KC Sker
Five-Star Recruit
What a clown
What Did We Learn - Bowl Edition
- Thread starter runningblind
- Start date
Maybe i'm old school. OK, I am. I like a coach and staff with fire and passion. Light em up when they screw up and fire em up when they do good. Why did our ST's turn around so quickly? Passion, fire, pride....You hear anyone else on the team pre-season say I am going to lead the country in "X" statistic? Barney did...As a punt returner...That's the Ekeler effect. Look at his stops throughout his career. Each one he's had guys go into the league. Not only is he great at his craft, he's a motivator. Get's after it. It's contagious. I'd promote him to LB's. They'd be a top unit in the B1G next year. This year? Slow, out of place and lost. A liability. Like ST's last year.
Talking heads mentioned about half way through the season watching a Nebraska practice and not seeing any passion from the staff. Just going through practice....No firing em up or lighting em up....Just the process. Rhule and Co don't instill any passion in me as a fan watching them. They're just blah. Except Ekeler...Who fields the best unit on the team. From liability to dependability. In one year. With the same guys.
gobiggergoredder
All-American
You guys have it wrong. I learned this week it makes him look cool and it’s makes Nebraska more attractive to recruits. It doesn’t matter what product coach zip line puts on the field, it’s about selling recruits on how hip, exciting and fun the program is. Remember we are “chasing 3” and if we die we die. So many of you don’t understand he’s actually making the program better.
Nevermind, as I read that back it’s completely stupid. You are correct, he looks ridiculous and Nebraska football is bad.
HuskerNation1
All-American
I dont think anyone wants the team to lose, but the reality that Rhule is not the guy has set in for many fans. Most realized this about Riley and Frost after Year 3 as well. If you are a realist and accept this reality, then you are ready to give a new guy a chance. Others may believe Rhule can somehow win a conference title in the next year or two and want to give him more time. We have unfortunately been through this cycle way too many times as Husker fans the past decade.
BIG ERN
All-American
I will say I don't quickly forget we didn't make a bowl game for 7 straight years! Has Rhule been good? No. Has he been terrible for what he walked into and not being able to bring college staff and players with him? No.
I think it is acceptable to give him 2 more years. He is a good culture guy and leader but lacks top tier football knowledge. He has made some crap hires. He needs Aurich to be a great hire or will be playing full time golf in 28'
HuskerNation1
All-American
I do like that Rhule has focused on culture, but at some point more wins need to come or the players will stop believing the hype. I would also say that, while Rhule did not come directly from another college team where he could bring his own players, he has had the luxury of the portal and NIL to quickly assemble whatever team (and staff) he felt would take the program to the next level. And we also have seen where bringing over some players and staff did not result in success at the next school as Frost brought nearly his full UCF staff to Lincoln.
Dr. Strangelove
All-Conference
For me, I don't feel like Nebraska can fire Rhule, because they extended him. They aren't going to pay him $60 million to walk away after next season. The disappointing thing about Nebraska Football isn't just how they play now - they have regressed each and every season under Rhule, ending as a much worse team than they started - but the obvious reality that this isn't going to work and we have to suffer through at least two more seasons of this. That's on the AD for extending a coach before the games got difficult.
I am glad that Nebraska has taken advantage of easier schedules and they successfully dodged Tennessee because they're scared to play teams with a pulse - look what happens when they do - but they can't dodge conference games. They are in for a humbling experience next season unless they dramatically upgrade the roster while simultaneously finding new identities on both offense and defense.
There are so many issues with the Matt Rhule experiment at Nebraska that it's hard to list them, but the most glaring is player development which was supposed to be his entire schtick. Instead, he's recruited around 70 high school football players and a whopping 5 or 6 have become acceptable contributors. That's abysmal.
Hagg
Starter
To heck with the (rather silly) hat. No big deal. I‘m not getting personal when I disparage his appearance. I’m talking about his lost, defeated, corpse-like face during the game as the team on the field begins to take on the energy level of WWI soldiers succumbing to machine gun fire and mustard gas. That’s all.
Street Novelist
All-American
Ban this guy right now. I'm not even joking.
Jason Sitoke
All-Conference
Can someone explain why it is still necessary to extend coaches 4+ years in the future when most high-value recruits will transfer or otherwise leave within 2 years these days?
Toe
All-American
Because every other school is doing it, and coaches won't accept a lesser contract.
krc1995
Heisman Trophy Winner
Things sure weren’t downhill fast after the extension was signed
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
I think you're talking about the second half of the season, much like every season when the creampuffs are gone and we have to play our conference peers and superiors.
Some folks think the Penn State rumors were a hoax, but I'm pretty sure Matt Rhule was indeed on a shortlist (and it's not like Matt Campbell should be anyone's golden boy). If Rhule's Nebraska had pulled off a Michigan upset it might have gotten interesting.
El Straino
Special Teams Player
Sad but true. I haven’t seen any of the coaches in the playoffs wearing their hat backwards.