Taking over a program like Nebraska is tantamount to succeeding Bear Bryant at Alabama or John Wooden at UCLA. Everything you do, every word you utter, every victory and defeat will be compared to the great former coach.
Nebraska Coaching Legend Tom Osborne
In the Cornhuskers case, the great former coach is Tom Osborne, who followed Bob Devaney, another legend and the coach who put Nebraska football on the map. Osborne became head coach in 1973 after serving as a long-time assistant on Devaney’s staff and built upon the tradition that gave Nebraska its unique identity.
In his illustrious 25-year coaching career, Osborne won or shared three national titles, 12 Big Eight titles and one Big 12 title. The Cornhuskers finished among the Top 10 teams 17 times under Osborne and he compiled a record of 255-49-3.
When Osborne retired in 1998, long-time assistant Frank Solich took over the head coaching duties. Solich had served on Osborne’s staff for 19 years and was believed to be the man to carry on the traditions originally implemented by Devaney.
Former Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich
Solich directed the Cornhusker program to six consecutive bowl games, including the national championship game in the Rose Bowl following the 2001 season. Nebraska won at least nine games in five of those six seasons, and finished among the top 10 teams in the nation three times.
But in 2003, after a 5-0 start, the Cornhuskers would stumble at the end of the season, losing three consecutive games. New Athletic Director Steve Pederson fired Solich upon the completion of the 2003 season, justifying the move by stating he would not “let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity” and would not “surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas.”
Pederson’s choice to replace Solich was former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan. Actually, Callahan was the Cornhuskers fifth choice, after Al Saunders, Mike Zimmer, Houston Nutt and Dave Wannstedt had all rejected the position.
Bill Callahan Was Fired At Nebraska After Four Seasons
Callahan had little head coaching experience and none at the collegiate level. It also marked the first time since Devaney became the coach in 1962 that the Cornhuskers would be led by someone with no direct ties to the program.
As it turned out, Pederson’s hiring of Callahan brought about the very reasons he cited in firing Solich. In 2007, Nebraska suffered some of the most embarrassing defeats in the program’s rich history.
Losing games was bad enough, but Callahan tried to change the environment at Nebraska, a program steeped in tradition. He did away with the run-oriented, grind it out style that was synonymous with Nebraska football and installed the west coast offense.
Callahan also sought to put limitations on the walk-on program that had become popular and successful. Casting aside decades old traditions wasn’t the way for Callahan to endear himself to the Cornhuskers rabid fan base.
Former Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson
After losing to Oklahoma State 45-14 in October of 2007 – the Cornhuskers worst home defeat in nearly 50 years – Pederson was fired and replaced by Osborne.
The ouster of Pederson was a welcomed move by Nebraska faithful and most felt his firing would eventually lead to Callahan being fired no later than the end of the season.
And that’s exactly what happened, with Osborne getting rid of perhaps the most loathed coach in the nation.
Callahan had turned one of college football’s most glorious programs into a disaster in just four years. Osborne knew the next head coach of the Cornhuskers would have his work cut out for him.
After a nine-day search that included interviewing former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill and Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe, Osborne selected Bo Pelini, who had served as LSU’s defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons.
Pelini was the perfect choice for Nebraska, having served as an assistant to Solich in 2003 and acting as interim head coach for the Cornhuskers in the Alamo Bowl after Pederson fired Solich.
Entering the 2008 season, expectations were that the Cornhuskers would be respectable but wouldn’t compete for the Big 12 title. But let’s not forget, this is Nebraska, where expectations are always high and winning is the only option.
Bo Pelini Leads Nebraska Onto The Field
More importantly, Pelini was tasked to re-instill the program with the traditions Devaney and Osborne had built the program upon since the early 60s.
Although his ties to the program were brief, Pelini understood the importance of regaining the confidence of the fan base and developing a core around those traditions that made Nebraska football what it is.
With the ‘Huskers currently sporting a 3-0 record with wins over Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State, the schedule gets much tougher beginning this Saturday as Nebraska hosts Virginia Tech.
The Hokies obviously present a much bigger challenge than their previous opponents. Despite Virginia Tech’s opening game loss to East Carolina, Pelini and his staff realize this game represents an opportunity to base their progress on.
A win over the Hokies could help build confidence as the Cornhuskers get into the meat of their schedule. With remaining games that include Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado – all currently ranked in the Top 25 – the Cornhuskers are going to have a very difficult time winning more than seven games.
While the offense has been good so far this season, the traditional style of Nebraska football has yet to be seen. The Cornhuskers aren’t much of a running team, with an offensive line still hung over from the Callahan brand of a predominantly passing offense.
The defense isn’t exactly a feared unit either. While there is size along the front, there isn’t much of a pass rush and the secondary looks very suspect. With quarterbacks Chase Daniel of Missouri and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell looming on the horizon, that doesn’t bode well for Big Red.
But fear not Nebraska fans, you’ve got the right man leading your team. Peilini will get the Cornhuskers turned around, but more than likely not this season. With Callahan’s recruits populating the roster, Pelini doesn’t have the pieces to play a traditional brand of Nebraska football.
But give Pelini a few years to recruit the right players that fit the Cornhusker mold and you’ll see Nebraska back where it belongs – among the elite of the college football world.
I can’t help but invision the days of when Osborne faced off against Switzer in the old Big Eight days as a kid. It was the unofficial Big Eight title game when they played in those days.
Anyway, I agree with you about Pelini. He’ll get them turned around.
The defense was absolutely the worst they’ve ever had last year in my opinion, and like you said, it all starts up front.
The offense is fine with me, and it will take some time to get everyone on the same page despite the record they currently have along with the competition they’ve played.
The Big 12 is more balanced than ever, so it could be longer than what the Huskers want with expectations like they are in Lincoln. Like all the other prestigious programs out there, more is always expected of Nebraska football.
Nice work MoonDog!
Excellent article. We’ll have a pretty good report card on the Huskers after this weekend. The offense can put up a ton of points even though they are a bit too one-dimensional yet, while the defense is better in attitude and execution than the unit that quit on Callahan last year. Colorado and Kansas are beatable, but their games with Mizzou and Tech will be a wild ones. Both teams defenses will give up some points, but one wonders if the Huskers can hang with Chase Daniel/Graham Harrell and company. I am really looking forward to the game with OU, with hopes that we can restore the grand old rivalry to something like its former luster.
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