espn's ivan maisel lists the top 10 worst coaches

[skrsOVRsc]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

Thank you Necava Husker for speaking a little bit of sense here. There have been 2 Olinemen and 1 RB to get drafted in the last 6 years..... Frank Solich. To try to make the same comparison to BC is rediculous. Frank inherited a NC team, kept the same system and coaches, yet we slipped, in many senses of the word. BC isnt on the heels of a NC to help recruiting, he has to make his way more on his own, with a NEW system. Sit down, shut up, and watch......Barry Turner WAS a freshman All American by the way. Im anxious to watch you eat those words (no AA) over the next 2 years.

[huskerfan500]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

 

No, and I am not saying the players who have played for Callahan are bad, by all means I know we have had a bunch of really good guys. I just don't like how everyone is saying that the team is so much more talented automatically after Callahan got here. As many juco's as Callahan has brought in and graduated, so yes he has brought in some people according to your standards who could have been an all-american

[junior4949]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

 

 

I think what he was implying is that even with Callahan's great recruiting efforts, he's managed to produce less wins or should I say more losses than Frank. The number that stuck in my mind was the #2 with Dennis Franchione. Think about it. If we have another less than stellar year this year, BC all of a sudden is very comparable to Franchione. I'm not going to dig all the info up again, but in Frank's first 3 years as HC he had fewer players (TO's recruits) get drafted in the first 3 rounds of the NFL than BC had in his first 3 years as HC with Frank's recruits. Frank being handed a NC team is laughable at best. Even the great TO would have had difficulty doing any better in 1998 than Frank did. BC is entering year number 4, and we still haven't had a taste of the team being run by a BC recruited QB. Taylor was a bandaid, and let's face it Keller is also. Keller may be a great QB and all that, but he's still a bandaid. He has just one year here to get it done before he runs out of eligibility. In the very early Rivals recruiting ranking, NU is ranked 4th in the Big 12 behind OU, Texas, and A&M. If recruiting is all that it takes to win games, we'll be lucky to finish 3rd every year in the Big 12!

 

IMO, BC gets too much credit for his recruiting ability especially here in Nebraska and he doesn't get enough credit nationally with coaching ability. It's just like a basketball coach going to a new team loaded with forwards and centers expecting to push the ball harder and shoot more 3's. It's going to take a while to get the players to do this. BC probably isn't getting enough credit for changing from a power option running attack to a more pass balanced WCO. That being said, I think most dissatisfaction stems from blowout losses to the likes of Texas Tech and Kansas where we had the athletes to make the games a lot more competitive if only BC wouldn't have been so stubborn with the pass. Then you run into the games like USC last year where BC tries to play the conservative route and not get blown out to be criticized for not letting his players give it their all and at least try to win the game.

 

There are 3 games that stick out in my mind as I was wondering . The first one being the Texas Tech game. When the opposing team is up 30-40 points, just try to get the game over with instead of sending a wide-eyed freshmen in there to keep throwing up lame ducks to the opposing team. The OU game where we lost 30 to 3 I believe. If you're gonna promise this balanced passing running attack, try it. Last year against USC had me in awe as well. I think Pud has to should some of the blame also as he promised we wouldn't slip into mediocracy and promised we wouldn't surrender the Big 12 to Texas and OU. Cut the writer some slack, he's just looking from the outside in. From the outside in, it does appear that BC is a bad coach.

[bethelbacker]

Once cally gets a signature win and a conference title, everybody shuts up. This year should be the time.

[junior4949]

Once cally gets a signature win and a conference title, everybody shuts up. This year should be the time.

 

 

LOL, it sure didn't help Dorrell out at UCLA after knocking off USC. Unfortunately, the life in college football is what have you done for me lately. Just one signature win will not hush the critics. Until we're top 10 repeatedly and play for the whole bag of marbles, BC better get used to who he's being compared to. In his first 3 years, at the end of the season he went unranked 2 years and #24 one year. A lot better rankings in the end will have to be achieved before BC gets any credit by the outside media. We might get a signature win this year, but I think winning the conference title this year is a very tall order.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Once cally gets a signature win and a conference title, everybody shuts up. This year should be the time.

 

 

LOL, it sure didn't help Dorrell out at UCLA after knocking off USC. Unfortunately, the life in college football is what have you done for me lately. Just one signature win will not hush the critics. Until we're top 10 repeatedly and play for the whole bag of marbles, BC better get used to who he's being compared to. In his first 3 years, at the end of the season he went unranked 2 years and #24 one year. A lot better rankings in the end will have to be achieved before BC gets any credit by the outside media. We might get a signature win this year, but I think winning the conference title this year is a very tall order.

Being Top 10 year after year is a tall order as well. It just doesn't happen as much as it used to given recruiting limits?

[TX-Husker-2011]

Yea this list isnt very good, Mack Brown ahead of Bob Stoops. Why is Jim Grobe and the guy from TCU on there. Also on the just missed, the USF, Navy, and Rutgers coaches. Besides last year what have some of these coaches done. Cally has turned the program back around and has brought in great recruits to compete for a Big 12 title, why he is on the worst coaches just missed list baffles me.

 

I agree. It's funny because you ask anyone who is a true Husker fan and they'll usually tell you that they like Callahan. I like what we've got going on and I think we can compete for the Big 12 title. Don't see how you can say he's one of the worst.

[Necava Husker]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

Thank you Necava Husker for speaking a little bit of sense here. There have been 2 Olinemen and 1 RB to get drafted in the last 6 years..... Frank Solich. To try to make the same comparison to BC is rediculous. Frank inherited a NC team, kept the same system and coaches, yet we slipped, in many senses of the word. BC isnt on the heels of a NC to help recruiting, he has to make his way more on his own, with a NEW system. Sit down, shut up, and watch......Barry Turner WAS a freshman All American by the way. Im anxious to watch you eat those words (no AA) over the next 2 years.

I had forgotten that Barry Turner was a frosh All American. I am looking forward to the days of, once again, having several All Conference players every year and seeing Huskers make All American.

[Necava Husker]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

 

 

I think what he was implying is that even with Callahan's great recruiting efforts, he's managed to produce less wins or should I say more losses than Frank. The number that stuck in my mind was the #2 with Dennis Franchione. Think about it. If we have another less than stellar year this year, BC all of a sudden is very comparable to Franchione. I'm not going to dig all the info up again, but in Frank's first 3 years as HC he had fewer players (TO's recruits) get drafted in the first 3 rounds of the NFL than BC had in his first 3 years as HC with Frank's recruits. Frank being handed a NC team is laughable at best. Even the great TO would have had difficulty doing any better in 1998 than Frank did. BC is entering year number 4, and we still haven't had a taste of the team being run by a BC recruited QB. Taylor was a bandaid, and let's face it Keller is also. Keller may be a great QB and all that, but he's still a bandaid. He has just one year here to get it done before he runs out of eligibility. In the very early Rivals recruiting ranking, NU is ranked 4th in the Big 12 behind OU, Texas, and A&M. If recruiting is all that it takes to win games, we'll be lucky to finish 3rd every year in the Big 12!

 

IMO, BC gets too much credit for his recruiting ability especially here in Nebraska and he doesn't get enough credit nationally with coaching ability. It's just like a basketball coach going to a new team loaded with forwards and centers expecting to push the ball harder and shoot more 3's. It's going to take a while to get the players to do this. BC probably isn't getting enough credit for changing from a power option running attack to a more pass balanced WCO. That being said, I think most dissatisfaction stems from blowout losses to the likes of Texas Tech and Kansas where we had the athletes to make the games a lot more competitive if only BC wouldn't have been so stubborn with the pass. Then you run into the games like USC last year where BC tries to play the conservative route and not get blown out to be criticized for not letting his players give it their all and at least try to win the game.

 

There are 3 games that stick out in my mind as I was wondering . The first one being the Texas Tech game. When the opposing team is up 30-40 points, just try to get the game over with instead of sending a wide-eyed freshmen in there to keep throwing up lame ducks to the opposing team. The OU game where we lost 30 to 3 I believe. If you're gonna promise this balanced passing running attack, try it. Last year against USC had me in awe as well. I think Pud has to should some of the blame also as he promised we wouldn't slip into mediocracy and promised we wouldn't surrender the Big 12 to Texas and OU. Cut the writer some slack, he's just looking from the outside in. From the outside in, it does appear that BC is a bad coach.

 

You made an awful lot of interesting points there, junior, a couple of which I agree with.

 

I too felt a lot of dissatisfaction over the blowout loses to KU two years ago and to Texas Tech three years ago. But you can’t pin these losses solely on BC being stubborn with the pass. In 2004 against Texas Tech we had a depth chart that was full of holes. Look at our QBs and WRs—look at the CB across the field from Fabian. And lots of the guys we now know as great players were only sophomores and freshmen in that game. We just didn’t have the horses back then, plain and simple. In 2005 our depth chart was starting to look better, but we still had a long ways to go. But all that is in the past now.

 

As for talent, riddle me this: Where would we be today with Frank Solich at the helm? One thing about Frank, you don’t need a calculator to figure out the average number of stars his recruits have. (Frank had a whole class of two star recruits in 2007—all 23 recruits had 2*) Rivals I guess you could say Frank dropped a DEUCE recruiting class on Ohio’s depth chart last year.

[huskerfan500]

there is a difference between recuirting for Ohio and Nebraska, for instant Nebraska has 5 NC, Ohio has 0

[NUpolo8]

there is a difference between recuirting for Ohio and Nebraska, for instant Nebraska has 5 NC, Ohio has 0

 

 

And he couldn't bring anyone here of merit with that track record. He certainly did not add to that list of NC's even though in 1999 he had the team to do it with.

[HuskerJosh82]

Once cally gets a signature win and a conference title, everybody shuts up. This year should be the time.

 

Agreed!

[Foppa]

I really don't think that Cally can be criticized that harshly yet, Mandel is acting a little prematurely...However, Callahan is really in for it this year, IMO. I agree with others that this is a deciding year for Callahan, and frankly, what a horrible schedule to have to really step it up. T.O. was the man, and always had good seasons even with some of the bowl game let-downs, but look at what the Big 8 was...not super-competitive...and the Big 12 North is currently reflecting that same image. I'm not going to apologize for him, because this is Nebraska, and there should NEVER be any excuses. But Callahan has chances in quite a few games this year to really make a statement...Huskers play really good opponents this year, and it is now time to start utilizing the talent and recruits to take advantage. I will state this now...Coaching decisions will be huge in key games this year, and will be deciding factors in the season. I know we're not coaches, but we're smart enough to identify how Callahan will utilize his coaching in situations that will determine games...How else do you see the underdog take out the big boys?!? They're obviously out-talented, so it turns to coaching and play-calling. We need to see that, because guess what...NU will be a big underdog vs. USC and at Texas...no question.

 

That said, I am PUMPED to get this started, should be a fun season. Bring it on!

Fops

[skrsOVRsc]

A two loss season with this schedule would be awesome for his 4th year here with a new system and style. I think this is VERY attainable. GBR

[junior4949]

Everyone is saying how we are so much more talented, but we have had no all-americans since Callahan has come to Nebraska. I am not saying he is a bad coach but I think a lot of husker fans get too excited and think too much of what he has done.

Aren’t most All-Americans either seniors or juniors? Often with a redshirt year behind them? Callahan recruited the 2005 and 2006 classes. (BC was there about one month before the 2004 class, and the 2007 class has not played yet.) How could BC have any All-Americans at this point?

 

Are you implying that Callahan’s recruiting efforts are not any better than Frank the Tanks?

 

 

I think what he was implying is that even with Callahan's great recruiting efforts, he's managed to produce less wins or should I say more losses than Frank. The number that stuck in my mind was the #2 with Dennis Franchione. Think about it. If we have another less than stellar year this year, BC all of a sudden is very comparable to Franchione. I'm not going to dig all the info up again, but in Frank's first 3 years as HC he had fewer players (TO's recruits) get drafted in the first 3 rounds of the NFL than BC had in his first 3 years as HC with Frank's recruits. Frank being handed a NC team is laughable at best. Even the great TO would have had difficulty doing any better in 1998 than Frank did. BC is entering year number 4, and we still haven't had a taste of the team being run by a BC recruited QB. Taylor was a bandaid, and let's face it Keller is also. Keller may be a great QB and all that, but he's still a bandaid. He has just one year here to get it done before he runs out of eligibility. In the very early Rivals recruiting ranking, NU is ranked 4th in the Big 12 behind OU, Texas, and A&M. If recruiting is all that it takes to win games, we'll be lucky to finish 3rd every year in the Big 12!

 

IMO, BC gets too much credit for his recruiting ability especially here in Nebraska and he doesn't get enough credit nationally with coaching ability. It's just like a basketball coach going to a new team loaded with forwards and centers expecting to push the ball harder and shoot more 3's. It's going to take a while to get the players to do this. BC probably isn't getting enough credit for changing from a power option running attack to a more pass balanced WCO. That being said, I think most dissatisfaction stems from blowout losses to the likes of Texas Tech and Kansas where we had the athletes to make the games a lot more competitive if only BC wouldn't have been so stubborn with the pass. Then you run into the games like USC last year where BC tries to play the conservative route and not get blown out to be criticized for not letting his players give it their all and at least try to win the game.

 

There are 3 games that stick out in my mind as I was wondering . The first one being the Texas Tech game. When the opposing team is up 30-40 points, just try to get the game over with instead of sending a wide-eyed freshmen in there to keep throwing up lame ducks to the opposing team. The OU game where we lost 30 to 3 I believe. If you're gonna promise this balanced passing running attack, try it. Last year against USC had me in awe as well. I think Pud has to should some of the blame also as he promised we wouldn't slip into mediocracy and promised we wouldn't surrender the Big 12 to Texas and OU. Cut the writer some slack, he's just looking from the outside in. From the outside in, it does appear that BC is a bad coach.

 

You made an awful lot of interesting points there, junior, a couple of which I agree with.

 

I too felt a lot of dissatisfaction over the blowout loses to KU two years ago and to Texas Tech three years ago. But you can’t pin these losses solely on BC being stubborn with the pass. In 2004 against Texas Tech we had a depth chart that was full of holes. Look at our QBs and WRs—look at the CB across the field from Fabian. And lots of the guys we now know as great players were only sophomores and freshmen in that game. We just didn’t have the horses back then, plain and simple. In 2005 our depth chart was starting to look better, but we still had a long ways to go. But all that is in the past now.

 

As for talent, riddle me this: Where would we be today with Frank Solich at the helm? One thing about Frank, you don’t need a calculator to figure out the average number of stars his recruits have. (Frank had a whole class of two star recruits in 2007—all 23 recruits had 2*) Rivals I guess you could say Frank dropped a DEUCE recruiting class on Ohio’s depth chart last year.

 

 

Okay, I'll try to answer your riddle. Frank was Big 12 coach of the year either two or three times in his 6 years at NU. In his first two years in the Mac, he's been the conference coach of the year once. In 2004, we probably wouldn't have had a great year but we would have went bowling. No way do we get blown out by TT like we did especially with Pelini running the D. No way to we get embarrassed by KU like we did again with Pelini running the D. In 06, yes we would have lost to USC and to Texas. But, we would have won the OSU game. I'm not saying we'd be in the title hunt even though I think we could have played in the Big 12 title game 2 of the 3 years, but we would have a solid ranked team. Frank was not a great recruiter. I don't think we need to debate this. However, he was a good coach. Being the conference coach of the year, you have to be elected and voted on by your coaching peers. About 50% of the time as HC, Solich has been his conference coach of the year. This tells me that he is regarded by his peers and is a pretty good coach.

 

Do you realistically think Ohio will ever win a NC? How many players from Ohio have even ever been drafted into the NFL? Why would a 4 or 5 star recruit go to Ohio? His 23 2 star players may not be highly touted, but I bet he's very competitive especially within his conference with them.

 

From my personal hatred of Pud, I must say that the list does amuse me somewhat as one of Pud's earlier choices (Houston Nutt) did in fact make the top 5 worst coaches and BC who Pud did finally beg and plead into taking the job is honorable mention. Pud's got some great foresight don't he? There are various rumors as to why Frank was fired, but let's take Pud's reasoning at face value. Pud was afraid NU would be just as I stated up above solid, but they would never be a powerhouse again. How many years was NU just solid under TO? Pud gambled and put all his chips on the table when he fired Frank and hired BC. Unfortunately, this isn't blackjack and it takes a few years to see whether or not he wins the bet. Is it premature to call BC one of the worst coaches? Yes, it is. After year 4 or 5 years without that signature win or conference crown, maybe. I'm not willing to call him a total bust until we actually see a BC recruited QB who's been in the system a couple of years play. Unfortunately, we won't have that until at least year 6 or maybe even year 7 of the BC era.