Tom Osborne Interview

[HUSKER 37]

Oldie but a goodie

 

The Osborne Dynasty

 

 

The Tom Osborne Interview

 

 

In An Exclusive Interview With The Husker Press Box, Tom Osborne Answers Readers Questions About His Triumphs, Career and Life After Football

 

 

by Mark Fricke

September 28, 1998

 

 

 

It's been almost ten months since Tom Osborne shook the college football world and the state of Nebraska with the announcement of his retirement. His accomplishments were ones that created a legend. So much so that the College Football Hall of Fame waived their customary waiting period for induction to place him immediately among the peers legends who came before.

 

For most people retirement means a chance to slow down, relax and reflect on your career. But Tom Osborne isn't most people. He is the most recognizable person in Nebraska. Osborne has used that visibility to spearhead several charitable campaigns and speaking efforts, endorsements and even a teaching assignment at the University of Nebraska.

 

So slowing down and relaxing may be further down the road for Osborne. But he can reflect. Tom Osborne sat down for his first ever exclusive interview with an on-line service and answered many questions submitted by readers of the Husker Press Box. The following are his responses to many of the hundreds of submissions.

 

 

What are your primary focuses and goals since your retirement from coaching? Dan Hauge - George, IA.

"I enjoy teaching. I'm working with the University Foundation a little bit. Probably my main interest right now is the mentoring programming Teammates which we're taking across the state of Nebraska. I do a little bit of work with Cabelles, an outdoor outfitters which kind of fits some of my interests."

 

 

 

Now that you are retired, how do you spend a typical day? Bob Barnett - Bethesda, MD.

"I go to my office at eight in the morning and I usually come home about six thirty. I'm teaching some classes so I do a lot of reading and a lot of preparation. I handle a lot of correspondence. I find the most difficult thing now is I've got so many different things pulling at my time, that organising is hard. In football you knew exactly where you were going to be every minute of the day and you didn't have to keep so many balls in the air."

 

 

 

Would you ever consider re entering coaching? Harold Hunter - Dallas, TX

"I would doubt that would happen, but I guess this year is kind of a trial balloon. Some coaches find that they simply live without coaching. Maybe that will be the case with me. I don't know that will happen, I kind of doubt it. I guess you never say never but I have no plans right now to return to coaching. I suppose if I felt really strongly about it I would look at coaching any level. I'm content with what I'm doing."

 

 

 

Of your three National Championships, which one means the most you and why? Jeff Amos - Fort Belvoir, VA

"I think the most memorable time I can remember is the 1995 Orange Bowl in Miami. We finally beat Miami in Miami and we did it in the fourth quarter, and we did it primarily by out conditioning them. We wore them down. Miami had won 62 out of 63 game sin the Orange Bowl over a period of many years and almost nobody ever beat them at the end of the game because the humidity and heat was usually in their favor particularly late in the year. So I think that game and that season, with Frazier's injury with Berringer being hurt and the team overcoming a great deal of adversity. I think that was one of the most memorable moments for me."

 

 

 

How did you develop such a strong faith in Jesus Christ. John Mommens - Omaha, NE

I was raised in a strong Christian home. Between my sophomore and junior year in college I went to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp in Estes Park, Colorado. I think that particular event at some point during that week. I heard Christianity articulated in a way that impacted me the way I could relate to it. I saw a vitality and virility in Christianity that I had not seen before. Partly because the people at the camp were at the camp were people I could relate to and understand. So that was really the date, probably about age 19 or 20, that my conversion as an adult occurred and I've never really turned away from that.

 

 

 

I'm a sophomore football player at Millard North High School in Omaha, Nebraska. I was wondering if perhaps you might be able to give me a few key ideas to work and live by in the upcoming years as my football career continues. Brandon Cavanaugh - Omaha, NE

"I think it's important that young people don't limit their options athletically too soon. So many kids decide to become a swimmer or a football player or a basketball player give up other sports too quickly. Obviously a good all around conditioning program involving some running, some lifting that type of preparation. And I think going to summer camp, football or basketball whatever you're interested in gives you a little better perspective of what it take to be successful in a given sport. Plus academic excellence because the requirements academically are such that you have to make sure you take care of that first."

 

 

 

Did you or your coaches every use the internet to scout other teams or for recruiting?Michael Barnett - Peoria, IL

"I'm not totally computer illiterate, I can retrieve e-mail a little bit probably if I had a gun to me head could send an e-mail message. We've checked the internet on recruiting. Some of the information is inaccurate. There's always a lot of scuttlebut out there so we would check it periodically. We had a couple of grad assistants who were pretty good at using the internet. They would often look at it every day and check the sites they thought were important then let us know what they saw."

 

 

 

What are your thoughts on the use of creatine by the Nebraska football players in light of the uncertainty of its long term effects? Joel Parriot - Salina, KS

"Creatine is approved, or at east not banned by the NCAA or any major organization I know of. It's basically a food supplement. It's a concentration of protein as I understand it. An ounce or two of Creatine would be about the same amount of protein as you might get if you sat down and ate ten or twelve steaks. Of course eating ten or twelve steaks is probable not going to be good for you but it does seem to enhance recovery time. I other words you can work out hard and apparently come back in a shorter time. there's a little bit of concern about cramping but there are no studies right now that indicate negative affects. (Androstenedione)converts food into testosterone. That is banned by the NCAA. I think there are greater concerns about that in terms of health. It is not a steroid per se but in some ways it does the same thing that steroids do. I'm not an expert on that by I know anyone who takes that would be banned. It is kind of a sticky issue. There are a lot more studies longitudinally being done about creatine but it just hasn't been around long enough to have a ten or fifteen year shelf life where people know what's going to happen over a long period of time."

 

 

 

If you had to change one thing about the recruiting process, what would it be? Ralph Ferrara - Secaucus, NJ

"I think things have changed for the better. The general perception out there is there is still a lot of cheating. People are offered cars and money on a regular basis. That has not been my experience. There is one insidious thing in recruiting and that is the promise or the implication of playing time like "if you come to our school you're gong to start." Those are kind of dishonest statements because if you do make athletic competitive you can't promise playing time, you can't promise all-American status or first round draft pick status and those things. So sometimes those things get a little out of hand. But recruiting seasons have been cut back and that's to the benefit of the athletes and the coaches. The contact period in football are only about two months where you can actually see a player face to face and his parents. You can only see them once a week. That';s contrasted to many years ago when recruiting went on for four or five months and you see them as often as you want. That became wearing. I know that it is still an intrusion in the schools. I know sometimes the coaches and teachers have to be fed up with a great player getting a lot of attention. I don't know what we can do to improve that a whole lot."

 

 

 

How did you and the media get along while you were coaching? It seems you were a target by some. John Prescott - San Diego, CA

"I learned a lot. I think that a lot of people in athletics or politics have almost come to the same place where you're a little bit leery, a bit distrustful particularly of somebody from outside in the media that you don't know very well and you don't know what they're going to do. The media gets upset because people are unaccessable or distant and yet the reason that happens is because a person has been burned when someone comes in and said they were going to do a certain kind of story and they had no intentions of doing that. So that's been disappointing but that's part of life. Some football coaches aren't all they should be, some people in the media aren't all they should be and the majority are pretty good people. i've gotten along well generally with the media but I have been burned a few times."

 

 

 

Over the years, Cornhusker teams seem to have developed the team chemistry to win consistently and meet the challenges to remain one of the top teams in the nation year in and year our. How have you and the coaching staff identified the characteristics of players and/or develop the character and chemistry to make this a reality.Dave King - Grosse Pointe, MI

"We had a 'theme-of-the-week' at Nebraska. One week it would be honesty, one week it would be perseverance, one week it would be teamwork. We would have that in the scouting report, we would have some quotes and flush it out and we would talk about it on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. Over the course of maybe 18 weeks of the season we will have covered character issues from many different standpoints. We hoped to move our players (ahead) on character. And I think to some degree we were able to do that."

 

 

 

What loss stands out in your mind as being the most difficult for you to take personally, and why? Neil Johnson - Merriam, KS

"Early in my coaching career we lost five straight time to Oklahoma which did not go over very well in Nebraska. But I can say each time we lost we learned a lot, we became a better team. we lost seven straight bowl games at one point and I think each one of those losses was very instructional. So sometimes losing can be the most important thing that happens to you. It depends on how you react to it."

 

 

 

Are you at peace with your decisions, despite media's constant harping and lack of understanding? Do you wish you could have done more to help those young men? Orval Oleson - Clinton, SC

"There were really about five players that were called into question One of them was Riley Washington. I was really proud that would stood by Riley, he was found innocent. He never should have been charged. he had his life pretty much ruined and we stood by him. Damon Benning was fa;se;y charged and we stood by him. He was exonerated. Tyrone Williams I think has done very well. He is a strong person spiritually. He's a good father a good husband and a good football player and made one mistake one time in his life and he's done everything he can to live that down. Christian Peter has been doing well. He's abstaining from alcohol and playing well for the Giants. Lawrence Phillips has not done anything particularly well."

 

 

 

Do you regret reinstating Lawrence Phillips to the team? Eric Buehlmann - Arlington, VA

"What we did with Lawrence was we by the facts, we went by the policy of the team and the University and we didn't try to hang him out to dry as some people wanted us to do. Much of the information published about Lawrence was inaccurate. So I feel good about the fact that we adhered to principal and did not make a decision based on what the press wanted us to do or what people who didn't know anything about the case felt should happen. What Lawrence had to do at that point was take his life and run with it and so far he hasn't done very well. But we've had a lot of players who haven't done very well and then at age 25, 28 , 30 ,35 sometimes they finally come around. Who knows maybe that will happen to Lawrence."

 

 

 

The coach of Shaun Coleman, a prized Husker recruit from Colorado, was quoted as saying: "The reason you (the Huskers) got this kid was because Ron Brown did the best job of recruiting that I've ever seen. What makes Ron Brown such a persuasive and winsome recruiter? Dave Kassing - Colorado Springs, CO

"We have a lot of guys who are doing a great job of recruiting. Ron is very personable and relates well with people and is willing to work hard. Turner Gill has done a tremendous job recruiting and has brought in some great recruits too. I think everyone on the staff at Nebraska understands that the life blood of program is recruiting, and the firs thing that goes is recruiting. So when you begin to slide it's because you haven't recruited. So I think everybody's worked hard at it and done a great job. But Ron's a great person and a great asset."

 

 

 

Has your health improved,since you stepped away from the pressures of coaching ? Joe Miller - Phoenix AZ

I feel good and I'm doing everything I always did. I still workout regularly and I maintain a pretty active schedule and just not coaching any more.

 

 

 

How will historians remember Tom Osborne? Jim Vojtech - Hermosa Beach, CA

"It's hard to say. Some people will remember the '83 Orange Bowl, some people will remember only Lawrence Phillips, some will remember the national championship games. I 'm not too worried about that. the most important thing is how my players remember me and the coaches I coached with, and what the net impact was. Was it healthy? Was it positive? Did people grow through the experience of playing at Nebraska or did they become lesser human beings? That will be the final epitaph that will be important. I don't know how you right that one. That's something only time will tell."

 

 

 

I know that you have a love for fishing. Where is your favorite fishing hole? And what is your favorite fish? Robert Anderson - Waco, TX

"Strangely enough, I probably have not done any more fishing than I normally did this last summer. I got away a few times, but the thing that is different, I will try to get in a couple maybe three days of fishing a couple times this fall. It won't be a lot. I enjoy trout fishing, I enjoy fly fishing. I enjoy salmon, walleye, everything. I go to a lot of places. I go to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Alaska and Nebraska."

 

 

 

My daughter plays high school basketball. Going into her junior year, she may be a "practice player" for her junior and senior years. I have my doubts whether she will be willing to try out for the team under the circumstances. What do you tell kids who will likely not get game playing time? And what advice would you give a players in these circumstances? Bob Fall - Fairfax, Virginia

"I think that always difficult to ( keep non-starters interested) The players that we've had that have come in and doing well are people who find football to be fun. So we try to make football fun even for the scout team guys. And we also tried to make sure everyone was treated well. we didn't the scout team player any different that the first team player and we always tried to include them in every reward. As a result I think they always felt they were part of us and that was important to them."

 

 

 

In Nebraska the NU football team has so much media coverage and interest by fans across the world. How did you maintain balance for yourself, the coaches and your family throughout your career? Dan Hakes -Overland Park, Kansas

"(With some people) it becomes such a life and death issue. People's whole sense of well-being their egos are sometimes built into the thing of who wins this game. It's still a game and I just think that sometimes that gets to be a little unhealthy for everyone involved when you place so much emphasis."

 

 

 

What one person had the greatest influence on your life? Why? Doug Thewke - Johnson City, TN

"I think my Dad had the most influence. He was interested in sports and was a good person."

 

In the Orange Bowl in 1983 what play was called when we went for two? Was there an option with contingencies? Was the missed block by the tight end the reason Coach Gill threw to Jeff Smith or was that the plan all along? Greg Weiss - Des Moines, IA

" We had a good play called. we had prepared for it. The Miami defensive back just made an exceptional reaction and got a fingertip on the ball and the ball was probable thrown behind the receiver by a couple of inches. A bit more out front and we might have scored. So we had some close calls when we had two or three times when we had the chance to win a national championship and didn't But I think we learned something, we benefited from those games and was glad that we were eventually able to win two or three of them because at least we didn't have to answer the same questions over and over again about not winning the big one."

 

 

 

To see Michigan struggle against the only two option teams they have faced in two years, does this offer any insight to how a NU vs Mich. match up would've turned out? John Dostal - Omaha, NE.

"I think anytime you have a great team you think like you would do well. But I'm sure Michigan felt the same way. We would very much would have liked to play Michigan but there wasn't anything we could do about it. We were unrestricted. we could go anywhere and play anybody. The Big 10 and the PAC 10 unfortunatly entered in to an arraingment where they chose not to join the Alliance. I don't think it was good for football because people want to see the best teams available play. Fortunatly now we've gotten rid of that situation. But it took a little bit longer than I would have liked to have seen."

 

 

 

Of all the players you coached over the years, who are a few that you feel had the best combination of athletic ability, academic ability, leadership, character and integrity? Tod Fitzke - Denver, CO

"Turner Gill and I have been very close. Turner as a player, as a graduate assistant and as an assistant coach has really developed into a wonderful person. Tommie Frazier has grown a lot personally and spiritually. The guy I am very proud of who maybe didn't get things in place until he was about 28 years old was Irving Fryar. Right now there's no finer person that Irving Fryar. He went through a lot of difficult time early on. Brook Berringer and I were very close, and so on. There are so many that it's hard to name them all but those are some of the people that come to mind."

 

 

 

Mr. Osborne, how did it feel, that very first game this season, not to be on the field? Linda Thiles - Raleigh, NC

"Its hard to sit and watch a game anymore. There's part of me that would really rather not be there. Like Bo Schembechler said when he retired he was going to watch the first game in his basement on TV in his basement with nobody around. Sometimes your tempted to adopt that mentality where you just want to withdraw from public view as you watch a game. that's probably not healthy either."

 

 

 

What did you really think of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer and his teams? Joe Lamb - Syracuse, NY

"Barry and I were good friends. That was the thing about the Nebraska Oklahoma game was that both teams were very relaxed. Both teams had a very healthy respect for each other. You didn't have a lot of negativism that is wrapped up in a lot o rivalries for what ever reason. I think a lot of that was because of Batty's personality and maybe my personality. We just didn't get involved in a lot of banter or game week one-upsmanship. We were very different people but we were always good friends away from the game."