Bo Pelini

[np_husker]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200...;u_sid=10417659

 

Tom Shatel: Jury is biased, but verdict on Bo is not in

BY TOM SHATEL

WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST

 

LINCOLN — This just in: Bo Pelini will not be available for interviews or autographs after Friday morning's Big Red Breakfast in Omaha. Pelini will be whisked by limo to the airport so he can catch a private jet to South Bend, Ind., where he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Friday night.

 

Just kidding.

 

I think.

 

As he prepares for his first official game as a head coach, it only seems like Pelini is already a Hall of Fame coach.

 

Some folks are calling him a genius. Others think that he's going to fly in and save the day. You just wonder where he's going to change clothes. In this cellular world we live in, you don't see many phone booths anymore.

 

The thing is, a lot of folks are dead certain that Pelini is a can't-miss, surefire, 100 percent lock to take Nebraska back to the promised land, or the BCS championship game, whichever comes first.

 

They will flock to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, wearing "Bo Knows Nebraska" and "Bo Knows Tradition" shirts.

 

But does Bo know head coaching?

 

Who knows?

 

Nobody, not even the cocksure Pelini, knows for certain if he is Bob Stoops or Mike Stoops. That is, is he a great coordinator who translates into a great CEO? Or a great coordinator who is simply a great coordinator?

 

Quite possibly, he's simply the first Bo Pelini.

 

That's not a bad thing. There is a mythical quality to Pelini in Nebraska. Part of that was the way he energized the defense and the program in 2003. Part of it is that Nebraska fans want and need a hero to wrap their arms around.

 

Maybe, too, part of this obsession is that Husker fans don't want to consider the alternative to Pelini not being THE GUY.

 

Put it this way: Pelini has the look and pedigree to be the next college sideline icon. But it's one thing to dream it and another to assume it and expect it.

 

Here's one thing I do know: We'll find out a lot about Pelini the head coach this season.

 

True, Pelini's legend at Nebraska will be tied directly to his ability to recruit players who can run, catch, block and tackle better than the other boys on the Big 12 block.

 

But there are certain things to look for in this intriguing 2008 campaign that will give large hints as to whether Pelini has got it.

 

• 1. Game management. What does he do on fourth-and-one at midfield? Does he kick first or receive? Some of the little game decisions will be interesting with Pelini, a defensive guy who breaks a streak of three offensive-minded head coaches at Nebraska.

 

• 2. Anger management. Pelini has matured since 2003, when he got the 15-yard personal foul flag in the Alamo Bowl. Nebraska fans like fire, but they don't necessarily want their coach to be romping and stomping. They want his head in the game. Oh, and no throat slashes, please.

 

• 3. Last, but not least, is program management. This may be the most telling sign of what to expect in the Bo Era.

 

For instance: What will Pelini do with a roster full of faces he doesn't know and didn't recruit? Will he put a square peg in a round hole?

 

We saw this in 2004, Bill Callahan's first year, and it wasn't pretty. Callahan had quarterback Joe Dailey throwing 40 times a game when he was more of a runner. There were a handful of games — enough to keep the bowl streak alive — in which Callahan insisted on forcing his passing game when the situation and personnel strengths called for lining up and running.

 

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has promised that he will play to this offense's strength, which will be running. But it will be up to Pelini to force his will onto the situation, make sure that talent is utilized and not wasted.

 

To that end, Cody Glenn will be an interesting case study. If Pelini can get something out of Glenn at linebacker, then perhaps there is some magic in this man.

 

But let's be careful on the subject of magic. Don't expect the same defense Pelini transformed in 2003. There's no Barrett Ruud or Demorrio Williams running around. Is there a Josh or Daniel Bullocks? A Ryon Bingham?

 

Watching how many old faces Pelini can make over into new stars is part of the ongoing drama we'll watch this season. But if he can only squeeze so much out, it just means that Pelini is human.

 

That's right. Pelini will make mistakes. He's — gulp — going to lose some games, maybe more than a few. Fans will grumble. The myth will shatter. A Husker fan will actually yell at Pelini. Oh, the horror.

 

But when there is adversity, we'll watch to see how Pelini handles it and, moreover, how his team responds.

 

Bottom line: What we expect is a well-coached team that plays with its heart and head. Miracles are strictly optional.

 

"I don't get caught up in that," Pelini said of his hero status. "All I can do is the best job I can. Whether we come out and light the world on fire this Saturday, or we struggle, it can't change what I have to do."

 

Warren Powers, the former Nebraska player and assistant and Missouri coach, once told a good story about Tom Osborne. It was 1973, Osborne's first year as head coach. Osborne was going to show everyone who was boss. He told the team that if they weren't on the bus on time, the bus would leave for the game without them.

 

"Well, Tom came downstairs to get on the bus and he was surprised to see that nobody was there," Power said. "They were gone. The bus had left without him."

 

The moral to the story? If Pelini makes the bus on Saturday, that's called a good start.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

2. Anger management. Pelini has matured since 2003, when he got the 15-yard personal foul flag in the Alamo Bowl. Nebraska fans like fire, but they don't necessarily want their coach to be romping and stomping. They want his head in the game. Oh, and no throat slashes, please.

Word!

[cornhuskers4ever]

Personally I want a coach who's romping and stomping. I would love to see when Nebraska does their group thing where people dive onto the pile of players to have Coach Pelini right in the middle of it. I think you're going to see Pelini with some emotion on the sidelines. He'll be high fiving players and giving that "ATTA BOY!" slap on the back. It would be totally awesome to see him do the 3 and out signal when the Blackshirts shut down an offense.

[kstatehater]

I would LOVE to see a lot of this:

[Hunter94]

those fans with unreasonable expectations will find something not to like about Bo........keep it real guys, relax, observe and let the guy breath and grow....this IS his first HC job.

[melscott62]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200...;u_sid=10417659

 

Tom Shatel: Jury is biased, but verdict on Bo is not in

BY TOM SHATEL

WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST

 

LINCOLN — This just in: Bo Pelini will not be available for interviews or autographs after Friday morning's Big Red Breakfast in Omaha. Pelini will be whisked by limo to the airport so he can catch a private jet to South Bend, Ind., where he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Friday night.

 

Just kidding.

 

I think.

 

As he prepares for his first official game as a head coach, it only seems like Pelini is already a Hall of Fame coach.

 

Some folks are calling him a genius. Others think that he's going to fly in and save the day. You just wonder where he's going to change clothes. In this cellular world we live in, you don't see many phone booths anymore.

 

The thing is, a lot of folks are dead certain that Pelini is a can't-miss, surefire, 100 percent lock to take Nebraska back to the promised land, or the BCS championship game, whichever comes first.

 

They will flock to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, wearing "Bo Knows Nebraska" and "Bo Knows Tradition" shirts.

 

But does Bo know head coaching?

 

Who knows?

 

Nobody, not even the cocksure Pelini, knows for certain if he is Bob Stoops or Mike Stoops. That is, is he a great coordinator who translates into a great CEO? Or a great coordinator who is simply a great coordinator?

 

Quite possibly, he's simply the first Bo Pelini.

 

That's not a bad thing. There is a mythical quality to Pelini in Nebraska. Part of that was the way he energized the defense and the program in 2003. Part of it is that Nebraska fans want and need a hero to wrap their arms around.

 

Maybe, too, part of this obsession is that Husker fans don't want to consider the alternative to Pelini not being THE GUY.

 

Put it this way: Pelini has the look and pedigree to be the next college sideline icon. But it's one thing to dream it and another to assume it and expect it.

 

Here's one thing I do know: We'll find out a lot about Pelini the head coach this season.

 

True, Pelini's legend at Nebraska will be tied directly to his ability to recruit players who can run, catch, block and tackle better than the other boys on the Big 12 block.

 

But there are certain things to look for in this intriguing 2008 campaign that will give large hints as to whether Pelini has got it.

 

• 1. Game management. What does he do on fourth-and-one at midfield? Does he kick first or receive? Some of the little game decisions will be interesting with Pelini, a defensive guy who breaks a streak of three offensive-minded head coaches at Nebraska.

 

• 2. Anger management. Pelini has matured since 2003, when he got the 15-yard personal foul flag in the Alamo Bowl. Nebraska fans like fire, but they don't necessarily want their coach to be romping and stomping. They want his head in the game. Oh, and no throat slashes, please.

 

• 3. Last, but not least, is program management. This may be the most telling sign of what to expect in the Bo Era.

 

For instance: What will Pelini do with a roster full of faces he doesn't know and didn't recruit? Will he put a square peg in a round hole?

 

We saw this in 2004, Bill Callahan's first year, and it wasn't pretty. Callahan had quarterback Joe Dailey throwing 40 times a game when he was more of a runner. There were a handful of games — enough to keep the bowl streak alive — in which Callahan insisted on forcing his passing game when the situation and personnel strengths called for lining up and running.

 

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has promised that he will play to this offense's strength, which will be running. But it will be up to Pelini to force his will onto the situation, make sure that talent is utilized and not wasted.

 

To that end, Cody Glenn will be an interesting case study. If Pelini can get something out of Glenn at linebacker, then perhaps there is some magic in this man.

 

But let's be careful on the subject of magic. Don't expect the same defense Pelini transformed in 2003. There's no Barrett Ruud or Demorrio Williams running around. Is there a Josh or Daniel Bullocks? A Ryon Bingham?

 

Watching how many old faces Pelini can make over into new stars is part of the ongoing drama we'll watch this season. But if he can only squeeze so much out, it just means that Pelini is human.

 

That's right. Pelini will make mistakes. He's — gulp — going to lose some games, maybe more than a few. Fans will grumble. The myth will shatter. A Husker fan will actually yell at Pelini. Oh, the horror.

 

But when there is adversity, we'll watch to see how Pelini handles it and, moreover, how his team responds.

 

Bottom line: What we expect is a well-coached team that plays with its heart and head. Miracles are strictly optional.

 

"I don't get caught up in that," Pelini said of his hero status. "All I can do is the best job I can. Whether we come out and light the world on fire this Saturday, or we struggle, it can't change what I have to do."

 

Warren Powers, the former Nebraska player and assistant and Missouri coach, once told a good story about Tom Osborne. It was 1973, Osborne's first year as head coach. Osborne was going to show everyone who was boss. He told the team that if they weren't on the bus on time, the bus would leave for the game without them.

 

"Well, Tom came downstairs to get on the bus and he was surprised to see that nobody was there," Power said. "They were gone. The bus had left without him."

 

The moral to the story? If Pelini makes the bus on Saturday, that's called a good start.

 

I love how people just blurt this out without looking at the stats from 2002. none of those guys were very good before 2003. who knows how good a lighter attacking potter and turner will be? or a motivated suh? i could go on.... but you get the point