HuskerNation1

Thanks all...I live in Central IL here as well, and it was rather scary here in Bloomington, but nothing like what Washington and other towns experienced.

I fire Bo. Things are subpar because of Bo not the coordinators.

 

Doesn't matter who the ACs are, the HC keeps them accountable. Bo hasn't gotten the job done. Enough of the scapegoating.

 

Whether it is Bo or his coordinators matters not. Either way, Bo is responsible... he hired them. He is the boss. The buck stops with Bo.

Totally agree here. While I don't believe our coaches were "outcoached" today as has been the case in other losses in recent years, it doesn't make sense to keep firing the coordinators when the HC simply isn't getting the job done.

I thought we would have established an offensive identity and maintained Pelini's defensive performance. We've done neither, though we have an opportunity to do both. Let's make no mistake about this: we are in a bad division of a bad conference. There is still an opportunity for Pelini to accomplish something.

You hit the nail on the head...bad division, bad conference, and with a soft schedule, this should have been the year to Pelini to accomplish something. What exactly is he going to accomplish this year? What major goal that the team set early in the year will be accomplished?

No more kool-aide please. We are 7-3 with a 3 point win over Wyoming, 2 wins against small schools, i.e. South Dakota State and Southern Miss, a couple wins over BIG 10 doormats, one loss, cough, I mean win against Northwestern, one good win over Michigan and 3 losses against the better teams, UCLA, Minnesota and Michigan State.

 

Take away the creampuffs at the beginning of the season and we are 4-3 with a lucky last minute win, so could be 3-4. I am tired of it. Today was as frustrating as it can get, to outplay the other team but to inflict so many turnovers, it's just sad. What makes anyone think next year will be different? We keep saying that every year. We are -2 in bowl games last two years, will probably have 1-2 more losses this year and I don't know, just need something to change...

 

I'm in agreement here. While I certainly agree that the defense has improved as the season has gone along, the offense has honestly remained stagnant and disappointing. At the end of the day a head coach is judged by his results, and while Pelini has been good, he's not been great, and is zero for six when it comes to winning championships. We are fortunate to be 7-3 right now as you stated, and could easily be 6-4 or 5-5.

 

We lost 75% of our offensive starters, played mostly underclass men and put up 28 on the #1 defense in college football.

 

The fact that we're winning games at all is impressing the hell out of me.

 

Stagnant and disappointing? Pfft.

Wow, the fact that you are impressed if Nebraska wins any games is pretty telling and shows how far the standard has dropped at NU. Had we played OSU and Wiscy this year like the past 2 seasons, we would be lucky to be 5-5 right now (with the luck coming on that Hail Mary pass against NW).

Something hit me after today's loss as I was trying to assess how to judge this year's team. I recall entering our first year of the Big Ten, and realizing that our first two seasons were going to be tough as we had to face OSU, Wisconsin, as well as those strong powerhouses on the Legends side. However, 2013 was the year we didn't have to play OSU and Wisconsin, and instead got Purdue and Illinois. This was the year we had a chance to run the table, so I thought back in 2011, and would be the year we would finally make a BCS game under Bo. I think that's what makes this season so hard to swallow...the lost opportunity to have a magical season. And now the reality has set in that, had we played the same schedule in 2013 as we did in 2011 and 2012, we would be 5-5 right now, and in the bottom half of the Legends division.

Entitlement does not equal accountability. The program is not where it should be. We should demand better. If Nebraska was a company and we the fans were stockholder, we wouldn't be embracing the current CEO despite 14 years of poor returns simply because the prior CEO appointed him. The culture of the program is the larger problem and also needs an overhaul.

I totally agree and have used the CEO analogy before. Bo is the CEO of this football team. He has a hand in every player and coach that makes up the team, and sets the culture by which the large team performs. As CEO, Bo definitely did a good job in turning the organization around, but peaked early and has since been stagnant or regressed with his team's performance.

It's fair to say that Nebraska doesn't mean much to most college football fans in 2013. Our elite status is a very distant memory for most (although I know it doesn't feel that far for most of us, myself included).

 

I'm a bit tired of the next year syndrome. But what can you do?

 

Next year is our year!

Hey, when you are a Cub fan, you get used to playing for next year. With that said, Nebraska should not ever go through a drought like this. I think the only way they stop that drought is through changes to the entire coaching staff. Today's loss wasn't caused by bad coaching decisions, but the sloppiness (turnovers, missed tackles) is a part of what has become Nebraska football these past 6 seasons.

No more kool-aide please. We are 7-3 with a 3 point win over Wyoming, 2 wins against small schools, i.e. South Dakota State and Southern Miss, a couple wins over BIG 10 doormats, one loss, cough, I mean win against Northwestern, one good win over Michigan and 3 losses against the better teams, UCLA, Minnesota and Michigan State.

 

Take away the creampuffs at the beginning of the season and we are 4-3 with a lucky last minute win, so could be 3-4. I am tired of it. Today was as frustrating as it can get, to outplay the other team but to inflict so many turnovers, it's just sad. What makes anyone think next year will be different? We keep saying that every year. We are -2 in bowl games last two years, will probably have 1-2 more losses this year and I don't know, just need something to change...

I'm in agreement here. While I certainly agree that the defense has improved as the season has gone along, the offense has honestly remained stagnant and disappointing. At the end of the day a head coach is judged by his results, and while Pelini has been good, he's not been great, and is zero for six when it comes to winning championships. We are fortunate to be 7-3 right now as you stated, and could easily be 6-4 or 5-5.

I don't put this loss on the coaching staff (like so many other losses). The defense played well, and the offense simply turned the ball over too much (24 pts off turnovers). With that said, it will be yet another season that Bo does not win a championship, and because of all the other ugly losses in past seasons, I think it's time for him to start packing. We need some fresh coaching blood in Lincoln, from top to bottom.

If we're going to fire him it'll be for UCLA and Minnesota. Not this game.

I totally agree with that. And let's not forget we were a hail mary away from losing to NW at home too. This game was coached better than most, but the players truly didn't execute (as Bo would say). But I also think that, typically when an AD fires a head coach, they are looking at the overall resume of the coach, and the trend line. Bo peaked with the 2009 team, and his teams have gotten gradually worse since then. He's zero for six when it comes to winning a championship.

While I agree the defense played well today given the 5 turnovers, they didn't play great in my mind. They gave up way too many big plays on 3rd and long, and I don't believe they got a single turnover themselves. To win tough games, the D needs to come up with some big plays themselves.

I don't put this loss on the coaching staff (like so many other losses). The defense played well, and the offense simply turned the ball over too much (24 pts off turnovers). With that said, it will be yet another season that Bo does not win a championship, and because of all the other ugly losses in past seasons, I think it's time for him to start packing. We need some fresh coaching blood in Lincoln, from top to bottom.

I think the defense played well given the number of turnovers. This was the first loss in a long time where I truly felt the players lost the game (rather than the coaches being outcoached). With that said, Bo will not win another championship, and to me the only way he would be able to save his job this year was to get to Indy and win.

First, kudos to the players for hanging in there and pulling this one out. I think we are all still on cloud nine from the amazing end to the game, but soon reality will set in that we were one hail mary away from another big loss. I think Tommy is the future but still has a lot of work to do, and the defense played great in the 2nd half. As for Bo, I don't think this changed a thing regarding his future with the team. If he was likely to go coming into the game, he's still there now. I still believe that Bo will have to win in Indy to keep his job one more year.

I agree that this is a very accurate assessment of this head coach and program and found it offers some hope for Big Red to return to greatness again.

If Nebraska doesn't make the Big Ten Championship game, Bo should be let go immediately after the Iowa game to allow maximum time to find a new coach, and maximum time for the assistant to prepare for the bowl game.

I think the only way Bo keeps his job is by making the Big Ten championship game and winning it. Otherwise, he will be 0 for 6 when it comes to conference championships, and that can be a talking point by the AD when he lets Bo go.

You guys think Richt is unattainable, but you mention guys like Lovie Smith and Dungy and Herm? Heck, why not add Cowher and Tomlin to the mix while you're at it.

 

All those names are unrealistic...

 

Including Petersen, Fitzgerald, and the easter bunny...

 

I don't think Petersen is too unrealistic.

 

Boise is struggling.

Petersen would be my top pick. He managed to make BCS games at a mid-level conference which is tough to do a single time, and he did it on more than one occasion. I think because of his past success, he will get the attention of recruits, and when Nebraska adds in the history and venue, it would be a more appealing proposition for prospects.

I haven't read this entire thread (it's getting rather long), so this might have been mentioned earlier, but with USC looking for a coach and Texas possibly looking for a coach, NU won't look all that exciting to the big names out there in coaching land.

 

That's all, carry on.

I totally agree with you, which actually supports the case to fire Bo sooner than later (possibly after the last regular season game) so the new coach can be selected. In these days most top coaches would likely choose Texas or USC over Nebraska in my opinion.

Wow, a lot of interesting views in this thread. As for the debate on whether Bo is progressing or regressing as a headcoach, I would have to agree with those who argue with the regression. Bo came in and did a bang up job in turning the program around, and in my opinion, his best team was the 2009 team that should have won the Big 12 championship (the offense stunk but the defense was better than spectacular). Since 2009, it seems as though the team and coaching staff have had way to many letdown games, miscues, bad decisions, etc... I'm sure it's debatable whether 2009 was the best season under Pelini, but the point is really twofold here:1. The defense has continued to get worse since 2009. 2. The 2009 season was one in which Bo was still using mostly players that the prior coach had recruited. Now that we have teams with all of Bo's recruits and coaches, things seem worse than when he first came in. Perhaps some will argue that he simply overachieved in 2009 and set the bar too high, but Nebraska isn't like your average football program. The bar will always be set high.

I think it's because Bo has been given so many chances, and this wasn't just an upset, we got straight up beat.

Right..there is always a game that breaks the camels back...meaning the fans say enough is enough. I thought that game might have been UCLA or perhaps one of the blowouts from last year, but it appears that this weekend's Gopher game may have been "it."

EZ-E-I think folks on here can still support the current coaching staff and players for the rest of the season while also believing that this head coach is not the one to lead us into the future. We're fans and have the right to look to the future and weigh in on what we think is best.

I hate that this is what we get to talk about midseason instead of excitement about the team's prospects for the rest of the season.

 

The UCLA loss sucked, but this Minnesota loss just took all the wind out of our sails.

I agree that is stinks. Something has indeed change as the traditional Bo defenders are no longer defending him. We've had many of these types of losses before in games we should have won, so I'm not sure why this game has caused the Bo defenders to go in hiding.

Any NFL coaches that might want to get back to the college level out there? I know Saban tried out the NFL and didn't like it and quickly moved back to college. Not sure if Chip Kelly or somebody else is out there that may want to get back in the college game. I know Chip is having a bad time at Philly, but that doesn't mean he would not be successful again at the collegiate level.

Shouldn't this be merged with the other thread where all the coaching suggestions were placed? Two things we don't want to do with our new head coach: #1-Pick another coordinator that has no head coaching experience. #2-Pick up another head coach that underperforms. As others have stated here, Richt has underperformed at Georgia, and although the SEC is a touch conference, he should have found a way to win the conference at some point during his tenure with the talent he can get at Georgia. There are many other good options out there.

It's evident how things have changed even from just a few weeks ago. During a major Nebraska loss, there were many Bo defenders all over this board...but today, it's hard to find them. Perhaps this Minnesota game is really when Bo lost the rest of the fan base.