Stewart Mandel on the Huskers downfall

I think saying BC destroyed Husker football is naive at best. SP destroyed Husker football. He didn't give the coaches the tools they needed for recruiting until after he got rid of one. BC didn't work out, and he's not a very good headcoach. However, he isn't the one that destroyed the dynasty.

 
Callahan-Pederson-Pederson-Callahan....they're one in the same. Neither of them were worth a damn and are both just as guilty at destroying NU football as the next.

 
Nebraska's never been the same since Colorado. That loss destroyed the Solich era, which hardly bounced back. In our 9-3 season in 2003, we got creamed several times, and I mean really pasted. Solich was fired and our program was deemed to be "gravitating towards mediocrity" - which, in ways, it was. We tried a radical change, but we all know how that turned out.

I think the Colorado loss was a big turning point. Up to that point, we were flying high. 11-2 seasons were disappointments, and we were bringing back glory to the NU-OU rivalry with two straight #1 vs #2 years...we were undefeated, about to roll into the national championship, when out of nowhere we get *lambasted* by Colorado, *lambasted* by Miami, *lambasted* by half a dozen teams the next year, etc, etc.

So while we do all like to hate on Pedey and Cally, I think the magic was really lost on that random "WTH?!" day in November.

 
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junior4949 said:
I think saying BC destroyed Husker football is naive at best. SP destroyed Husker football. He didn't give the coaches the tools they needed for recruiting until after he got rid of one. BC didn't work out, and he's not a very good headcoach. However, he isn't the one that destroyed the dynasty.
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I would firstly say that destroyed is too strong because the term itself has the notion of permanance associated with it. NU may come back. I would say that the fall of NU football, like the fall of most things is the result of many contributors, all working in consort. In the case of the NU fall, I'd say the contributors are (in semi-chronological order):

1) the Big 8 becoming the Big 12, the schools from Texas had an impact that did no favors to NU

2) the mistake of hiring Solich rather than going with a nationally known certifiably excellent coach when NU was at its height of coach marketability --- this was a huge mistake This was Byrne's huge mistake

3) hiring Peterson (an easy mistake to make at the time for he seemed to be a solid candidate at the time) --- but, that said, he was a disaster

4) the handling of the Solich situation of firing the staff but not the HC --- and the the perceptions generated in firing Solich when the record was good

5) hiring Callahan --- many of us recognized that huge mistake the second he was announced as coach --- his interaction with players on the Raiders should have been a red flag of epic proportions, but was not seen by Peterson

These five all interacted together (or at least with implications that are interrelated) and led to the fall of NU --- and, at the same time, Missouri, Texas tech, and now Kansas have all improved dramatically (and Colorado seems headed in that direction too --- at least KState is going down).

No individual or single event caused the fall --- but all contributed

 
I think your #2 has some problems. I think it's extremely naive to believe hiring Solich was Byrne's mistake. He wanted to hire Bob Stoops. It was TO's decision, not Byrne's. Bob Stoops isn't exactly what I'd call a certifiably excellent coach at the time either as he had about the same credentials as Pelini has now (a great DC). A&M tried the certifiably excellent coach with Franchione, and we all know how it panned out.

 
zoogies said:
Nebraska's never been the same since Colorado. That loss destroyed the Solich era, which hardly bounced back. In our 9-3 season in 2003, we got creamed several times, and I mean really pasted. Solich was fired and our program was deemed to be "gravitating towards mediocrity" - which, in ways, it was. We tried a radical change, but we all know how that turned out.

I think the Colorado loss was a big turning point. Up to that point, we were flying high. 11-2 seasons were disappointments, and we were bringing back glory to the NU-OU rivalry with two straight #1 vs #2 years...we were undefeated, about to roll into the national championship, when out of nowhere we get *lambasted* by Colorado, *lambasted* by Miami, *lambasted* by half a dozen teams the next year, etc, etc.

So while we do all like to hate on Pedey and Cally, I think the magic was really lost on that random "WTH?!" day in November.
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I think you are spot on with this post........................it's like we got cursed that day like the Red Sox did with Babe Ruth and the Yankees!

 
junior4949 said:
I think your #2 has some problems. I think it's extremely naive to believe hiring Solich was Byrne's mistake. He wanted to hire Bob Stoops. It was TO's decision, not Byrne's. Bob Stoops isn't exactly what I'd call a certifiably excellent coach at the time either as he had about the same credentials as Pelini has now (a great DC). A&M tried the certifiably excellent coach with Franchione, and we all know how it panned out.
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can't speak to whose choice it was (nor can you) --- but Byrne was in the position of responsibility --- he made the offer --- which proved to be a mistake. TO could suggest only --- if Byrne conceded in his position of authority to do that which was against his better judgment --- well then Byrne made two mistakes (conceding against his judgment to an underling, TO, and in hiring Solich).

Stoops was not proven. And it is possible that a proven coach could fail. None of that changes the reality that Solich was a mistake and Byrne was, eminently, responsible.

 
BIGREDIOWAN said:
zoogies said:
Nebraska's never been the same since Colorado. That loss destroyed the Solich era, which hardly bounced back. In our 9-3 season in 2003, we got creamed several times, and I mean really pasted. Solich was fired and our program was deemed to be "gravitating towards mediocrity" - which, in ways, it was. We tried a radical change, but we all know how that turned out.

I think the Colorado loss was a big turning point. Up to that point, we were flying high. 11-2 seasons were disappointments, and we were bringing back glory to the NU-OU rivalry with two straight #1 vs #2 years...we were undefeated, about to roll into the national championship, when out of nowhere we get *lambasted* by Colorado, *lambasted* by Miami, *lambasted* by half a dozen teams the next year, etc, etc.

So while we do all like to hate on Pedey and Cally, I think the magic was really lost on that random "WTH?!" day in November.
Click to expand...
I think you are spot on with this post........................it's like we got cursed that day like the Red Sox did with Babe Ruth and the Yankees!
Click to expand...
Ditto.

 
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