Maybe. Maybe not. Lots has changed. Literally my lifetime of 33 years has experienced a brief glimpse of the glory years, then all the change and transition of the game overall ever since.
I want 9 win seasons again. Anything more is extra credit.
TO Blessing Mickey
- Thread starter Bigtimebooster
- Start date
I want 9 win seasons again. Anything more is extra credit.
Hindsight is 20/20 but we would have never hired Urban at that point. The fan base would have burned the AD’s offices down. Everybody knew Tom was going to hand it off to Frank at some point.
IMO it might very well have been that Frank doesn’t get fired when he did IF Pedie’s buddy Wannstedt’s contract had been extended a few weeks earlier. There was a lot of pressure to fire Frank in part because of his and the Pelini’s indiscretions but I think Pedie would have gritted his teeth and kept if not for Wannie’s apparent availability. Pedie and Wannstedt were good friends.
timing in life is everything. IF Pedie waits a year more than likely Frank falls flat in his face with a losing season and we end up hiring Wannstedt or Urban. Our roster was a mess without a decent O line or QB on the roster. We had one serviceable RB. The defense was depleted as well. Frank’s last two classes were ranked in the 40s. He had let recruiting slide
Last edited:
It's not hate. My own opinion is that TO was a great coach but a very poor administrator, and he's actually a big reason why the program slid into mediocrity.
He basically forced NU to hire Solich. He hired Pelini (which at the time was a very popular choice, so can't fault him for that one), and he along with Harvey Pearlman, orchestrated Nebraska's exit from the Big 12, which again, was popular at the time, but as we see hasn't been a good fit. Though I'm sure the administration loves the $$$.
I don't think the vitriol is warranted, but I do agree he's dragged the program down.
whats with all the talk about Matt Rhule? you dont think there is any tread there?
He drug the program down to NU's last conference title, a national title appearance (albeit backed into), multiple division titles and 9-10 win seasons. Other ADs (Pederson, Eichhorst, Moos) can't sniff TO's jockstrap when it comes to productivity. TO drug us into a much better league with much better $$$. The league we left is becoming a major/mid-major hybrid and may not exist in a decade. TO can get dinged for his obvious support of Frost, but he's far, far from alone on that one.
OR nobody we’ve hired has come close to his success. One could argue that Tom hired/appointed the 2 best football coaches we’ve had since he retired. Frost wasn’t his hire. Virtually every booster and 99% of the fans wanted Frost so his failure is hardly Tom’s doing. Maybe if Tom had stayed more involved Frost wouldn’t have morphed in to such a f up.
It seems like some are looking to find any fault they can for not being a championship caliber team every year.
You cannot argue that Tom had succes as an assistant and head coach both on and off the field that will extremely difficult to ever match again.
Comparing recent results to his success is a no win situation. I know it is great fun to speculate on who "could" have had the job or who "turned it down" 20 + years later, but the fact is his picks were head and shoulders over anyone we have had since. There is no data to support an otherwise argument. Just plain dumb.
And guess what, be prepared to have this same argument when the new HC "only" wins 8-9 games a year. I can read them now, "and we could have had Urban Meyer, he had a contract for 10 mill in his hand sitting on the runway but said no at the last minute." There will be lots of revisionist history.
Last edited:
Numerous times I've said, the biggest problem we'll always have now getting top shelf coaches is because they've seen we've fired 9 win coaches and it still sticks to this day. The fishbowl here is unlike anywhere else in CFB and these guys see that as well and are leery.
I think sticking by Frost for 4+ consecutive losing seasons should end that narrative.
It never will because we have in the past and that's all they see, as with a winning record like that knowing their jobs may not be safe even with 9 wins. Yes this still sticks and always will. We've fired 2 9 win coaches now. Frank and lil' Boo Boo.
Last edited:
The narrative will be in you are a former prominent player, you will get a few seasons of run. Whether that applies to anybody remains to be seen.
Pederson's won't sink into mediocrity quote is now quite ironic.
Solich sucked. Once he ran out of Osborne's recruits he was mediocre. Got boat raced in the big games. We should have done a proper search, but Osborne interfered with that.
Pelini sucked. Once he ran out of Callahan's recruits he was mediocre. Got boat raced in the big games. He should have been fired after the 2012 B1G CCG. For cause.
You revisionists are so emotionally wounded after Riley and Frost that you want to go back to what didn't work. Sad. I trust that TA will do a proper search. If that means that MJ is the one, so be it. And no, Frost should not have gotten 4 years and 3 games. He was a definite failure after two seasons. Anyone with half a brain could see that.
Pelini sucked. Once he ran out of Callahan's recruits he was mediocre. Got boat raced in the big games. He should have been fired after the 2012 B1G CCG. For cause.
You revisionists are so emotionally wounded after Riley and Frost that you want to go back to what didn't work. Sad. I trust that TA will do a proper search. If that means that MJ is the one, so be it. And no, Frost should not have gotten 4 years and 3 games. He was a definite failure after two seasons. Anyone with half a brain could see that.
What is your baseline for sucking? If Solich and Pelini sucked, then the last three coaches are off the bottom of the suck meter chart.
I can't think of a single coach aside from maybe Saban who could avoid this suckage thing. Again, it's the comparison to the great teams of Tom, many Gans would welcome the sucking 9 win seasons right now. It's all perspective. The past is just that.
9 wins in 2022 is not the same as 9 wins in 1997. Accept that. You are right. It's all about perspective. I'm thinking winning the West and competing for the conference championship. What did Pelini win in 7 years? A whale trophy. Sad.
And what did Solich win?
I always have high standards/goals but getting to where you want to be and consistently there is not going to happen quickly. According to your standards, the last five guys could not do it. Why can #6?
I supported the firing of Solich. Always be a Husker. Love and respect him. We should have hired someone else. There's nothing wrong with getting a consistent 9-10 wins, but the goal is much higher. It was ceiling for Pelini.
It’s been two coaching changes since Nebraska has fired 9 win coaches.Throw your bath water out the wind..
Fair enough, so given our history over the last 20 years and 5 coaches, who can achieve or even sniff the lofty goals set before them? I submit there is no one. That is reality.
I don't believe that. I honestly think that we are the right hire from returning to competitive. I do get where you're coming from. I'm tired of losing myself.
Lolol both coaches got embarrassed consistently. Melvin Gordon is still running.
So who would the "right hire" be? They/he must be out there, but who is this magic man who can have championship teams with regularity in little ole Nebraska?
Last edited:
Championships should be the goal. I just want to be competitive again. Win the west and compete with the east. It's not impossible. You can recruit to Nebraska.
True. Nebraska did get embarrassed multiple times under Pelini. And Gordon is still running - but with the Broncos.
But we've been beyond embarrassed with Frost, Riley, and Callahan. At least, I have been embarrassed.
I think so, too. But only 1/4 of the last coaches have been able to reach that level.
This isn't even a point of contention - it's fact.
So you hire a guy who has done it somewhere else. That isn’t Mickey as much as I love the guy and want him as a part of our staff. So then the question becomes is it Rhule or Kleiman? Maybe O’Brien given what he did under horrible circumstances at PSU. Doeren and Stoops have won a lot of games at places where it’s very tough to win.
What's interesting is the 2 coaches that had success since Osborne never was a head coach before.
Solich and Bo
Everyone else had head coaching experience
Think about that as you are poo pooing Mickey
Just my opinion
Solich and Bo
Everyone else had head coaching experience
Think about that as you are poo pooing Mickey
Just my opinion
Joseph is at an age where there is really only one level left and that is HC. I doubt the decision will be announced until after the season, although the rumor mill is now grinding furiously. Joseph has a couple of more games to audition with this roster.
Callahan has always been a offensive line coach since being a assistant coach at Illinois, when he wasn’t a head coach or offensive coordinator…
Yes. The two most entertaining "cams" back then were the Pelini-cam and the Springer-cam.
This year, we had the Frost cam. It was so cringe. They were just waiting for his reaction as he kept finding new ways to lose. *Prce is Right horn*
We can’t afford another 4-5 year experiment. Need a proven turnaround artist who can win now.
I'm not sure we're going to be one of the top choices for those guys - if we can get one of those guys, sure, but if not - I'd rather gamble on a promising up and comer than settle for some underwhelming retread who would practically guarantee mediocrity.
MJ has no business within a hundred miles of Nebraskas headcoaching job.
I had no problem with Bo's W/L record. I did have a problem with him acting the way he did. I know a little more than some about how he treated support staff. He didn't just lose his mind on the sideline. Tom averted some very serious charges against Carl and at least one very embarrassing lawsuit against Bo and the University for the way they treated University employees. Bo had no business being the face of NU and the state. EVEN TOM has admitted publicly that he made a mistake in hiring Bo. Frank warned him and he ignored Frank's advice.
Honestly, it's my belief IF Bo was at the point he's at now in his life and he had another shot at a program like NU, he would be more successful. I think he would understand the mistakes he made and probably be a little more even keeled than he was. The sad part is that he's burned too many bridges and had such a crappy run at YSU that no AD wants to touch him. Put him at a place like South Florida and he would probably win a lot of games as long as they kept Carl away from his program.
Last edited: