tom quits and the people in the tower take on Shawn Eichorst. He's disconnected and inept. I work with many people on the autism spectrum who are incredible in their work. Eichorst, in my view, was also on the spectrum, and had difficulties developing skills around his tics to be able to excel in his work. Eichorst hires Riley AND Bob Diaco, another adult on the autism spectrum who had trouble finding workarounds to excel in all facets of his job. Then, they bring back Trev just to dick him around with the leadership vacuum that the board of regents created and maintained. This ALL starts and ends with the upper administration. It's clear as day.
 

RedMyMind2.0

Senior
Apr 9, 2020
756
684
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I am still a firm believer in that Frost, Davidson and Osborne sold their souls to the devil against Missouri on November 8th, 1997. That is the only thing that makes sense when I see games like Iowa last year.

Devil has a curse on the program for that win.

We haven't been legit since...

^ surreal humor everyone, I am not a crazy person
 

TruHusker

All-Conference
Sep 21, 2001
12,107
2,381
98
I see Nebraska Football's last 20 years as a systemic failure at the highest level. Chancellor, Board of Regents, President. Any of these people could've overruled TO handing his job to Solich. None did, because it would've been viewed as dirty. But it's also dirty that Bill Byrne, our best AD of the last 25 years, did not get to do his job in 1998. If he had, Osborne may have been insulted, but he'd have publicly walked away quietly. Then they hired narcissist Steve Pederson as AD. He fires Frank and Osborne quietly walks away, focusing on politics. The inept, incompetent leadership triumvirate begs Tom to rescue them after their second bad decision. Then, Osborne is back as AD and he hires Bo, and at least part of that is about "setting things right.". But it's not right, because for all of Pelini's personnel genius inside his defensive schemes, and for all of his excellence as a relationship builder with players, he had obvious shortcomings which need no rehash. Tom quits and the people in the tower take on Shawn Eichorst. He's disconnected and inept. I work with many people on the autism spectrum who are incredible in their work. Eichorst, in my view, was also on the spectrum, and had difficulties developing skills around his tics to be able to excel in his work. Eichorst hires Riley AND Bob Diaco, another adult on the autism spectrum who had trouble finding workarounds to excel in all facets of his job. Then, they bring back Trev just to dick him around with the leadership vacuum that the board of regents created and maintained. This ALL starts and ends with the upper administration. It's clear as day.
Yep, second guessing is always 100% correct. Did they do a national search when Bob handed the keys to Tom? I think that worked out OK. Some years, hiring a coach is a crap shoot depending on who is available. Then throw in that not everyone wants to come to Nebraska. I would submit and always stand by this - there will not another Tom, no way. We need to quit thinking we can just bring back his system and everything will be lovely. The Sabans and Osbornes of the world are few and far between, the odds of getting two of them in a row are extremely low! This is not discounting some of the rather questionable hires that were made along the way but these are completely stupid people and they acted based on what they knew at the time.
 

inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
14,188
4,837
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People bitched about TO until he beat OU. He was told by a booster than had he not won the bowl game in 1976, there would be move to let him go. My thoughts on Frank is that while the talent had slipped, he was still winning a lot of games and was fired because the vibe was the program was slipping into mediocrity. Frank should have been given the opportunity to fail. Maybe he does. But maybe he gets to some CCGs and has another conference title. Callahan put a couple of teams together, but failed defensively at the end. Pelini is the Frank story repeated, only with more anger. And then NU finally did collapse into a pile of failure. We held onto one failure much longer than we should have.
 
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