cheekygeek

It's fun to banter about possible Head Coaches, but I'd like to remind people of this article about Trev Alberts from nearly one year ago. Read it as a window into the mind and soul of Trev Alberts, because his opinion is the only one that counts. This is a quote most have probably forgotten: This, I believe, is the strength that Mickey Joseph has brought to the table. He's approachable, he's humble, but he's no-nonsense and he's principled. And if I've seen anything from his Interim Day One until now, it is concern for the "the kids" and putting them first - while at the same time emphasizing their contract with the University of Nebraska (not loyalty to a person). If Mickey has shown anything it is that he is a leader of men - Garrett Nelson doesn't appear to be the only one who wants to "ride with Mickey". You might recall that after Whipple chewed out Thompson on the sideline (Indiana game), Mickey did not interfere or join the conversation (though he was standing right there). But watch the end of it: he immediately did wheel around and follow Thompson AFTER the butt chewing. Call it Good Cop/Bad Cop, but a good journalist would have asked Thompson what Mickey said to him when that happened. I have the feeling it was something to encourage him and build him up. That's something he can't do if he's calling his own plays. That's the kind of CEO stuff that Trev wants to see on the sideline. One question I would be asking is who Mickey would like to get to be his O-Line coach. I had the feeling that Frost was given a particular budget to make changes with, and he spent more than he wanted to on MJ, Whipple, Busch, and Applewhite - so the hiring of Raiola was sort of a (bad) budget move. If Frost really wanted to save his bacon, he would have made O-Line his priority - but he was always more about the "skill position players" (a misnomer in my book, since every position requires skill).

You seem to have confused my statement of fact and assumed that I’m for a position that I’m not even taking. Your last post is the equivalent of a parent saying “We’ll if we’re going to say he needs to go to his room, why don’t we just beat the stuffing out of him?” Not terribly rational.

NU’s marketing department should approach BK about sponsoring a “Whopper Stop of the Game” in addition to the McDonalds “Big Mac Sack”.

The Blackshirts started out as simply “black shirts” but it became a BRAND (a secondary brand - as “Whopper” is to “Burger King”). Brands have value, but only if their reputation is maintained. If the Whopper became small compared to the average burger - it becomes a joke & requires a reboot. That’s what MJ is doing here - something that is sorely needed - a reevaluation of EVERyTHing that has made this group practice & play like it has. Right now, this team is being KILLED by its O-Line play. If they opened (even creases) for our NFL-caliber running back & could keep our QB from getting maimed this season we would really have something.

Odd position for someone with your Huskerboard avatar to take!

Agree. Wouldn’t the EASIEST thing for Mickey to do been NOT make this move? Setting the example of not caring what the outside world thinks, doing things that are hard (& not what people expect) and being accountable only to yourself, your teammates and your coaches is part of Mickey’s reboot process. Regardless of what happens this week against Purdue - he has them pulling together & moving in the right direction. But MAN, if he could pull off a signature win, on the road, at Purdue this week - I think Husker Nation would be demanding that Trev give him the keys to the castle. Not that Trev doesn’t have eyes & ears to make the right decision without fan input - but excitement is what puts butts in the seats and keeps the sellout streak going (for Realsies).

Purdue runs a pro style offense. I'm guessing Mickey is leaning a little harder on his NFL DC brother for some advice this week. Maybe talking to him a bit at half time, too? Busch simplified the D when he took over and it has clearly paid some dividends. But if your D is too simple, you make it easier for the opponent to game plan - especially with a couple weeks of film to work with. I'm hopeful that as the D makes progress he is able to throw in a few new wrinkles to hopefully CORNfuse offences.

Not doubting you, but can you share the source that mentions this? Specifically the "first 30 days after the coach leaves". I've seen it worded as "head coach changes", which is somewhat different. Couple of questions: Does this mean that if an interim Head Coach leaves, everybody gets another transfer window of 30 days? If not, this explains why firing head coaches mid-season is going to be a thing. I believe that fewer players are likely to transfer during the season. If you fire a HC at the end of a season (along with a lot of other schools) you are all shopping for a new HC at the same time, and the players have a lot of time to entertain interest from prospective transfer-seeking schools.

Assuming he COULD keep them around. They will likely be HOT commodities to other P5 programs (in some capacity).

Keep in mind that he’s also doing it with an inherited assistant coaching staff. We don’t know who he would replace/ bring-in.

The recruiting aspect is a huge point. Judging Mickey SOLELY on what he does with an inherited (and fundamentally flawed) roster this season IGNORES the intriguing prospect of what he could do with the kind of team that he can recruit. Who is the last Husker FB coach who was a star recruiter?

Playing Purdue THIS WEEK, means throw out the stats and look at the matchups as they are NOW. This is no longer their early season O-Line. Purdue will be shifting their LT to RT to replace their second string RT - who is now Out for the Season. The #1 RT suffered a career-ending injury earlier. The new LT is a redshirt freshman that Purdue admits is undersized. Nebraska's D has a chance to get after their QB. After talking about options to move pieces and create a decent OL, the article says: https://www.hammerandrails.com/2022/10/10/23396773/purdue-football-injury-ends-ol-daniel-johnsons-season The Blackshirts are a unit that is growing more confident in themselves and it shows on the field. Imagine if Busch and the young men under his command, turned in two halves of football in the SAME GAME as they showed in the 2nd halves of the last 2 games!

LOL

And a comment: How about a three-fer?

Hard to believe a Rutgers home game didn’t rate First Team announcers (eh?) Their definition of a sellout is a bit different than our definition of a sellout.

I’m seeing a little attitude… This is why you are coached to go low on tackles.

We learned that MJ & Whipple understand clock management & how to use time outs. If Frost was on the sideline for that last drive, Rutgers gets the ball with over 5 minutes - needing just a FG.

Win the toss & win the game!

You may have missed my last sentence and the operative word TRY. If they need him (and he is as effective as usual) then use him.

IMHO, the Huskers game plan should try to use Grant sparingly in this game. He should get the start, but then give way to Rahmir & Yant - reason being he had a metric buttload of carries last week (and the short week of recovery time) & we need him FRESH (as possible) for the tougher part of the schedule. Nebraska should TRY TO control the game without him.

It may be difficult to find a replacement color commentator who can fully describe the play on radio with "YES!"

Because this one by KU is amazing & deserves imitation - particularly if we want to grow the fan base among Hispanic players parents & grandparents. (All sports)