Enhance

I think you're underestimating the growing popularity of DeSantis as well as the vested interests among many Republican elite whom dislike Trump and want him out of their party's limelight. There is a lot that can happen in two years. My point, more than anything, is that I think it is pure hubris for anyone to suggest Republicans are screwed at this point.

Personally, I could see TA being the kind of AD who doesn't announce it before the season ends in order to not take anything away from the student athletes hoping to finish their season with some pride. Not saying it's the right or wrong answer, but that would fit Trev's MO in my opinion.

I'm not convinced they're screwed just yet. There are a lot of pieces on the chess board still. I think DeSantis' rising stock can't be under-stated at this point, and most Republicans know that there is absolutely no way an Independent (even Trump) is winning a general election, so are enough of them willing to submarine their party just to stick it the party? Eh... maybe? What's more important for conservatives - getting the White House, or voting for a guy who has no shot of winning? Biden may also be unpopular, but in the face of Trump, I think most people would still acquiesce to Biden if he chooses to run again (at least as of today). And say Biden doesn't run, but they prop up a weaker candidate like Gavin Newsom or even Kamala Harris. If the ticket is R - Desantis, I - Trump, D - Newsom... I'd have a hard time betting against DeSantis.

I agree - I'd still be surprised if any kind of formal announcement happens before Black Friday.

I can appreciate/understand the pessimism given what happened back in 2015/16, but I genuinely believe the political landscape and perspective on Trump has shifted too significantly by this point. Moderates voted for him last time around out of pure interest, assumptions of 'doing things differently,' and successful anti-Clinton campaigning efforts by Republicans. I don't think most of the things that worked in his favor in 2015/16 are going to be relevant in two years and we already have the proof from 2020 that they didn't work (election deniers aside).

Agreed, and at least as of today, I can't imagine there will be enough of a primary split. My gut is that there's going to be a fairly concerted effort in the Republican party (particularly among the heavy-hitting donors) to support DeSantis and work against Trump. DeSantis feels like their absolute best shot, and I think DeSantis would have a much easier time attempting to win over moderates. We're hearing rumblings of anti-Trumpism from all the traditional power players in the R party, the same group of folks that were on Trump's train in 2015/2016.

What's funny is that I almost finished my post by saying something like 'but I thought this the first time Trump ran and look what happened.' That said, I do think there are more signs/indications at this point that Trump is out of favor. He was, admittedly, different and interesting the first time around in 2015/2016. He doesn't have that this time and I think there will be a concerted effort to support DeSantis and work against Trump.

I can't help but feel this whole thing is, to some degree, just an ego or attempted power flex by Trump. It feels like a bit of a joke. I'm just having a hard time envisioning he's going to be able to muster enough wide-ranging support to make it out of the primaries. Most Republicans I know (anecdotally, of course) are on the DeSantis train. I'm not a huge DeSantis fan, but he's a much better face for Republicans than Trump ever was or will be.

Even some of the people closest to Trump don't want to see this clown car ride continue. His candidacy feels like a disaster for the Republican party right now, and maybe that's part of what he wants. I don't see him beating DeSantis in the primaries, but even if he does, I think most Americans would rather deal with Biden than deal with him again.

Chef’s kiss!

I saw that quote in the OWH write up from today's press conference. I found it interesting, but I'm also not really sure what it means (if anything). I'm sure he and Trev have had regular meetings to talk about the program from a week-to-week functionality standpoint. Recruiting, vision, needs, etc. In many ways, I think MJ has been actively taking part in an interview process, and perhaps Trev laid out from the beginning exactly what this process would look like and what a potential opportunity would look like to get the job. Perhaps that included not sitting down to talk about the vacancy until much later in the season, if at all. Who knows. I imagine there will be some incredulous fans out there going 'what!?!? he hasn't even interviewed???' but I think that'd be a completely baseless freakout.

Well, if you want to feel slightly better about it, I think this is a glass mostly empty perspective. In college, he took over a bad Temple program and a s#!tshow Baylor program. He had them both notching double digit wins when he left and he accomplished it in three seasons at both. The NFL flame out is a black eye but less relevant than relevant to his collegiate prospects. A lot of the Carolina failings had more to do with mistakes off the field and with roster management moreso than his abilities as a head coach. And it is very tough to compare NFL roster management to collegiate roster management. The two are different in just about every conceivably significant way, and Carolina management was just as culpable in contributing to those errors as Rhule was. Anyways, sorry, didn't mean to rain on any pity parties.

I would classify it is as the “most credible rumor” at this point.

It depends. It definitely happens though. I'm fairly certain MR never visited the stadium during his hiring process.

Ehh... it might just be semantics, but it is certainly more rare than not for a current member of a staff to be retained by a new HC at this level. Just pure statistics. I'd like to see MJ retained. He's very likeable, seems like a good coach and recruiter. But I think people need to prepare themselves for the genuine, statistical likelihood that MJ goes to a different university if he's not retained as HC.

Coaches-in-hire don't fly commercial. I covered Riley's hiring. I was staked out, with a camera guy, by a fence, near Duncan Aviation, sometime around like 8-9 pm, just to get a clip of him landing from a private jet. Also, typically, very few people are involved in the pre-hiring phase of a FBS coach... particularly university people. It would be laughably easy to figure out who snapped a photo, when, and where, and probably fire that person. And the general public would have no way of picking apart of blacked out SUV driving to and from the airport than any other number of dark SUVs that make that trip.

That isn't really necessary. And neither is this. Please find a better way to communicate with one another.

Well said. This is why I don't usually harp on play calling too much, at least not on a play-by-play basis. It's all about how it unfolds over the course of a game. People cheer when something works and get mad when it doesn't, but they're usually focused on the result and not necessarily what led up to the result. Sometimes, there are situations where play calls are objectively bad (like not running the ball with Marshawn Lynch in the Super Bowl, for example), but a great play call can be ruined by one missed block, an errant throw, or just bad luck.

Honestly, that's primarily what it is. There's a loud, vocal minority of Husker fans who see anything related to "option" and immediately get a spicy feeling in their loins. The guy is a good coach though. Don't mean to discredit him.

Jeb Bush won by 13 points in the 2002 Florida gubernatorial race, and he sniffed out what... a sixth place finish in the 2016 Republican primaries? Gubernatorial victory margins don't necessarily mean anything when it comes to a national campaign. That said, I make no dismissal of DeSantis' growing popularity in the Republican party, and he is probably the Republican favorite for 2024. I think he's setting himself up very nicely for a 2024 run. But I also think (and, I'm sure his people would agree) that you don't win a country running the same campaign that won you a single state. You have to be more appealing to moderates and think bigger, and I'm sure he and his people get that. He spends quite a bit of time being the right's equivalent to liberal wokeness and I'm not sure what kind of appeal that is going to have in a couple of years. And maybe it won't ultimately matter. I genuinely thought Trump's schtick would wear thin before he became president. Turns out, it needed to simmer for about four years before enough people were over it. I think DeSantis is wiser than Trump, though, and probably more willing to learn from the mistakes that cost Trump national favor.

I've grown to appreciate some country music in recent years after mostly writing it off my entire life. Artists like Tyler Childers or Zach Bryan. I also discovered I quite like a sub-genre of country known as gothic country e.g. Pawns or Kings. Makes me feel like I'm listening to a country version of metal almost.

Ya know, if they actually went to a drag show, they might enjoy themselves. I went to one in Puerto Vallarta a few years ago and it was hilariously entertaining. I 100% support the criminalization of country music that trivializes the genre down to cold domestic beers, trucks, jeans and small towns.

I think your expectations of what it takes to win at Nebraska are extraordinarily unrealistic if your floor for is Urban Meyer. There are programs with less resources and less national standing that have done more than Nebraska in the W/L column (and in the trophy case) in the last 20 years, and they didn't have a Top 10 all time coach.

I couldn't agree more. I stand by the opinion that this team is a decent coach (doesn't even have to be great) and one (at most two) recruiting cycles away from being divisional contenders. Obviously easier said than done, but with how college football is structured these days, you can go from being a bed wetter to a contender in very short order. It's absolutely achievable and Nebraska has more resources than a lot of other programs that have found ways to pull it off.

That's nuts. Very few people in that age bracket can properly operate a motor vehicle or correctly remember to take their daily vitamins/medications, let alone function as a public representative.