Pelini and asst' shut down

[Eric the Red]

Pelini: program shut down until coach is named

ERIC OLSON

Associated Press

 

SAN ANTONIO - Interim Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini said Tuesday the Nebraska football program is essentially in a shutdown mode until a permanent coach is named.

 

Pelini and Nebraska's assistant coaches are awaiting a decision by athletic director Steve Pederson, who fired Frank Solich on November 29.

 

"They are all pretty much unemployed now," Pelini said of himself and the rest of the staff.

 

Pelini, who led the No. 22 Huskers to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in Monday night's Alamo Bowl, did not rule out looking for another job now that the bowl game is over.

 

When Pederson named Pelini interim head coach, he said Pelini would serve through the bowl game.

 

"I've got to make sure my family is taken care of," Pelini said.

 

Pelini also said he was not in negotiations with Pederson and that he had been given no indication when the search for a new coach would end.

 

Pederson has refused to comment on the search, which he is conducting by himself.

 

Asked how long he was willing to wait for a possible job offer from Pederson, Pelini said he did not have a time table.

 

Pelini brushed aside talk that he would be a second-choice selection if he were hired now. It had been widely reported that Pederson may be trying to land a coach with NFL experience.

 

"There are a lot of second choices that do pretty well," Pelini said.