Bill Callahan

[np_husker]

NU Football: There's more to Bill Callahan than you know

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 

LINCOLN — The house, like so much else in Bill Callahan's strained existence here, doesn't quite fit its rural surroundings.

 

It sits on 20 acres, partially bordered by a white, split-rail fence. There's a lake out front, alongside the drive that connects the coach's front door to a dirt road.

 

Horses wander near a big red barn on a neighboring estate.

 

Although there are houses with higher assessed values, Bill Callahan lives in the most expensive residential property ever purchased in Lancaster County. He paid $1.61 million in May 2004 for the stunning structure that would seem more at home within a gated community than jutting from secluded countryside officially zoned for agriculture. Its barely one mile outside the city limits. It might as well be 50.

 

Callahan will command the sideline on Friday at Colorado in perhaps his final game as the Nebraska coach. Like the house, something about him doesn't quite fit. He appears destined to leave Lincoln more of a mystery than when he arrived. Callahan was known then as the deposed former coach of the Oakland Raiders, one year removed from the Super Bowl.

 

Now? Strangers are rarely allowed a glimpse beyond his persona of calculating coach.

 

But those among his small inner-circle describe Callahan as warm and passionate. Even misunderstood. His charity work is admirable, and by all indications, of genuine importance to him.

 

"If people knew him a little better," Nebraska receiver Maurice Purify said, "I think they'd have a different feel for him and like him a little better. But what can he do?"

 

Probably nothing. The five-game losing streak, a first at NU in 49 years, seems to have drained any personal equity he had built up with the Husker fan base.

 

It turned on him in a hurry last month. The fans and news media came at Callahan from every side. It was impersonal, just like during the good times.

 

"In a state like this, it comes with the territory that you're going to be the most recognizable person," said Tim Cassidy, a Callahan confidante and Nebraska's associate athletic director for football. "I don't want to say he feels uncomfortable about that, because he knew what he was getting into. But ultimately, what he's about are the kids, the coaching and the competition."

 

Callahan arrived at NU as an outsider with a reputation for valuing his privacy.

 

Four seasons later, little has changed. In fact, the longer he lives in Nebraska, the more Callahan seems to pull away.

 

His six-page biography in the NU media guide does not include a family photo this year for the first time. There was no updated picture available. Still, of his nine full-time assistants, eight are married with children, and all have family photos in the guide.

 

The 51-year-old coach, a father of four, almost never talks publicly of his family.

 

More than once he declined a newspaper's request for access to his office for a photo. He has also refused to pose for a portrait.

 

Callahan last week declined an interview request, through NU staffers, for this story. This week, he said no in person.

 

"There are coaches who like walking in as a rock star," Cassidy said. "Coach Callahan, if anything, would like to bring the least amount of attention to himself as possible."

 

Since Steve Pederson introduced the coach in January 2004, Callahan has occasionally alienated Nebraskans with comments and actions that reinforced his outsider image.

 

He downplayed, at times, the importance of recognizing the program's storied past.

 

As the losses mounted, Callahan's public comments grew unpredictable. He told a room of reporters last month he had "done an excellent job in every area" three days after the Huskers surrendered 22 straight second-half points in a 36-14 loss to Texas A&M.

 

Three weeks later, Gary O'Hagan, an agent paid to represent Callahan, suggested that Nebraskans should study soil content or count socks in the locker room rather than criticize the fourth-year coach.

 

"By no way would I say that Coach Callahan is perfect. No one is," said Matt Penland, who played for Tom Osborne in the early '90s and now serves as the Huskers team chaplain. "But theres an old saying that all leaders are learners.

 

"And that's what he is. He's a learner. It's much like what I experienced with Coach Osborne."

 

Osborne, though, grew up in the state and starred athletically in high school and at Hastings College. Nebraskans could relate. Its not as easy with Callahan, who will be paid $3.125 million in liquidated damages if fired before Dec. 1.

 

Here's what we do know about him: He likes the Chicago White Sox and talks about his favorite team regularly.

 

When he was hired 46 months ago, his wife, Valerie, noted his enjoyment of the symphony. He likes to say he has no hobbies, she said at the time, but he reads often and listens to music. He's a history buff and a perfectionist.

 

Callahan's father was a long�time Chicago police officer. His mother worked for the city's archdiocese.

 

He's rarely seen outside of the football environment in Nebraska. He sat among the crowd at the College World Series in 2004 and watched the Rolling Stones in concert at Qwest Center Omaha.

 

He doesn't go to restaurants, Cassidy said, out of concern that fans will chronicle his every move and wonder why he's not busy with football.

 

He eats most of his meals at the stadium. He pumps his own gas and gets his hair cut at a downtown shop.

 

"He's not some recluse," Cassidy said, "but there's only so much time in the day he can devote to different things."

 

There is a caring side to the man that doesn't come through at press conferences and on the sidelines.

 

His players see it. Purify said the coach called him several times a week last summer as the senior receiver served a suspension for his two arrests.

 

"I love him as a person," Purify said.

 

Quarterback Joe Ganz talks with Callahan about their Chicago roots. Callahan is from the South Side, the blue-collar district, and it still shows, Ganz said.

 

"He doesn't show that personable side much," said the QB, recruited to Nebraska in Callahan's first month on the job.

 

"He's pretty much strictly business. But when you're up in the offices, talking to him, he's different. We don't really talk about football."

 

Nothing illustrates his compassion more than the charity work.

 

Coach Callahan Charities has raised more than $15,000 for both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln library system and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

 

His organization has contributed $212,000 to cancer research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and $20,000 to Fresh Start, a Lincoln organization that provides shelter and support for women who experience barriers in their lives.

 

Think its all for PR value?

 

Callahan's mother died of breast cancer. His son, Daniel, battles juvenile diabetes.

 

Callahan has declined Omaha speaking engagements that pay $10,000 and up. As for the money he does receive for public speaking, it goes directly into his charity. He's never taken a penny from an NU football camp. And his camps, more than any under the direction of previous NU coaches, encourage youth attendance.

 

"He asks the players to give back to the community," Cassidy said. "And if you're in a leadership position, you had better do it, too, or asking them doesn't mean anything. In Nebraska, you could literally be speaking every day to a different group, but then you wouldn't be doing your job.

 

"The charity was set up in such a way that he could do work for the community."

 

Cassidy wishes that people knew Callahan like he did.

 

"But then, they don't get the chance to spend 90 hours a week with the guy," he said. "When I came to Nebraska, I didn't know Bill Callahan from the man on the moon. I have grown to appreciate what he's done, but I don't think the state has. I really believe, deep down, people don't understand him."

 

If you look hard enough, the stories are out there. Like the one about the California sportswriter, a Nebraska grad who covered the Raiders during Callahan's time as head coach.

 

The writer, in a letter to Callahan last year after he attended the Cotton Bowl, extended encouragement. Callahan wrote back and congratulated the writer on the birth of his daughter.

 

"If more people knew him, I think theyd really like him," Millard North coach Fred Petito said. "He's got good social skills. He's easy to talk to. I think he's a pretty good man. I'm just sorry things aren't working out for him."

 

Jim Pillen feels badly, too. Pillen, a prominent booster and former NU player under Osborne, describes Callahan as "extraordinarily focused, but very caring."

 

That's the thing about Callahan — his focus is often confused for a lack of concern. He doesn't rub elbows with boosters or golf regularly.

 

Every day and night on his 12-mile drive to and from Memorial Stadium, Callahan passes Hi-Mark Golf Course. One spring morning, he mentioned to Cassidy that it always appears empty.

 

"He said we ought to go out there and play some time," Cassidy said. "I said, Coach, when you're driving to work at 6 in the morning and going home at 11 at night, people don't play golf at that time of day.

 

Pillen said he doesn't think that it would have made a difference if Nebraskans knew Callahan better.

 

"The part I've struggled with most through this is that there's been constant criticism of our program," Pillen said. "It's been going on for four years. Most Nebraska fans don't know anything different than what they read, so they just line up like a bunch of ducks."

 

Cassidy wonders, too. He worked for 19 years at Texas A&M and watched R.C. Slocum build strong relationships with program followers.

 

"Ultimately, that investment helped in a lot of ways," Cassidy said. "It got him through some rocky times, but it comes down to wins and losses."

 

Callahan, on the eve of perhaps his final game, is 27-21. He's 15-16 against the Big 12, 0-7 versus the Top 10.

 

If Nebraska loses Friday, it will miss a bowl game for the second time in four years under Callahan after playing in 34 straight.

 

Those numbers mean more for the future of his employment at Nebraska than any personal connection with the state and its people. For many of the thousands who've never met Callahan, his decision to live along a dirt road matters little.

 

"Nebraskans wanted to fire Bob Devaney," Pillen said.

 

"They wanted to fire Tom Osborne. That's just the way it is.

 

The only thing a head coach at Nebraska can do is win games. It's that simple."

[DJR313]

That's a great article.

[np_husker]

That's a great article.

 

I thought so too.

 

I don't think Callahan is a bad guy, just not a good head coach and certainly not a good fit at Nebraska.

[omahaustin]

That's a great article.

I'm not sure of the point...It's a great article, but is he trying to say we should settle for mediocrity just because he's a nice guy?

 

I hear Francione was a charitable guy, too...

Guess that just means, saints shouldn't coach football.

[TrueHuskerFan]

Good article, I wish him well in whatever he does next.

[BlackShirt D]

that took me 10 minutes to read

[MCAT800]

Reading the article confirms what most say, he is not cut out to be the HC at Nebraska.

You don't have to embrace the fame, but to hide from it and not open up to the people and the tradition of Neb will do nothing but drive a wedge.

 

So long and good luck selling your house.

[Glendower]

A "history buff"? Seems kind of contradictory that he tried so hard to distance himself from Nebraska's.

[HuskerNCo]

So what do we want, a rah rah guy? TO was most certainly NOT a rah rah guy. Do we want someone that would expose his family to our neverending bitch sessions? You can not tell me that Coach Callahan is not emotional or that he doesn't care about this program.

I think it was a very good article. We, as fans, tend to forget, our coaches are people with lives outside of Nebraska football. Nebraska Football is not the end all be all.

[Dundermifflinite]

I'm not bagging on the guy, but to be apart of this program, I think the fans want to know that you're one of them...I know Coach Callahan's neighbor at Firethorn, he told me that, although they are nice people, you always got the feeling they were just 'squatting.'

[joehusker]

What a puff piece for Cally. I think they forgot to mention that Raiders players had to be restrained from him during his stint in Oakland.

[zoogs]

So what do we want, a rah rah guy? TO was most certainly NOT a rah rah guy. Do we want someone that would expose his family to our neverending bitch sessions? You can not tell me that Coach Callahan is not emotional or that he doesn't care about this program.

I think it was a very good article. We, as fans, tend to forget, our coaches are people with lives outside of Nebraska football. Nebraska Football is not the end all be all.

 

Thank you! Exactly. Whether or not you think Callahan is the most effective choice for future W's, you cannot say he has stained this program or that he is a bad person.

[huskerhawk]

that took me 10 minutes to read

 

 

Yeah, why are Iowans always so slow?

[huskerhawk]

Reading the article confirms what most say, he is not cut out to be the HC at Nebraska.

You don't have to embrace the fame, but to hide from it and not open up to the people and the tradition of Neb will do nothing but drive a wedge.

 

So long and good luck selling your house.

 

 

Geez. He warrants some compassion, don't you think?

[Dundermifflinite]

Reading the article confirms what most say, he is not cut out to be the HC at Nebraska.

You don't have to embrace the fame, but to hide from it and not open up to the people and the tradition of Neb will do nothing but drive a wedge.

 

So long and good luck selling your house.

 

 

Geez. He warrants some compassion, don't you think?

 

how about 3.125 million dollars?