Guy Chamberlin

Why is this so hard for you? Other than your profound desire not to believe it?

Didn't the statement from Bill Moos directly confirm that "our administration did explore the possibility?" and give its reasoning? Pretty odd for anyone to claim a rogue operation when the AD just said it wasn't. The statement is fuzzy on when the Administration stopped exploring the possibility: before or after the leak. It's already blowing over after less than a week. But that's definitely a ding to future credibility.

So if any or all of us flood this thread with myriad examples, including the aforementioned admissions by Republicans that voter suppression is a huge part of their strategy, will you quit pretending that this is about how easy it is to get an ID? My guess is "no" since we've already been around that block a few times, but let's try again: https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/09/29/stacking-the-deck-how-the-gop-works-to-suppress-minority-voting/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/02/texas-polling-sites-closures-voting https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-locations/southern-u-s-states-have-closed-1200-polling-places-in-recent-years-rights-group-idUSKCN1VV09J You can keep telling yourself this isn't wrong and un-American, but it is. Weird that you think "this might be different in California" It is, but not in the way you think.

So just to be clear, you don't believe there is an active GOP strategy to use whatever means necessary to suppress the Black vote.

I was sad to realize how old that made me feel.

You know what happens when you "assume." So if the key is patience, we should have urged Harvey Perlman to give Steve Pederson, Bill Callahan, Bo Pelini,, Shawn Eichorst and Mike Riley more time, and not judge Scott Frost and Bill Moos on standards established by the previous 60 years of University of Nebraska football? Do you think Harvey Perlman regretting a public reprimand of Bo Pelini is evidence that firing Bo Pelini was the wrong call by Eichorst? Or that it was more inappropriate for the Chancellor to distance the University from Pelini's go f#&% yourself comments than it was for Pelini to make them in the first place? You keep dodging my point that Bo Pelini's post-Nebraska career strongly suggests Eichorst was not wrong to fire him. The singular lesson is that Nebraska can't assume it's in the running for top coaching prospects who have multiple options, and we will have to take calculated risks on whoever we think will be better than the last coach. As mentioned, Frost has another three years to prove himself in my book. But this Oklahoma thing really rubs me wrong. And do you really think this discussion is over? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Again, Perlman's been gone for five years, Riley and Eichorst going on four, Pelini seven. In terms of an administration, AD and coach in sync, on-field performance, public relations and fan expectation, how are we doing in the here and now, and what lesson from the past are we ignoring? Bob Devaney turned the entire program around in a single season. Ask Tom Osborne about "fan patience" during the first 20 years of his head coaching career. You may be surprised. I want Scott Frost to have another 3 seasons guaranteed. Much less concerned about W/L this season than visible effort and emerging talent. Enough to add a little pressure on 2022. By his sixth season we will know Scott's recruiting skills, willingness to adapt and adjust, and his motivational ability. Hopefully this little Oklahoma incident will be long in the rear view mirror. But in the here and now, it doesn't represent Nebraska well and fans have every right to let the people responsible know it.

I'm not sure you actually read the Henry Cordes article correctly. It does sum up Harvey's tenure as it relates to the football program, but it doesn't reach the same conclusions you do or address the public statement question that started this.. In terms of continuity, it was the Steve Pedersen hire that started the big downtrend, and honestly every Husker fan thought Pedersen was a slam dunk hire, and so did Tom Osborne, who recommended him. Same article suggests that the other 25 teams that make up the athletic department were generally well supported, including a volleyball dynasty that continues to bring positive publicity to the school. Again, like him or not, it's a little weird that as the chancellor of a huge university retires, he's being asked to judge his legacy based on the hiring of football coaches. Saban and Dabo getting testy at reporters? Plenty of coaches do that. Bill Belichick and Greg Popovich are famous for it. There's no need for the university to issue a statement when that happens, just as NU didn't when Bo barked at reporters who thought he'd forgotten how to coach defense. The university did issue a statement when someone leaked a tape of Pelini telling Husker fans they could kiss his a$$ out the f#&%ing door to Deadspin. Perlman said he was "disappointed" and after a crafted apology from Bo there was no public reprimand, although I can't imagine it was jovial behind the scenes. UNL had to issue a public statement after Bo's flaming speech to the team after his firing, but so did Youngstown State, which also reprimanded him. Bo was not treated unfairly, by the national press although we would have chuckled about his temper more if he had beaten a Wisconsin or two. It's a bit ironic that people who want Husker fans to be patient and move forward keep bringing up the past. We have the HC and AD we wanted, and three years of results that no one expected. No one. Even the biggest bare cupboard dumpster fire posters on this board did not see this coming. The fanbase has the right to be confused and disappointed. I think we're judging Moos and Frost on their own terms by now, and our expectations are down to Rutgers and Maryland levels, so bringing in Husker villains from the past and blaming continuity doesn't really help.

When exactly did UNL issue public statements about Bo Pelini, and what Nick Saban incident do you consider the equivalent?

Look closer. I didn't introduce Harvey Perlman to the discussion. I just reacted to Havrey Perlman being introduced into the discussion. Not sure you follow the world of controversial quotes and actions, but employers are expected to make legally vetted statements on their employee's behalf, and Nebraska's simultaneous support and "reprimands" of Bo Pelini were all standard issue stuff. If Bo Pelini required more intervention than most, that's on Bo Pelini. Right? I also wasn't talking about minor social media posts. I was talking about multiple well-produced videos that involved budgets, the use of UNL facilities, and distribution under the UNL AD communications channels. Jack Hoffman kinda stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but Eichorst and Perlman did have some motivation for Bo Pelini's team to do well. Still not sure you're getting the part where Eichorst and Perlman were far from alone in their assessment of Bo Pelini, who is currently unemployed. I guess the reason this keeps coming up is that we have exactly the coach and the AD we wanted, and entering our fourth year with them, we keep finding a newer bottom. So maybe it's not Eichorst, Perlman, Riley, Pederson, Pelini or Solich. Maybe it's just an ongoing failure to keep up with the changing nature and increased competitiveness of college football, assuming our legendary past entitles us to success we keep failing to earn on the field.

I think they supported his efforts to win football games, and tolerated his behavior as a prickly employee and poor representative of the University. Meaning they looked at Bo pretty much the same way many folks in the fanbase did, and actually gave him a longer leash than Youngstown State and LSU. I'm guessing they had private interactions we didn't, and it's possible Bo Pelini bears some responsibility in how that relationship went. I understand some of you don't like Harvey Perlman and Shawn Eichorst, and that's fine, too. I never thought about them much one way or another. They were administrators with lot of responsibilities beyond hiring, firing, or caretaking the head football coach. Perlman wouldn't have the time or inclination to weigh in on a PR initiative to help Bo Pelini. It absolutely wouldn't have happened without Shawn Eichorst's knowledge and approval, even if he hated the f#&%er. I believe Eichorst got his comeuppance less than three years into his choice of head coach, and Eichorst deserved his firing as much as Pelini. But isn't it a bit weird to be in Year Four of Scott Frost, on the heels of three losing seasons, talking about Moos and Frost trying to get out of a game they think their players are destined to lose, and we're talking about Harvey Perlman? To put it another way, if Eichorst and Riley had remained, made the exact same moves as Scott Frost, posted the exact same results, and tried to duck out of the Oklahoma game to get the beleaguered head coach an easy W, would you be More Supportive or More Tolerant?

In addition to the aforementioned contract extension, new recruiting plane, bbigger budget, and constant facility upgrades, in 2013 the athletic department put together a major PR charm offensive showing the lighter side of Bo, including orchestrated pranks and videos of kind gestures Bo made to fans, including iirc, helping a returning vet propose to his girlfriend. They were pretty successful. Both Bo and the AD team deserve credit. After a really bad looking Iowa game and Bo rant after Iowa in 2013, Bo's 2014 season started with plenty of support and optimism until it fell apart at the end in what had become familiar fashion. And if you look back at 2013's leaked tape incident, the administration gave Bo all the support he needed, and probably more than he deserved. At that point, the difference between support and tolerance didn't really matter. Some people forget all this. Bottom line, Perlman and Eichorst were roughly as supportive of Bo as Youngstown State was, and considerably more supportive than LSU. You don't have to like Perlman and Eichorst at all. Everyone involved can be an ego-driven a$$h@!e at the same time. But firing Bo wasn't the wrong call.

Oh it wasn't just me making that phone call. It was thousands of stalwart Husker fans braving the Athletic Department phone tree to help save the program from embarrassing itself. Turns out we were right: the AD read the situation wrong. Please don't give me too much credit. It's just what heroes do. I think I made two posts just this morning stating my feelings about the coming season. If they weren't blatantly optimistic, they were hopeful and open-minded. There's no need to cast me as a hater just because I mock your rather elastic defense of Scott Frost, As far as continuity and Perlman go: Bo Pelini had seven years as head coach, and prior to his last season Eichorst gave him a contract extension, a new plane and a bigger recruiting budget. Back in those innocent times, you'd be hard pressed to find a Nebraska fan who considered Bo's 9-4 continuity to be acceptable. The only question was how many more years you give him to start winning the meaningful games. Perlman did not make the head football coaching gig undesirable Fan expectations did. And the fans were correct, if you thought Nebraska needed to be competing for at least divisional Big 10 titles. After Bo called his AD a c*nt in a long self-pitying final speech to his players, he went to the safety of his home town Youngstown team and a totally nurturing administration, where he wore out his welcome in similar fashion and is no longer a head coach, instead using his reputation as a defensive guru to lead LSU to some of the worst defensive performances in its history. Ipso facto, Perlman and Eichorst made the right call, whether you like them or not. It's also not Perlman's fault that Husker fans assumed the HC position at UNL would lure any top coaching candidate. We developed that expectation on our own. Turns out we weren't competing for Nick Saban or Jim Harbaugh. Brett Bielema and the second tier weren't interested, either. That's how we ended up with Mike Riley. Nebraska wouldn't have stood a chance for UCF's Scott Frost if he wasn't a native son. He was really tempted to go SEC as it was. Did Harvey Perlman, chancellor of the University of Nebraska, personally resent that his shepherding of a huge multi-faceted educational system would be judged by the success of the football coach -- the highest paid public official in the state? Probably. Harvey has been gone for 5 years.

Your posting history suggests otherwise. Serious question: wouldn't three years of continuity under Moos and Frost be enough to establish trends and accountability? Per my previous post, this year is a helluva schedule and I don't expect to see the numbers go up, but the effort, execution, and talent should be visible after the three season learning experience. I'm always excited to see who steps up. We could argue the down cycle is closer to 20 years long at this point, and the bar for Frost and Moos is far lower than it has been for any coach or AD of the last 60 years. But don't try to cancel the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century because you're worried about your coaches and players being too emotionally fragile, then try to blame it on economics. At this point the fans are keenly aware of the odds against the Huskers, because they're now uhm.....used to it. The palpable fear of failure is generally the worst look possible for a team wanting out of a down cycle. Tempting as it might be, you don't even entertain the notion of dodging Oklahoma, much less let it leak out to the public and players. You buck up and play the game. And if you're as good as last year's 4-6 Kansas State team, you beat them in Norman.

Speaking for myself and I think a lot of skeptics, I am always willing to judge progress by the product on the field. If I see young players emerging, scrappy team effort in every game, a couple games we could have won but didn't, and and least one legitimate upset where coaches and players all had their ears pinned back and a well-scouted strategy, then I'm still all-in on Scott Frost moving forward. A Bethune-Cookman kind of win means less than nothing to me, and the bars, restaurants and hotels of Lincoln, Nebraska will lose money when the fanbase loses its pride, and that's the slippery slope we're on.

Hey, I was wondering where you were and how long it would take you to blame this on anybody but Scott and Bill.

When exactly are these "worst years" of which you speak in the past tense?

In situations like this, there's usually an echo chamber at play. The folks inside the Athletic Department assume Husker fans will breathe a sigh of relief when they take Oklahoma off that brutal schedule and get us an early W to take some of the pressure off Scott Frost. Maybe they considered how the national sports press might run with it. Maybe they did not. They're just trying to help the program win. But they honestly didn't know what a bad look this is for Nebraska football until it leaked out and fans went in the exact opposite direction. This is about pride, and they read the room totally wrong. The AD is actually lucky this got leaked. Had they secured a new opponent and made the official announcement, it would have been much uglier. Maybe the leaker has an axe to grind against NU. Maybe the leaker was a true Nebraska fan. The fact that both could make the same case is kinda telling. As expected, the official explanation was panic-induced bulls#!t, but it did stop the bleeding. It's hard to believe the swapping maneuver would be done without the knowledge and approval of Scott Frost, and that's the hardest pill to swallow.

It's about time Oklahoma started getting some bad publicity to deflect from our bad publicity about our Oklahoma s#!t. (I saw what you did there, OP)

Say, if we want to combine nostalgia and winning, why not celebrate the 111th anniversary of the Nebraska-Haskell game?

3 out of 4 so far!

I just did something I've never done in my 60 years as a Husker fan. I called the Athletic Department. The answering system gave me a lot of choices, but I went with the Communications Department, precisely because they're stuck in the middle of this. Nice young guy answered. I said "you've probably gotten a lot of calls today." He said that was correct. Told him I'd never been this embarrassed by the program before. He seemed understanding, told me they had just issued the statement (posted above) and offered to read it to me. I told him I was glad they responded, but the unanswered speculation about how they must have been spinning this for the last 8 hours wasn't a good look for Moos or Frost. He did not deny that, either. I asked if he could give me any inside dirt that I could spread on social media. He laughed. I feel sorry for the Comms department.

1) Commit to playing the game. 2) Claim a misunderstanding, even if we know it's bulls#!t. 3) Apologize to Nebraska fans and the Oklahoma program. We look forward to honoring the Game of the Century 4) Hope this is forgotten in six months; do everything possible in that time to field a competitive team loaded with self-respect.

To be fair, it worked for most of Nebraska's forty year run of excellence, too. Alabama and other SEC teams always have an embarrassing creampuff or two on their non-cons every year, and generally get a week of grief for it. This is the 50th Anniversary of the Game of the Century. It could only happen by coordinating non-con schedules for the benefit of the fans and the programs. Once you've agreed to it, you don't change your mind. You double down on pride and work your a$$ of to represent. Or just give up on respect altogether.

Just remember that beating weak teams and losing to conference rivals is what lost Bo Pelini his job. It will likely lose Jim Harbaugh his job, too. That's not a Nebraska thing, it's a winning thing. As someone just pointed out, there is no glory or even progress in going 4-8 vs. 3-9 if you swap Oklahoma for Bethune-Cookman, and it this case it might be the opposite. Know how some folks are paranoid about the national media having it in for Nebraska? They don't, really. But there would be no other way to report this. We ran away from celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century. Easy fix, though. If we just want to ensure this heralded game is celebrated in a full stadium, work to push it back later in the season or till next year. But do it transparently. Anything less and Nebraska takes a huge and deserved hit. And what if we gave Oklahoma a good fight in a close loss, like we did a much better Ohio State team on the road in Frost's first year? What if....we won? A team that's scared of its own shadow will never know.