On Bo Pelini's values: What he says vs. what he does

[Guy Chamberlin]

We made the right move, no doubt about it.

But nobody would give a hoot had he brought a couple trophies home during his tenure. He would probably still be here. The rants and the blowouts are nice covers for the real reason we all wanted him gone.

Yeah, but the more I read about it, the more I realize it was Bo's preference for loyal unqualified underlings and the anger he reserverd for anyone who questioned him that kept us from getting the hardware. It was all part of the same package.

Some might argue the 9/10 wins were the cover for Bo's apologists, who painted his outbursts as a creation of the national media instead of a sign that the coach - and team - were out of control.

Let's face it, Bo Pelini might still be here if he was willing to throw Beck and Papuchis under the bus.

To his credit, Bo stayed true to himself: a bad coach who refused to change.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

I understand its the offseason, but this isnt even speculating. This is dwelling. Most of the fanbase wont forgive Bo for his taped rants and his lack of adjusting etc etc when its really just the fact he didnt bring a trophy home. Thats it. The lack of hardware is really the base of the hatred. He just made it convenient to blame his shortcomings by offering so many.

But really, its the lack of trophies. Lets be honest here. We saw that after 7 years we werent any closer to a MNC, and it was time to move on. Bo made it easy by calling the AD names and many other "unforgivable" acts.

Just cracks me up a bit.

I view this from a different angle. Bo was such as a$$ from the start, and he got away with it at first by winning more than Callahan, and by not being Callahan. Once that wore off, and the teams weren't improving, while he continued to be an a$$, it was just a matter of time.

It is true that an MNC would've bought him quite a few more years and even a conference championship would've saved his job for awhile, I think had he been less combative he would've lasted a lot longer even with his record. I know, Solich was a company man all the way but plenty were happy when he went; I just don't think that scenario was going to be repeated.

 

[JJ Husker]

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time now? How do things like this happen? I'm here almost everyday.......

I had to go about 8 pages deep to resurrect it but it was the first one that seemed to fit and I sure wasn't going to start a new one.

 

[JJ Husker]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

But they defended this bad guy to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

One of Pelini's loyalists is some guy named Osborne.

So? What does that mean to you? Since Osborne is the epitome of all things Husker, do you think that means Bo was a good thing? You're constantly throwing in little comments like this but you don't seem to have the balls to directly say what you mean. Now is your chance.

 

[jsneb83]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

But they defended this bad guy to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

Awkward? Absolutely. But all you have to do is talk to the people who were in your corner. And Bo had a lot of them for a very long time.

You can layer in a lot of vitriol with the things you DON'T say.

But you gotta say something.

Unless you are hopelessly thin-skinned.

And have no class.

I think there were more people who were just supporting our coach and not actually being loyalists.

 

[jsneb83]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

But they defended this bad guy to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

One of Pelini's loyalists is some guy named Osborne.

Yeah, it's like he hired the guy or something.

 

[Enhance]

We made the right move, no doubt about it.

But nobody would give a hoot had he brought a couple trophies home during his tenure. He would probably still be here. The rants and the blowouts are nice covers for the real reason we all wanted him gone.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same deal with guys like Saban - if he was losing to LSU and Auburn often, not winning SEC championships and winning 9/10 games a year, he would be out. I know there are a lot of things that separate these two programs, but, there's also a lot that make them similar. The point and comparison I'm making is that Saban is snarky, gets angry on the sidelines and routinely treats the media like garbage - all things Pelini did. But, if Pelini had the same hardware as Saban, few people would care and he would certainly still have a job at Nebraska.

 

[4skers89]

We made the right move, no doubt about it.

But nobody would give a hoot had he brought a couple trophies home during his tenure. He would probably still be here. The rants and the blowouts are nice covers for the real reason we all wanted him gone.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same deal with guys like Saban - if he was losing to LSU and Auburn often, not winning SEC championships and winning 9/10 games a year, he would be out. I know there are a lot of things that separate these two programs, but, there's also a lot that make them similar. The point and comparison I'm making is that Saban is snarky, gets angry on the sidelines and routinely treats the media like garbage - all things Pelini did. But, if Pelini had the same hardware as Saban, few people would care and he would certainly still have a job at Nebraska.

JJ pointed out some things about Pelini that directly hurt his chances to win. I don't know how Saban acts behind the scene and how he runs his program. Since Pelini didn't have near the success that Saban has I would conclude that there are important differences between the two. I'm suggesting coaches behavior and success are intertwined but easy to distinguish and it's the former that cost Bo his job.

 

[Enhance]

We made the right move, no doubt about it.

But nobody would give a hoot had he brought a couple trophies home during his tenure. He would probably still be here. The rants and the blowouts are nice covers for the real reason we all wanted him gone.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same deal with guys like Saban - if he was losing to LSU and Auburn often, not winning SEC championships and winning 9/10 games a year, he would be out. I know there are a lot of things that separate these two programs, but, there's also a lot that make them similar. The point and comparison I'm making is that Saban is snarky, gets angry on the sidelines and routinely treats the media like garbage - all things Pelini did. But, if Pelini had the same hardware as Saban, few people would care and he would certainly still have a job at Nebraska.

JJ pointed out some things about Pelini that directly hurt his chances to win. I don't know how Saban acts behind the scene and how he runs his program. Since Pelini didn't have near the success that Saban has I would conclude that there are important differences between the two. I'm suggesting coaches behavior and success are intertwined but easy to distinguish and it's the former that cost Bo his job.

That's kind of what I eluded to - though the programs have differences and similarities, the coaches did as well. The similarities I mentioned. The differences, IMHO, come down to the psychology of the team and the sport itself. I don't think anyone would question that Pelini has a high football IQ and knows what he's doing, but, I would certainly argue he has a tough time keeping teams mentally focused and getting them prepared for the task at hand. A great example I've gone to in the past is the bowl game against South Carolina. At one point, we knew South Carolina was going to try a Hail Mary, the fans knew it, the media knew it. We had time, before the play in a timeout, to tell our players don't let ANYONE get behind you. What happened? A WR got behind our DB's for a touchdown. Though not to that extreme, those types of mental lapses were routine.

I personally believe teams are extensions of their head coaches, and as we saw in glimpses, Pelini is a very 'us-against-the-world' to an extreme and loses his cool far too often to set a good example.

The psychology of sport is a fascinating topic, and though the players plus the coaching have a big influence, mental preparation is critical.

 

[zoogs]

I'd like to hear something that definitely explains the relative inexperience of the assistant coaches that Bo chose. I've considered

1. Advised to do so by TO since some of his success was due to having a staff that had been together for a long time. The logic being that giving a chance to an inexperienced assistant they would feel indebted and less likely to leave.

2. Wanted assistants that wouldn't challenge him. Often speculated on HB

3. The people he had worked with in the past knew him and didn't want to work with him again unless it greatly benefited them such as a jump up in status. I had this thought after a Bielema interview when he made a comment about working with Bo as a GA and said something about Bo was probably always yelling at him. Nice dig by Bert but got me thinking. Did experienced assistants turn him down? \

Based on what you've heard 2 & 3 seem to fit.

I actually think it's none of these. I'd go with what a few media members have alluded to in the past, which is that Nebraska should stop being a graduate school for assistant coaches. I think Bo is at the bottom of it all a family man who knows what it's like as a coach trying to come up and make it, and he wanted to 'pay it forward' with everyone who worked with him.

Another aspect is probably just that being a younger hire at the time, and maybe just kind of his personality, he didn't have as deep a network of trusted contacts to draw from.

#1 is just a positive to talk about when it's a given that you have continuity (we focus on the positives, after all). #2 I don't totally buy into, but it's a common criticism. #3 I'd be a surprised if that was all of it, as many who've worked with Bo have also been fiercely loyal to him.

I'm looking forward to the Riley regime since he does not seem like someone that has the same flaws. The fact that experienced assistants want to work for him says a lot.

Definitely agree on this -- especially if it's true that we scored our new RBs coach away from Harbaugh.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

But they defended this bad guy to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

One of Pelini's loyalists is some guy named Osborne.

That's Tom's problem. Not ours.

 

[Redux]

Of course Tom is loyal to Bo, he hired him. That and he feels a connection through the early struggles yet winning games, just not enough for fans.