Hans Gruber

I think firing Eichorst was the right step, but that's the first step of many. The rest of the steps are just as important as the first. Here are two things to avoid in those steps. 1) Avoid Les Miles like the plague. He's 63 and will bring most of the same problems Riley has. Sure he may be "better" than Riley but that's like being the thinnest kid at fat camp. Nebraska should strive for higher standards. Remember that Purdue and Minnesota had no interest in hiring Les. 2) Don't just decide to hire Trev Alberts. Please do an actual search for an AD. If Trev has a great interview, a great vision for the future, and has a plan to achieve that vision, then you can hire him. But don't just hire him because he played for Nebraska and is in state. Try to hire the best of the best.

I think it's crazy that some of you are saying the Northern Illinois loss this year is worse than Purdue in 2015. NIU isn't particularly good, they went 5-7 last year, but they aren't dreadful and at least have a decent head coach. Purdue went 2-10 in 2015. Their other win was against FCS/1AA Indiana State. It was Purdue's first conference win against someone other than Illinois since 2012 (with the one Illinois team they beat being coached by Tim Beckman). And Purdue scored 55 points in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Purdue had the fewest wins of a team that beat Nebraska since 1959 when Kansas State went 2-8 and beat Nebraska 29-14.

At least that would partially explain why he lost to Purdue.

That whole thing was weird. And Bo was a jerk and probably shouldn't have said it. Like you said though, that doesn't mean Bo was wrong.

I like what you did here. I would add one other tidbit. Mike Riley owns three of the worst losses in the last 50 years of Nebraska football with probably THE worst loss. 2015 Purdue went 2-10 and beat Nebraska by 10. And the game wasn't even as close as the score indicated. That's the worst loss since Devaney took over. Toss in a loss to 5-7 Illinois in 2015 and a loss to NIU this year, when the Huskies were coming off a 5-7 season, and Riley has three of the 10 worst losses since 1962.

My recollection is the Texas AD was previously a president for an NBA team and started charging Texas coaches for food in the cafeteria. That didn't go over well. I think the Michigan guy previously did something for Dominos (or one of the other pizza places) and got into hot water over something with drinks in the stadium, or something like that. Some ADs are dumb, and it's difficult to win with a dumb one.

And Jeremy Foley got to hire Will Muschamp's replacement at Florida because before Muschamp, he hired Urban Meyer and brought two national titles to Florida. So two ADs did NOT get to hire replacements, while the other had a much longer leash because he hired two guys (Meyer for football and Billy Donovan in men's basketball) that won a combined four national titles.

I felt like NIU started playing with confidence and swag after the first pick six. Whether is was before or after though, it's easier to play with confidence on the road when you're up 14-0. I honestly don't really care either way about swag (I think it's kind of a chicken vs. egg debate), but I think it does come from feeling confident. Based on three games this year Nebraska players don't look they have much reason for confidence.

What happened to Nebraska's swag? Swag comes from having confidence. Confidence comes from playing well. Nebraska isn't playing well, so the players don't have confidence. No confidence, no swag.

I want Nebraska's next head coach to be (relatively) young, innovative on offense and have a record of success at a small school and/or experience in a place that's tough to win. Other than Stoops, I think the rest of these guys meet my criteria and have been successful at coaching FBS football.

I mentioned a few candidates in a different thread (I honestly don't remember which one). Here's a few broken into tiers with some new additions. I'm purposely not including Scott Frost just because everyone is mentioning him. These are the guys to consider in addition to Frost. 1) Guys that won't go to Nebraska, but at least call them and make them say no. Chip Kelly or Bob Stoops 2) Guys that still may not leave, but are more likely than the guys in tier 1. Justin Fuente, Mike Gundy or Dan Mullen 3) Guys that are at a new job but Nebraska should consider stealing if said guys continue to win. Jeff Brohm, P.J. Fleck or Mike Norvell

Interesting question. I don't think my answer would change a lot, but I'll give it a shot. Diaco has a good track record as a DC. Hope the defense continues to improve and ends up being a solid unit by mid October. On the bright side, Nebraska won't play too many good offenses the rest of the way other than Purdue and Penn State. Offensively is trickier. The line is struggling. I would play a backup O-lineman at tight end. Help block on pass protection. They need all the help they can get in pass pro. Then, find a way to get the ball into the hands of Pierson-El and Spielman as often as possible. I think Morgan is a better pure receiver, but Pierson-El and Spielman are better playmakers. GET THE BALL INTO THEIR HANDS 10-15 TIMES PER GAME! Would any of this work? Maybe, but probably not enough to make a big difference. It would at least make things more entertaining.

Regardless of who the next head coach is, there is no reason to keep Langsdorf, Cavanaugh or Davis. I don't have strong thoughts on the defensive coaches or Keith Williams. If the new coach wants to keep some, that's fine. If not, I don't really care. I'd be fine if Langsdorf, Cavanaugh and Davis were all fired tomorrow and I never heard about them ever again. I might even help them pack. I think it's difficult to make definitive conclusions on the defensive coaches though when they are running a completely different defense this year with young players. We'll know more about them by the end of October.

Exactly. It's him, Ronnie Green and the Board of Regents. And since football is the biggest cash cow for the athletic department, I don't know how they can afford to not fire Eichorst and Riley.

You don't have to worry about Eichorst being allowed to hire another football coach at Nebraska. Riley and Eichorst are tied to each other. Nebraska won't fire one without the other. And the writing is already on the wall anyways. When was the last time Nebraska fans were as in unison about something as they are now? Probably 2007? So for all of Eichorst and Riley's faults, we can at least be glad they finally got the Nebraska fanbase to agree on something, that they both aren't going to cut it in Lincoln.

IMHO Scott Frost shouldn't be in the top three on Nebraska's short list, BUT he should be the guy if those guys say no. My list would go something like this. 1) Guys who will almost certainly say no: Chip Kelly or Bob Stoops. Offer them a bunch of money. They'll say no. Offer them even more money. They'll still say no, then move on. 2) Guys who may say yes: Mike Gundy or Dan Mullen. Gundy is less likely than Mullen, but offer guys like this that have a proven record of success. 3) Frost: I would be happy if Frost was the next head coach, but I think there are other guys Nebraska should offer first.

This is a laughable hot take with virtually no basis in reality. Sure, Nebraska isn't in the same spot it was 20 years ago. But the idea that the entire program is cancerous is ludicrous. Nebraska isn't Kansas, Wake Forest or Rutgers. If they want to spend the time and money on finding the right AD and head coach, they can do it. It won't be Nick Saban or Urban Meyer, but it will be a more inspired hire than the last one.

Valid point, but he could do that at a school in a better recruiting footprint than Nebraska. I think Kelly will eventually return to college football, but I think he will purposely wait to take the right job for him. I mean a job like USC, Texas, Florida State or someplace like that. A school that has all the positives Nebraska has along with the things Nebraska doesn't have either.

I would love for Nebraska to hire Chip Kelly, but I doubt he has much interest in going to Nebraska. He supposedly hates recruiting and I think he'd hate the Nebraska football media/industrial complex.

God, that would be depressing.

Nebraska is set to make about 20-30 million more this season because they now get a full share of the BTN money. Cost ain't the issue.