I Believe in Turner Gill

[Biff Clarn]

The more I sit and read all of the rumors and bulletin boards on line, the more I have come to my own realization that NEBRASKA NEEDS TURNER GILL!!!. Just as Tom Osborne needed Turner Gill in 1980 when he chose Nebraska over Oklahoma.

 

I am a Cornhusker by birth and my earliest Cornhusker memory is sitting with the family, eating turkey and watching the "Game of the Century". I was in high school in the early '80's so I remember the Scoring Explosion very well. I remember watching Turner run the triple option and thinking that I had never seen it run that way before, ie., the pivots after the snap, the quick decisions, how effortless he made it look. Turner Gill was the epitome of the perfect option quarterback. He seemed to almost always make the correct decision. I remember being absolutely heartbroken after the loss to Miami. If only I had realized at that time what Turner had assisted in starting, the sting would have been much less.

 

Fast forward 10 years to the Orange Bowl once again. It is once again the heartbreaking loss in the bowl game that costs Tom Osborne his first national title. At the time we didn't realize it, but that night a series of events were to begin that none of us could have ever imagined. The impression that is forever etched in my mind, is that of Turner Gill consoling Tommie Frazier (as I am sure Tom Osborne did for Turner) as they walk off the field. One can only imagine what Turner was saying to Tommie, but no one else on that field could have known the feelings that Tommie was having except Turner. From that night on, something changed at Nebraska, the players started working harder than they ever had, not only physically but mentally as well. It was the beginning of "Refuse To Lose". The rest as we know is history and oh what an awesome history it is.

 

The longer this season went on and it became obvious that changes would be made, I went through all of the possibilites in my head, just like everyone else did. I have gone through all of the names and wanted them all at one time or another, Bo, Grobe, Johnson, Gill, Patterson, Kelly. My mind kept coming back to one thing, I want Nebraska football back to the smashmouth, hit them so hard they blow snot bubbles, wear the opposition down till they quit days. Basically, I want Tom Osborne back. But it ain't gonna happen, so I want the closest thing to Tom Osborne we can find. That person is Turner Gill. He knows what Nebraska football is, he knows what it means to be a Cornhusker! He is the only man for the job.

 

Are there more experienced coaches out there...obviously. But not a single one of them knows what Turner knows about being a Cornhusker. It is more than just x's and o's, a coach needs that intangible ability to lead and understand why and whom you are leading. Turner has seen it from the players side as well as from the coaches side. He had a pretty good teacher and now the teacher just may become his boss.

 

There will be those that say Frank Solich was taught by Tom Osborne as well, and he was. I have had the good fortune through the years to meet and listen to Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, and Turner Gill at various functions throughout the state. When Tom spoke, you knew you were listening to a Leader and teacher of men. When Frank spoke, he just seemed uneasy, and did not have that quiet confidence of a great leader. When Turner spoke, you could see a lot of the same things you saw in Tom Osborne. You could tell that he was a leader and a very passionate person. In my mind, Tom Osborne and Turner Gill are cut from the same cloth.

 

I will be absolutely 100% behind whomever Tom Osborne selects for the next coach of the Cornhuskers.

 

I hope it is Turner Gill

[Bo Vandy]

That's an awful long post to provide nothing other than "he played here" as a reason to name him the head coach. I really wish some of you would put the blinders away.

[NMHUSKER]

That's an awful long post to provide nothing other than "he played here" as a reason to name him the head coach. I really wish some of you would put the blinders away.

It was a good post. It explained in detail why Turner would be a good Coach, ESPECIALLY at Nebraska. I put my blinders away many years ago. I also live in a realistic world where my ENTIRE life does not revolve around the Cornhuskers. In saying that I love the Cornhuskers..win or lose but I also enjoy what I have.

 

Turner Gill is the type of football Coach I want to lead my team. Pellini would also be a nice fit. I'd love to have them both back together which I don't really see happening.

I also respect Dr. Tom enough to do whats right. I'll let him choose and respect his decision. If you call that blinders than IMO it show sthat your a new comer to Nebraska football and don't really understand what it means to be a Husker.

Ask any former Husker athlete of the last 25 years ..Defensive or Offensive what Turner Gill means to them and this program. I'll bet you won't get many complaints about him becoming Head Coach.

Besides some of us need blinders so we don't read all the BS spread from people who have their Eyes Wide Shut! Mouth wide open..and Brain in Neutral.

IMO Nebraska is LUCKY to have at least 2 fine men wanting, willing and able to lead this team.

[junior4949]

You had me until you said ask any former players about their feelings on Gill becoming the next HC. Yeah, I know several. They don't share your sentiment.

[Husker Deb]

I don't know why former players wouldn't stand behind Turner Gill. Even if they were defensive players , that doesn't mean he couldn't get a good defensive coordinator. Tom was an assistant before he was head coach. We hung in there with him for over 20 years to be nat. champs again. Everyone wants everything TODAY anymore..

I hope we have some patience with whoever our new coach is because Tom won't pick someone wrong for NE.

 

I love Turner Gill and he looks good in both blue and red.

[BoP]

I think TG is overated

[admo]

The more I sit and read all of the rumors and bulletin boards on line, the more I have come to my own realization that NEBRASKA NEEDS TURNER GILL!!!. Just as Tom Osborne needed Turner Gill in 1980 when he chose Nebraska over Oklahoma.

 

I am a Cornhusker by birth and my earliest Cornhusker memory is sitting with the family, eating turkey and watching the "Game of the Century". I was in high school in the early '80's so I remember the Scoring Explosion very well. I remember watching Turner run the triple option and thinking that I had never seen it run that way before, ie., the pivots after the snap, the quick decisions, how effortless he made it look. Turner Gill was the epitome of the perfect option quarterback. He seemed to almost always make the correct decision. I remember being absolutely heartbroken after the loss to Miami. If only I had realized at that time what Turner had assisted in starting, the sting would have been much less.

 

Fast forward 10 years to the Orange Bowl once again. It is once again the heartbreaking loss in the bowl game that costs Tom Osborne his first national title. At the time we didn't realize it, but that night a series of events were to begin that none of us could have ever imagined. The impression that is forever etched in my mind, is that of Turner Gill consoling Tommie Frazier (as I am sure Tom Osborne did for Turner) as they walk off the field. One can only imagine what Turner was saying to Tommie, but no one else on that field could have known the feelings that Tommie was having except Turner. From that night on, something changed at Nebraska, the players started working harder than they ever had, not only physically but mentally as well. It was the beginning of "Refuse To Lose". The rest as we know is history and oh what an awesome history it is.

 

The longer this season went on and it became obvious that changes would be made, I went through all of the possibilites in my head, just like everyone else did. I have gone through all of the names and wanted them all at one time or another, Bo, Grobe, Johnson, Gill, Patterson, Kelly. My mind kept coming back to one thing, I want Nebraska football back to the smashmouth, hit them so hard they blow snot bubbles, wear the opposition down till they quit days. Basically, I want Tom Osborne back. But it ain't gonna happen, so I want the closest thing to Tom Osborne we can find. That person is Turner Gill. He knows what Nebraska football is, he knows what it means to be a Cornhusker! He is the only man for the job.

 

Are there more experienced coaches out there...obviously. But not a single one of them knows what Turner knows about being a Cornhusker. It is more than just x's and o's, a coach needs that intangible ability to lead and understand why and whom you are leading. Turner has seen it from the players side as well as from the coaches side. He had a pretty good teacher and now the teacher just may become his boss.

 

There will be those that say Frank Solich was taught by Tom Osborne as well, and he was. I have had the good fortune through the years to meet and listen to Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, and Turner Gill at various functions throughout the state. When Tom spoke, you knew you were listening to a Leader and teacher of men. When Frank spoke, he just seemed uneasy, and did not have that quiet confidence of a great leader. When Turner spoke, you could see a lot of the same things you saw in Tom Osborne. You could tell that he was a leader and a very passionate person. In my mind, Tom Osborne and Turner Gill are cut from the same cloth.

 

I will be absolutely 100% behind whomever Tom Osborne selects for the next coach of the Cornhuskers.

 

I hope it is Turner Gill

Nice post. I see what you are saying. Nothing wrong with putting your thoughts out there. Especially when you put a lot of thought into it as you did.

 

Whether he is hired or not, Gill is not a bad choice.

[seedguy]

That's an awful long post to provide nothing other than "he played here" as a reason to name him the head coach. I really wish some of you would put the blinders away.

It was a good post. It explained in detail why Turner would be a good Coach, ESPECIALLY at Nebraska. I put my blinders away many years ago. I also live in a realistic world where my ENTIRE life does not revolve around the Cornhuskers. In saying that I love the Cornhuskers..win or lose but I also enjoy what I have.

 

Turner Gill is the type of football Coach I want to lead my team. Pellini would also be a nice fit. I'd love to have them both back together which I don't really see happening.

I also respect Dr. Tom enough to do whats right. I'll let him choose and respect his decision. If you call that blinders than IMO it show sthat your a new comer to Nebraska football and don't really understand what it means to be a Husker.

Ask any former Husker athlete of the last 25 years ..Defensive or Offensive what Turner Gill means to them and this program. I'll bet you won't get many complaints about him becoming Head Coach.

Besides some of us need blinders so we don't read all the BS spread from people who have their Eyes Wide Shut! Mouth wide open..and Brain in Neutral.

IMO Nebraska is LUCKY to have at least 2 fine men wanting, willing and able to lead this team.

 

I agree 100% with everything, EVERYTHING, you said here. Thanks for saying what I wish I could have said so succinctly.

[TLS2]

You had me until you said ask any former players about their feelings on Gill becoming the next HC. Yeah, I know several. They don't share your sentiment.

 

I'm confused that you would say ask ANY former player because the guys that played with Turner have said publicly that they would love for Turner to be head coach. I loved the initial post here. Everything in it was true. Turner could be THE healing key for this busted up Nebraska program.

[HUSKER 37]

The more I sit and read all of the rumors and bulletin boards on line, the more I have come to my own realization that NEBRASKA NEEDS TURNER GILL!!!. Just as Tom Osborne needed Turner Gill in 1980 when he chose Nebraska over Oklahoma.

 

I am a Cornhusker by birth and my earliest Cornhusker memory is sitting with the family, eating turkey and watching the "Game of the Century". I was in high school in the early '80's so I remember the Scoring Explosion very well. I remember watching Turner run the triple option and thinking that I had never seen it run that way before, ie., the pivots after the snap, the quick decisions, how effortless he made it look. Turner Gill was the epitome of the perfect option quarterback. He seemed to almost always make the correct decision. I remember being absolutely heartbroken after the loss to Miami. If only I had realized at that time what Turner had assisted in starting, the sting would have been much less.

 

Fast forward 10 years to the Orange Bowl once again. It is once again the heartbreaking loss in the bowl game that costs Tom Osborne his first national title. At the time we didn't realize it, but that night a series of events were to begin that none of us could have ever imagined. The impression that is forever etched in my mind, is that of Turner Gill consoling Tommie Frazier (as I am sure Tom Osborne did for Turner) as they walk off the field. One can only imagine what Turner was saying to Tommie, but no one else on that field could have known the feelings that Tommie was having except Turner. From that night on, something changed at Nebraska, the players started working harder than they ever had, not only physically but mentally as well. It was the beginning of "Refuse To Lose". The rest as we know is history and oh what an awesome history it is.

 

The longer this season went on and it became obvious that changes would be made, I went through all of the possibilites in my head, just like everyone else did. I have gone through all of the names and wanted them all at one time or another, Bo, Grobe, Johnson, Gill, Patterson, Kelly. My mind kept coming back to one thing, I want Nebraska football back to the smashmouth, hit them so hard they blow snot bubbles, wear the opposition down till they quit days. Basically, I want Tom Osborne back. But it ain't gonna happen, so I want the closest thing to Tom Osborne we can find. That person is Turner Gill. He knows what Nebraska football is, he knows what it means to be a Cornhusker! He is the only man for the job.

 

Are there more experienced coaches out there...obviously. But not a single one of them knows what Turner knows about being a Cornhusker. It is more than just x's and o's, a coach needs that intangible ability to lead and understand why and whom you are leading. Turner has seen it from the players side as well as from the coaches side. He had a pretty good teacher and now the teacher just may become his boss.

 

There will be those that say Frank Solich was taught by Tom Osborne as well, and he was. I have had the good fortune through the years to meet and listen to Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, and Turner Gill at various functions throughout the state. When Tom spoke, you knew you were listening to a Leader and teacher of men. When Frank spoke, he just seemed uneasy, and did not have that quiet confidence of a great leader. When Turner spoke, you could see a lot of the same things you saw in Tom Osborne. You could tell that he was a leader and a very passionate person. In my mind, Tom Osborne and Turner Gill are cut from the same cloth.

 

I will be absolutely 100% behind whomever Tom Osborne selects for the next coach of the Cornhuskers.

 

I hope it is Turner Gill

Great post, Biff.

 

Funny how whenever I think of leadership or having that "Something" that makes a very few people "Winners"..I usually picture TG in my head.

 

X's and O's are important up to a point, but a guy that wins..one who "can take hisn's and beat your'ns..and he can take yourn's and beat Hisn's...It's something special.

[JHaWk]

I am sure TG would show the new players plenty of old highlight reels from the old days, so thats a good thing. Dont think that the "inexperience" is a bad thing, TG has learned and will learn a lot from TO. MY one concern is can he recruit? I think TG is a better choice than Pelini, simply because he is a lot more level headed and his loyalty is not in doubt. He is a motivator and he can call the plays. TG FOR HEAD COACH