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Out of everything that was seen and heard during last night's massacre--the only predictable thing Pelini teams are associated with anymore--this comment is the most important. The most revealing; and, frankly, disastrous. When Watson politely fled the state I said this was Bo Pelini's Don Corleone moment. That moment where you realize you simply have to do whatever you have to do, fire whoever you have to fire, replace whoever you have to replace. Be brutal. Kill friendships. Cut all dead weight. Bring in the most seasoned, talented, expensive staff you can. What did he do instead? Promote his buddies, and why not? That's the Pelini way. But that's not the reason this comment is the most important. Everyone else knew that hiring unqualified, untested, unproven toddlers for the #s 2 and 3 most important positions on the staff after the head honcho was a risk, and not just a risk. A silly risk. A stupid risk. An unnecessary risk. Why? Because we're f*&^ing Nebraska, and we don't need to settle for unproven commodities. We have more money than that. We have more tradition than that. In other words, we already knew what anyone with any semblance of strategic sense knew: you don't need to take these risks, and taking risks when you don't need to is the harbinger of failure and a sign of a serious mental flaw. Whether it's stupidity, delusion, pride, arrogance, or some combination--Pelini is seriously flawed as a coach. He makes unsound decisions and then sticks with them no matter the cost. I don't post as often as I used to. The reason is I had no expectations for this season, and I'm unsurprised by last night's result. I, like anyone who's not themselves completely deluded, was firmly planted in the Wait-And-See camp. There is no more reason to wait. We've not only seen it, but Pelini has said it. He's clueless. And that's why this statement is one that I think will ring for the rest of Pelini's tenure, and loudly. I'm a fan of stability. I prefer keeping coaches with modest success over throwing the dice with a coaching carousel. I'm still in that camp. But Bo, you know why you don't field well-coached, disciplined teams? Because your coaching staff sucks and they don't know what they're doing. You can cover flaws with strategy. You can't cover incompetence with it. You can't hope your quarterback, who makes about a 1-1 ratio of mistakes to splash plays to 0 net benefit, will magic you to a championship. (Where, by the way, will the accountability be on this one? Please point it out to me, as I'm willing to bet Taylor trots out there again next week.) Anyway, in conclusion, what we now know is the most relevant fact: Pelini is clueless. We know because he said so. All the "Trust Bo" cheerleaders and the sunshine pumpers have had their day. Thanks, fellas. We'll take it from here. Bo, I'll give you a clue, because I'm pretty sure you're going to be here next season come hell or high water, and I'm okay with that. Bo Pelini, it's here again. Your Michael Corleone moment. Fire anyone. Fire everyone. Bench anyone. Bench everyone. Scrap any scheme. Scrap every scheme. As Damon Benning said during the freakout fest last night, it's time to bring in people who are smarter than you to do the things you can't. You need to accept your deficiencies and then take steps to offset them. That's what you do in strategy. It's all you can do, really. If he's not willing, his tenure will not last long. It's not what I want but it's the inevitable fact. He's tried everything else except the obvious solution.