Shawn Eichorst's public support of Mike Riley has backfired on a national level.

[lo country]

Some good quotes about the situation from the local beat writers:

From Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald, who describes Riley's first season as "a complete disaster":

Nebraska basically has two options: Fire the athletic director now, then the coach at the end of the season, as it did in 2007. Or ride this thing out. ... Practically speaking, Nebraska has no choice but to endure this disaster for three more weeks. Hope like heck that Riley can make the proper offseason decisions to turn it around in 2016.

From Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steven M. Sipple:

University leaders may soon -- very soon -- have to make a choice: gamble that Eichorst hired the right guy in Riley and ride out the rough waters, with or without Eichorst. Or start over again from scratch -- new AD, new coaching staff.

From Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel:

It doesnt get any lower, does it? Mike Riley was hired by Shawn Eichorst to avoid these embarrassments. Now the pitchforks are out and its not because of Halloween. Forget it. Neither Eichorst not Riley is getting fired and shouldnt. The Nebraska job would become radioactive in the coaching frat. Moreover, its not how Nebraska needs to do things. This is Rileys first year. Give the man some room.

That's the thing, we aren't going to fire Mike Riley in season one. No matter how bad the results. If we did, there is no way we'd be able to attract a decent coach. Lincoln would be toxic.

That's baloney. Money talks. You throw 4 or 5 mil at a hot young coach who's confident in his abilities and looking to make a name for himself, plus all the resources Nebraska has to offer, and he couldn't care less what the last coach did.

Everyone and their brother locally and nationally sees this hire as catastrophic. We fire him and the end of the season and throw cash and at a proven winner whose culture and scheme fit with NU. SE hired the wrong guy. He tried to show he was the smartest guy in the room and comes out looking the dumbest.

No way a sub .500 coach takes us to where NU wants to be. The national media getting on board makes the decision easier. This is my favorite:

Although we talk to people all over the country about college football programs who we will quote anonymously in this blog to protect their identity we have only quoted current college coaches THREE times in the last 9 football seasons and today will make it FOUR times. A couple of days after Mike Riley was hired by Nebraska from Oregon State last December we were having a drink with a current Pac-12 assistant coach who said to us the following:

“Perennially, the coach with the softest team in the Pac-12 is hired to be the head coach at Nebraska? Please…tell me what sense that makes! None is the answer to that question!”

THINK about this for a second…

Mike Riley who spent the vast majority of his life on the West Coast and almost all of his coaching career at Oregon State which has played on TV dozens of times so there is plenty of tape of the Beavers for anyone that was interested in hiring Riley to watch where in watching that tape they would have found mediocre football for the most part, but more importantly teams that could and often were pushed around when playing the big boys in Pac-12 conference play is the FIRST choice by Nebraska to be their head football coach?

Please…the Idiocy of the hiring of Mike Riley at Nebraska really knows NO DAMN bounds and points to someone….whether that be Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst or him and others that were involved in hiring Riley….that these folks just have…

No Damn Freaking Clue About Nebraska Football!

If we blame Bo's attitude for the way the guys played under him i.e. up and down, emotional, undisciplined etc then we have to blame the guys for the way they play under Riley and his personality......

 

[lo country]

To add, we fired a 9 win coach in Frank, 2 years after playing for the MNC. I didn't like it then or now for the record. Took some national heat. Hired and then justifiably fired Cally. Bo comes in and we fire another 9 win coach, BUT his attitude, tape gate and parting speech soften the national perception. Riley is hired and we are now the worst in the West, national punching bag, worst season since 1960, and possibly the first losing season at home IIRC. Not to mention how we lost and who we lost to.

No one in the media would blame NU for ending this experiment after year one. Have we improved at all from game 1 to game 9? IMO, no. Have we developed depth? Not by plan, only by injury. Does the defensive scheme work? No. Have the coaches attempted to fix it? No. Our running game is a joke. Not one guy close to 1000 yards yet. When was the last time that happened? No OL rotation. Save me the lectures about how no one rotates. (We don't even sub). Throw in the possibility of the team not "buying" in or losing faith in the coach, the panned presser answers and no one would give a second thought to firing this "experienced" staff.

With their great collective body of work, especially at NU with its better facilities and athletes, they should be quickly picked up by other power 5 schools. I feel bad for Bray and Wlliams as they were bright spots in what they have done for NU. They got hitched to the wrong wagons....

 

[VectorVictor]

Some good quotes about the situation from the local beat writers:

From Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald, who describes Riley's first season as "a complete disaster":
Nebraska basically has two options: Fire the athletic director now, then the coach at the end of the season, as it did in 2007. Or ride this thing out. ... Practically speaking, Nebraska has no choice but to endure this disaster for three more weeks. Hope like heck that Riley can make the proper offseason decisions to turn it around in 2016.

From Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steven M. Sipple:

University leaders may soon -- very soon -- have to make a choice: gamble that Eichorst hired the right guy in Riley and ride out the rough waters, with or without Eichorst. Or start over again from scratch -- new AD, new coaching staff.

From Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel:

It doesn’t get any lower, does it? Mike Riley was hired by Shawn Eichorst to avoid these embarrassments. Now the pitchforks are out and it’s not because of Halloween. Forget it. Neither Eichorst not Riley is getting fired and shouldn’t. The Nebraska job would become radioactive in the coaching frat. Moreover, it’s not how Nebraska needs to do things. This is Riley’s first year. Give the man some room.

That's the thing, we aren't going to fire Mike Riley in season one. No matter how bad the results. If we did, there is no way we'd be able to attract a decent coach. Lincoln would be toxic.

Bulls**t. The national media sees what an idiotic hire this is and how Riley is dragging Nebraska through the mud. Plus, historically, blue-blood programs like Nebraska will always attract suitors--I mean, for f***'s sake, look at Oklahoma after the Schellenberger debacle. Blake was picked because he could recruit to Oklahoma after Gibbs and Schellenberger almost ruined their pipelines and picked a staff that countered his deficiencies as a head coach, but Oklahoma had their choice in suitors--no one thought the job was 'toxic' or 'nuclear' or any other foreboding adjective you want to dig up.

And it's telling that the only NC and most of Stoop's success was front-loaded off of Blake's recruits. Granted, there are probably lingering concerns about *HOW* Blake got those recruits to Oklahoma, all things considered...but the point is that there was still a line of qualified candidates for the Oklahoma job, even after the one-and-done Howard Schellenberger debacle.

Yeah, this whole program *HAS* turned into a rebuilding project now, as we're likely to lose another recruiting class, but I'd rather rebuild now than endure another year or two of this s***show and be mired that much deeper in the mud. The slower we are to react, the longer it will take to dig ourselves out.

To add, we fired a 9 win coach in Frank, 2 years after playing for the MNC. I didn't like it then or now for the record. Took some national heat. Hired and then justifiably fired Cally. Bo comes in and we fire another 9 win coach, BUT his attitude, tape gate and parting speech soften the national perception. Riley is hired and we are now the worst in the West, national punching bag, worst season since 1960, and possibly the first losing season at home IIRC. Not to mention how we lost and who we lost to.

No one in the media would blame NU for ending this experiment after year one. Have we improved at all from game 1 to game 9? IMO, no. Have we developed depth? Not by plan, only by injury. Does the defensive scheme work? No. Have the coaches attempted to fix it? No. Our running game is a joke. Not one guy close to 1000 yards yet. When was the last time that happened? No OL rotation. Save me the lectures about how no one rotates. (We don't even sub). Throw in the possibility of the team not "buying" in or losing faith in the coach, the panned presser answers and no one would give a second thought to firing this "experienced" staff.

With their great collective body of work, especially at NU with its better facilities and athletes, they should be quickly picked up by other power 5 schools. I feel bad for Bray and Wlliams as they were bright spots in what they have done for NU. They got hitched to the wrong wagons....

Well said, Lo Country.

 

[True2tRA]

That letter was nothing but an insult to our intelligence. We can smell his bullsh#t from a mile away.

Yeah, this place has smelled for a while.

 

[FriendlyLurker2007]

Sorry if unrelated but, I feel that at least with Bo at the helm there was a little hope in each game. Even when we did lose big there was still hope. With this staff early on there is very little hope to win any of our upcoming games.

 

[Hujan]

My, my. Look how entitled the national media has become.

 

[Hujan]

To add, we fired a 9 win coach in Frank, 2 years after playing for the MNC. I didn't like it then or now for the record. Took some national heat. Hired and then justifiably fired Cally. Bo comes in and we fire another 9 win coach, BUT his attitude, tape gate and parting speech soften the national perception. Riley is hired and we are now the worst in the West, national punching bag, worst season since 1960, and possibly the first losing season at home IIRC. Not to mention how we lost and who we lost to.

No one in the media would blame NU for ending this experiment after year one. Have we improved at all from game 1 to game 9? IMO, no. Have we developed depth? Not by plan, only by injury. Does the defensive scheme work? No. Have the coaches attempted to fix it? No. Our running game is a joke. Not one guy close to 1000 yards yet. When was the last time that happened? No OL rotation. Save me the lectures about how no one rotates. (We don't even sub). Throw in the possibility of the team not "buying" in or losing faith in the coach, the panned presser answers and no one would give a second thought to firing this "experienced" staff.

With their great collective body of work, especially at NU with its better facilities and athletes, they should be quickly picked up by other power 5 schools. I feel bad for Bray and Wlliams as they were bright spots in what they have done for NU. They got hitched to the wrong wagons....

Exactly right.

Callahan was horrible and justified. Bo was less about on the field (although there was plenty to gripe about there) than him being a lunatic. Riley is all about a bad fit and career "Meh" coach. The only thing you could argue with is that we should have fired Bo after the Iowa game in the 2013 season. Everyone in the national media was acting like he was already fired.

Knowing Eichorst, he'll probably keep Riley this year, then fire him next year after he goes 8-5.

 

[VectorVictor]

Knowing Eichorst, he'll probably keep Riley this year, then fire him next year after he goes 8-5.

Damn, you're quite the optimist.

 

[onlyHskrfaninIL]

It's really gonna backfire when the team quits in the second quarter and they lose by 50 Saturday - on national TV. If I was Riley I'd be having a come to jesus moment with my assistants and players.

 

[84HuskerLaw]

All the Nebraska bashers come out in force. It is such a joke.

Time will tell but I don't think the University of Nebraska should be following the instructions of people whose only way of making a living in sports is to criticize those who are actually making a living in sports! The failures offer their most valuable opinions on others' failures! I don't think we need pay much attention to the 'national' media (basically those who don't have any real idea what Nebraska and Nebraska fans are all about!

 

[RunRedRun]

Some good quotes about the situation from the local beat writers:

From Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald, who describes Riley's first season as "a complete disaster":

Nebraska basically has two options: Fire the athletic director now, then the coach at the end of the season, as it did in 2007. Or ride this thing out. ... Practically speaking, Nebraska has no choice but to endure this disaster for three more weeks. Hope like heck that Riley can make the proper offseason decisions to turn it around in 2016.

From Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steven M. Sipple:

University leaders may soon -- very soon -- have to make a choice: gamble that Eichorst hired the right guy in Riley and ride out the rough waters, with or without Eichorst. Or start over again from scratch -- new AD, new coaching staff.

From Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel:

It doesn’t get any lower, does it? Mike Riley was hired by Shawn Eichorst to avoid these embarrassments. Now the pitchforks are out and it’s not because of Halloween. Forget it. Neither Eichorst not Riley is getting fired and shouldn’t. The Nebraska job would become radioactive in the coaching frat. Moreover, it’s not how Nebraska needs to do things. This is Riley’s first year. Give the man some room.

That's the thing, we aren't going to fire Mike Riley in season one. No matter how bad the results. If we did, there is no way we'd be able to attract a decent coach. Lincoln would be toxic.

People keep saying that, but no one provides any evidence.

I'll head right over to Shawn Eichorst's house, tap on his bedroom window, and get a signed affidavit from him.

And this would prove the coaching job is toxic how? The lack of logic here befuddles me!

Wut?

How would asking Eichorst if the coaching job would be toxic, PROVE that it would be toxic??? Follow the conversation line its not rocket science, or do we need Eichorst to sign off on that one as well?

 

[84HuskerLaw]

These are the same types that would also say Tom Osborne and his out dated and 'slow' teams couldn't win against the Gators and the Hurricanes and Seminoles and all those 'fast' teams that would run rings around the slow 'plodding' Huskers.

Their opinions are worthless to me. Nebraska needs to take care of its own family and issues 'in house'. Everybody else should "butt out'!

 

[Hujan]

Some good quotes about the situation from the local beat writers:

From Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald, who describes Riley's first season as "a complete disaster":
Nebraska basically has two options: Fire the athletic director now, then the coach at the end of the season, as it did in 2007. Or ride this thing out. ... Practically speaking, Nebraska has no choice but to endure this disaster for three more weeks. Hope like heck that Riley can make the proper offseason decisions to turn it around in 2016.

From Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steven M. Sipple:

University leaders may soon -- very soon -- have to make a choice: gamble that Eichorst hired the right guy in Riley and ride out the rough waters, with or without Eichorst. Or start over again from scratch -- new AD, new coaching staff.

From Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel:

It doesn’t get any lower, does it? Mike Riley was hired by Shawn Eichorst to avoid these embarrassments. Now the pitchforks are out and it’s not because of Halloween. Forget it. Neither Eichorst not Riley is getting fired and shouldn’t. The Nebraska job would become radioactive in the coaching frat. Moreover, it’s not how Nebraska needs to do things. This is Riley’s first year. Give the man some room.

That's the thing, we aren't going to fire Mike Riley in season one. No matter how bad the results. If we did, there is no way we'd be able to attract a decent coach. Lincoln would be toxic.

Disagree completely. This would not be an unjustified firing. If a coach thinks he can't do better than 3-9 and is thus afraid to come here, I don't want him.

Plus, think about it this way: Could we really fire a third coach in three years? Arguably the safest place in the short term for a good coach is Nebraska.

 

[VectorVictor]

It's really gonna backfire when the team quits in the second quarter and they lose by 50 Saturday - on national TV. If I was Riley I'd be having a come to jesus moment with my assistants and players.

The only way Riley will be able to pull off a Come-To-Jesus meeting with the players and coaches is if someone puts him in a robe and nails him to a cross.

If Riley can't motivate this team to win against Purdue, how is he going to get them up to playing a team with a pulse?

 

[Redux]

So here is my take on our current situation. Read it or don't, just wanted to get my thoughts out there to vent a little.

When I read, on here, that Mike Riley was the new coach I was fairly disappointed. I didn't have to google him, I was familiar with his Beaver squad. I enjoyed several of his upsets over the years, especially the USC win on a Thursday night in 2008 I think, penny pitcher night in Milligan. But I also knew of the more recent squads and how his tenure had become stale.

Days later I let myself buy into the reasoning. He is experienced, he has had bug upsets, he is well respected, he can recruit, he wants to be here etc etc. By BYU I was convinced there would be no transition, we would contend for a division title. That was the standard after all, set in stone by ADSE. Then we lost on a fluke Hail Mary. That hurt. Almost 30 seasons of winning the opener gone. Not exactly his fault, but I didn't like how the end was handled as far as time goes.

Went to the USA game and had one of the best times I have ever had at a game. Felt good again. Then Miami. Call it a gutsy comeback all you want, and it was. But we got blown out in that game. Lets not pretend it was a back and forth war, we rolled over for 3 quarters. The reason we were still in it is because Al Golden, now fired, let us back in. Kudos to the team, but we earned that loss. A week later we almost returned the favor to a hapless Southern Miss team.

Enter conference play. Low scoring ugly lead late against Illinois. Interim HC Bill Cubit managed to find a way to beat us in the end. We entered league play 2-3 (0-1). I was highly concerned.

The Minnesota win felt really good, like we had turned a corner. Unfortunately they aren't as good as once advertised and coach Kill has resigned since then. We then control Wisconsin yet let them hang around and beat us at home. We then lett Northwestern control us at home and they eventually had us. 3-5 (1-3)

Then came the gimme game in West Laffayette. A team that hadn't won a home conference game in like 3 years. Worst rush defense in league. They came out and beat us up. The team looked defeated by half time, guys were giving up. The staff had no real answers. The gimme team hung 55 on us and won by 10. 3-6 (1-4)

No we host the #6 team in the country. We have almost no chance of winning, yet here I am thinking we could trap them and steal a win. Probably doesn't save the season or get us into bowl contention but it would be SOMETHING.

There is a guy here in my small town named Lawrence, older gentlement. For as long as I remember he has had a sign in his yard in fall. The sign has Nebraska and the opponents name on it followed by a score prediction. He always predicts us to win, and comes pretty close. I drove by last night. The sign is gone. That's where we are as a program right now.

I have been vocal about this staff not being a good fit, but still had hope for 2016. After Purdue, I don't see it. Riley looks defeated. Not just in a "hey we lost this sucks" sense. But in an overwhelmed by the position sense. We have seen it with our last 4 coaches. The job is demanding, wins don't happen automatically here and recruits are even harder to get here.

Is he in over his head? Maybe. But we all know he is getting another year to right this wrong. I still think he is a good damn coach. But his best years may be behind him and this culture may not be what he expected. That is a recipe for diasaster folks. I want him and his staff to make this program great again, what a story it would be. I just don't feel it. I feel like I did when he was first announced. Instead of the dark times ending, I feel like a whole new era of below average football is in store.

I hate it. I hate feeling this way. We as fans need something to be proud of again. I can't even tell KSU fans to shut up anymore. This is a plea Coach Riley, look at this program for what it is and understand what it takes to be successful here. This isn't the West Coast or the NFL. It's something more, something special. We don't WANT to turn on you, it's just the nature of the beast when we aren't properly taken care of.