One thing that gets me just a tad is this...
Perlman hired Peterson. Yes, with backing from Osborne. But no one couldve seen what actually happened was going to happen. Then-when not only the football program, but on a much larger scale, the athletic department as a whole was in the shitter-he calls in Tom himself to "temporarily" take the position to not only clean up a bunch of messes, but make a lot of advances as well, not to mention one of the not the largest venture (conference change) this university ever has or ever will partake in. So, I think it to be a little troubling to me if Osborne wasnt at least asked what he thought or for his imput. Not saying TO should be allowed to actaully pick the guy, but allowing for a little input for the sake of continuity wouldnt hurt.
The Athletic Department as a whole wasn't foundering under Pederson. Several coaches very much liked and supported Pederson. Steve's big problem was... well, we all know what it was, so there's no need to rehash. It was a disaster, and we can all agree on that.
Tom's input was garnered in this search. It's not like Perlman shut his door on Tom Osborne and pulled some stunt all on his own.
Funny thing is, Perlman and Osborne have both supported the wrong guy at some point - Osborne with Solich and Perlman with Pederson. With 20/20 hindsight we can see that the Pederson hiring was a bit of a disaster. I thought Frank deserved another year, but Pederson had his own ideas. So it goes.