Rhule: Why he’ll succeed/Why he’ll fail

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fru
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Fru said:
In 2010 Helu and TMart both had 1000+ rushing yards, and Rex had 990. Essentially three 1000 yard rushers, and I remember reading on a different Neb message board about how terrible Shawn Watson was and how much better Tim Beck was going to be. 
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Offensive coordinators are kind of like quarterbacks in that they get too much praise for the good and too much condemnation for the bad.

Watson and Bo spent two years in a lab together secretly concocting a Frankenstein WCO/zone-read offense that was absolutely lethal and deadly...

until Taylor got hurt and teams figured it out. Then we were dead in the water, ending the season with our runningback as second-string quarterback, scoring the least amount of points of any team that year against A&M, getting stopped multiple time with only a yard or two to gain against OU, and being completely uninterested in the Washington rematch.

 
brophog said:
That said, I've been very impressed with how quickly he's acquiesced to the Nebraska culture, and not just football. The spring game tribute to Frank, and using the FB first play, I think that's his nod to the fans that he's going to respect that past. I would say, as general criticism of several past Nebraska coaches, one of the failings has been too tightly clinging to the past. Sometimes we are all guilty of living 30 years ago, and the game has changed greatly in that time frame. When you look at some of the top programs today, they're traditional powers that had semi lengthy down times and much of what has gotten them back on top is bringing in and accepting new ideas.
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Could you elaborate on this a bit? What coaches have clung to the past? Because honestly I just don’t see it. 
 

Callahan and Riley absolutely didn’t. Bo kind of embraced the past, but I don’t think he was ever terribly preoccupied by it. He did things his own way. Frost would make the occasional reference or bring in a teammate from the 90’s to give a pep talk, but at the time, Frost was as modern of a coaching candidate as we could get. 
 

I hear this “Stuck in the 90’s” or “Stuck in the Past” trope constantly but I really just don’t see it. If Neb was stuck in the 90’s, wouldn’t we be still trying to run the option with walk ons from Ord?

Was hiring two Pro Style/West Coast guys a result of us being “stuck in the 90’s?”

Bo was seen as an excellent hire at the time. Frost was considered an absolute home run hire. If both of those were considered to be good hires at the time, isn’t that a good thing, and not a result of being fixated on an antiquated approach?
 

Since 2003, I’d say Neb has been far more preoccupied with modernizing and reinventing itself than clinging to a bygone era. Sure, some folks on Twitter use the 90’s titles as a crutch when they’re getting roasted. Aside from that though, I think the Neb fan base could not be more focused on the future, and not the rear view mirror. 

 
brophog said:
I don't even know what to think about that, given where college football may be at in a few years. The Big Ten isn't done expanding, which means the SEC probably isn't done expanding. When we get to years 4 or 5, when this question would come up, what does 8 wins even mean at that point? Alabama may still get into a 12 team playoff with 8 wins. :D
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Of course things can change.  But, my comments are based on if the CFB environment is roughly similar to what it is today.  If we win 8 games in the regular season and somehow we are still competing for championships, then obviously, there would be much less grumbling than if they win 8 games and never sniff a championship.

 
Fru said:
This thought has crossed my mind. It’s way down the line, but I can very well see a scenario where Rhule gets to 7 or 8 wins pretty quickly and the fan base is starting to feel confident, and then things just kind of plateau and the grumbling begins. 
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God, I know we Husker fans can be dense, but I think everyone recognizes now that firing Frank period, minimum and Pelini when we did were both mistakes. Assuming Rhule doesn't have Pelini's anger management skills or other controversy, I think most would be content with seasons that range from 8-11 wins annually. 

 
Born N Bled Red said:
God, I know we Husker fans can be dense, but I think everyone recognizes now that firing Frank period, minimum and Pelini when we did were both mistakes. Assuming Rhule doesn't have Pelini's anger management skills or other controversy, I think most would be content with seasons that range from 8-11 wins annually. 
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My point was more about “What if 8-4 is Rhule’s ceiling?” We’re then Minnesota. Respectable seasons without ever threatening for anything meaningful. 

If Rhule gets the occasional 11 win season, that likely means we’re threatening for a B1G title and potential Rose Bowl/Playoff berth. If that happens I think the fan base will be fine if there’s then an occasional 8-4 or 7-5 season. 

 
Lorewarn said:
scoring the least amount of points of any team that year against A&M
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Fru said:
My point was more about “What if 8-4 is Rhule’s ceiling?” We’re then Minnesota. Respectable seasons without ever threatening for anything meaningful. 

If Rhule gets the occasional 11 win season, that likely means we’re threatening for a B1G title and potential Rose Bowl/Playoff berth. If that happens I think the fan base will be fine if there’s then an occasional 8-4 or 7-5 season. 
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you let him stick around for 30 years and then he reels off 3 NC's at the end of his career and retires. 

 
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Born N Bled Red said:
God, I know we Husker fans can be dense, but I think everyone recognizes now that firing Frank period, minimum and Pelini when we did were both mistakes. Assuming Rhule doesn't have Pelini's anger management skills or other controversy, I think most would be content with seasons that range from 8-11 wins annually. 
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I don't recognize that. Was absolutely the right decision. Ya, we got way worse than we were when they were here, but look no further than the heights of their coaching careers after leaving here to see that they did not have the chops to get us where we want to be. Need to be competing for titles. If not, move on. Sure, may be in vain but the culture of the state is to strive for excellence. We don't tend to be a "settling" type in anything we do. 

 
Fru said:
There’s no reason Neb can’t routinely threaten for a B1G Title and a playoff spot with the expanded field.
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What makes you say that? Is it because Rhule is that much better of a coach than the others in the B1G West? Or just because we used to be good and we still sell out the stadium?

Because I'd tend to say it's the opposite. Given the last six years for us, there aren't many reasons I can come up with that Nebraska can ever routinely threaten for a B1G Title and a playoff spot.

 
BigRedBuster said:
I disagree.
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The big one I can come up with is NIL. I think that our foundation of boosters, fans, and where we rank in net revenue suggests that in this new era where the players basically get paid a salary as semi-professionals, we probably have a leg up in that area over most of the rest of the B1G West.

We have to be on the bleeding edge of paying players and being an attractive spot for portal targets to land. And it kind of looks like we're doing that.

 
Undone said:
What makes you say that? Is it because Rhule is that much better of a coach than the others in the B1G West? Or just because we used to be good and we still sell out the stadium?

Because I'd tend to say it's the opposite. Given the last six years for us, there aren't many reasons I can come up with that Nebraska can ever routinely threaten for a B1G Title and a playoff spot.
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What makes you think that Neb can’t achieve the competitiveness that Iowa, Wis, NW and Purdue have been able to achieve recently? They’ve all cracked an otherworldly code that Neb can’t possibly figure out because we made a couple bad hires and have had a bad 6 year run? That can’t possibly be reversed? 

 

 
This is why Rhule will not succeed. Don't care that I'm bringing it up and everyone will bash me for it. There's just entirely too many instances to ignore.




 
He'll succeed because why the hell not !? We have suffered long enough,  its over, the suckatude at nebraska is finished. We win now and that's just the way its gonna be. Go Big flippin Red ! :horns2

 
57 minutes ago, Loebarth said:

This is why Rhule will not succeed. Don't care that I'm bringing it up and everyone will bash me for it. There's just entirely too many instances to ignore.

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Uhm....are you talking about a referee conspiracy against Nebraska that will not allow any coach to succeed?

 
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