Jack Stark

[Enhance]

The thing I don't understand is that Steve Pederson was extremely involved with the Husker program way before the 2000's. On my Husker dvd set of the 95 Fiesta Bowl, you can see him walking down the tunnel with the players before the game. How could a guy so entrenched in a program devastate it like he did?

[husker rob]

i am just glad that the dark days are behind us and Bo has the team headed in the right direction

[GBRsal]

Solich may have been 10-3, but those 3 losses were brutal beatdowns against the only 3 decent teams we played. 2001 was his last hurrah with ozzy's players. let's not forget that a good chunk of the rosters of 04-07 were solich recruits. if pud had gone with pelini right off the reel, would pelini still be here? i think so. would pud still be here? who knows. we wouldn't have won any titles those years, but i bet the bowl streak would still be alive and most of those embarassing pilasterings would have been closer games. .02

[bshirt]

Solich may have been 10-3, but those 3 losses were brutal beatdowns against the only 3 decent teams we played. 2001 was his last hurrah with ozzy's players. let's not forget that a good chunk of the rosters of 04-07 were solich recruits. if pud had gone with pelini right off the reel, would pelini still be here? i think so. would pud still be here? who knows. we wouldn't have won any titles those years, but i bet the bowl streak would still be alive and most of those embarassing pilasterings would have been closer games. .02

 

Gee genius, it looked to me that all those 04 - 07 teams never beat or even matched Frank/Bo's 10 - 3 season, right? And that's even with the North division totally in the toilet in that time frame.

 

So are you "really" that stupid as to give 08 & 09's blackshirt accomplishments to Cally/Coz? If so.....God help us.

 

Frank/Bo will forget more about cfb in any random five minutes than Cally/"you" will ever know.

[Enhance]

Solich may have been 10-3, but those 3 losses were brutal beatdowns against the only 3 decent teams we played. 2001 was his last hurrah with ozzy's players. let's not forget that a good chunk of the rosters of 04-07 were solich recruits. if pud had gone with pelini right off the reel, would pelini still be here? i think so. would pud still be here? who knows. we wouldn't have won any titles those years, but i bet the bowl streak would still be alive and most of those embarassing pilasterings would have been closer games. .02

 

Gee genius, it looked to me that all those 04 - 07 teams never beat or even matched Frank/Bo's 10 - 3 season, right? And that's even with the North division totally in the toilet in that time frame.

 

So are you "really" that stupid as to give 08 & 09's blackshirt accomplishments to Cally/Coz? If so.....God help us.

 

Frank/Bo will forget more about cfb in any random five minutes than Cally/"you" will ever know.

Careful with the insults, friend. This is all about opinions, and MODS generally aren't too friendly to those who talk down on others =).

[huzkerbob]

Actually Coach Osborne recommended Pud for the Pitt job.

 

He went there and ripped the place apart, tore down the basketball court and moved it off campus, most hated him for that, but he turned the program around. He had wanted Wandstadt here, but he went to Pitt. People at Pitt are very happy with him now.

 

Osborne again recomended him for AD after the job he did at Pitt.

 

He had different ideas, I doubt it was to ruin the program, but wanting to put his stamp on it.

 

The shutting the doors to all had to do with VaTech and security to start with, but I think it got out of control.

 

I do not thingk Coach Callahan was a bad coach, just not a good Nebraska head coach. Maybe not a good head coach period. He is a very nice guy, nothing compared to Pud. I have met them, just once with BC, but Pud several times, and never have liked him from the start. BC is easy to like one on one. I too think Pud was the cause of the problems, but BC and his loyalty got him in more trouble. He was asked to change his staff by Coach Osborne and he refused. But I am sure Coach Osborne knew that would be his reaction. BC knew he was gone long before any of us truly knew. All in stone a month or two before it happened. Too much money wanted him gone and Bo here.

 

Come on! BC knew he was out because the boosters wanted him gone? The guy was fielding one of the worst defenses in CFB history and refused to even admit that it was a liability. "I’ve done an excellent job in every area." Are you f'ing kidding me! The money wanted him out? of course they did, and so did every other fan with a brain! Hell I believe BC himself wanted out, and did everything he could to make it happen.....by doing absolutely nothing. What other choice did he give his employer when he refused to improve his work, or the work of his subordinates? Let them stick around until they completely run the franchise into the ground?

 

As far as the "closed doors" having anything to do with VT, that's B.S. It was due to SP being a stuffy corporate a-hole, and it started from day one.

 

I personally think that LP left the single ugliest mark on the univ. because of the amount of recurring bad press that keep popping up about him over and over again. Justifiably or not some fans around the country still have a bad image of NU from his actions alone. But what happened during the SP/BC nightmare was probably the single worst thing to happen to the athletic department and the univ in it's entire history. NU football was on the brink of total collapse under SP's leadership, and as FB goes so goes the univ itself.

[Count 'Bility]

 

 

The shutting the doors to all had to do with VaTech and security to start with, but I think it got out of control.

 

 

 

WRONG. Them doors were shut long before the VaTech incident ever happened and I concur with the previous post to this one

As far as Pederson goes, I go back and forth over and over, 1)did he really have intend on destroying Nebraska as it was in order to make them a losing program, or 2)did he really have intend on destroying Nebraska football as it was in order to make it what it aint-like everyone else 3)Pedey had an insanely large ego and wanted to make the changes to "bring Nebraska up to date" so he could say,"see, I did that".

I dont know but I'm glad it's over now, probably THEEE most irrelevant 4 years in the history of sports?

 

What I do say 100% is that for the most part, Callahan gave his all, he just didnt have what it takes to be a College HC. And there was one time, late 2006 season, that I was a full Callahan backer. Thru basically 3 seasons, he had shown steady consistent improvement, then his sh**ty decision making got in the way in a couple of losses, that lets' just say it, shoulda been wins, (big 12 game 06 and Auburn cotton bowl). The rest is history.

[Danimal]

Pedey was a POS while here, I was giddy when they canned his ass. That it was a Nebraska-guy that crapped all over the culture of the program made it all the worse. I'm sure TO rues the day he supported the Pedey hiring.

[junior4949]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100128/SPORTS/701289742

 

“I quit right after the Colorado game. I knew they were going to fire Frank (Solich). I told Frank when Steve Pederson was hired that he was going to fire him. Frank didn't believe me. He said no way. But I knew Steve didn't want him. I knew he would bring in different people and there would be different principles. I knew what was going on. Nobody had the courage to stand up and say what was going on except one businessman in Omaha, and that was David Sokol. That took guts, because they (NU) can come down on you very hard. Ask some of my (former) players who had radio shows and would criticize the Huskers and get a phone call the next day from the athletic department.

 

I know a lot of this write-up is about Creighton but they is some good quotes about the NU program and Dr. Tom. The above answer to why Stark left NU is pretty interesting. I think it shows that most of the disdain that people have for what went down in 2004-2007 should be aimed at Nebraska’s very own Stevie P. and his attempt to change everything. Billy C was just a pawn in Pud’s game and a lot of the blame he takes for the culture change should be directed at Pud.

 

I agree with everything you said. Pud was the cancer. BC was just a pawn. I think when people throw all of their hostility towards Clownahan, they tend to forget he was like the 4th through 6th choice by Pud. With that being said, Clownahan isn't a good head coach period. He coached a Super Bowl talented team left by Gruden. IMO, the Raiders made it to the Super Bowl his first year in spite of him. The second year, there was a mutiny by the players. Whether it's his personality or what, I don't know. However, he's just not a very good head coach.

 

IMO, we're witnessing history repeating itself right now in Lawrence, KS. Mangino wasn't KU's AD's choice. I think Gill made a horrible mistake becoming the pawn down there.

[Count 'Bility]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100128/SPORTS/701289742

 

“I quit right after the Colorado game. I knew they were going to fire Frank (Solich). I told Frank when Steve Pederson was hired that he was going to fire him. Frank didn't believe me. He said no way. But I knew Steve didn't want him. I knew he would bring in different people and there would be different principles. I knew what was going on. Nobody had the courage to stand up and say what was going on except one businessman in Omaha, and that was David Sokol. That took guts, because they (NU) can come down on you very hard. Ask some of my (former) players who had radio shows and would criticize the Huskers and get a phone call the next day from the athletic department.

 

 

IMO, we're witnessing history repeating itself right now in Lawrence, KS. Mangino wasn't KU's AD's choice. I think Gill made a horrible mistake becoming the pawn down there.

While i see your point, Kansas doesnt have half as much to lose as Nebraska. They'll just go about business as usual, use football to get thru the fall until basketball starts in November, kinda backwards from here.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

It was nice seeing Stark provide insights in Walk Ons-Huskers' Edge.

[Landlord]

Just a few quick thoughts I had.

 

 

 

1. I believe full-heartedly that Steve Pedersen thought that his actions were the best direction for the program, but the downfall was his over-confidence in his own genius, and being quick to dismiss any other possible ways of going about things.

 

 

2. Say what you want about Callahan, and a lot of it will be fair, but the guy did get us 8 and 9 win seasons, and into the top 15 of the national rankings (Maybe it was #17, can't remember). Not saying he was a good coach, but he wasn't a terrible one. Terrible coaches never make it to bowl games, have consistent losing seasons and don't show any signs of hope (unless you have a ton of talent, then you are still considered a good coach, ie Mack Brown).

 

 

3. Maybe Solich can come be AD when Osborne finishes his career

[sarge87]

http://www.omaha.com...PORTS/701289742

 

"I quit right after the Colorado game. I knew they were going to fire Frank (Solich). I told Frank when Steve Pederson was hired that he was going to fire him. Frank didn't believe me. He said no way. But I knew Steve didn't want him. I knew he would bring in different people and there would be different principles. I knew what was going on. Nobody had the courage to stand up and say what was going on except one businessman in Omaha, and that was David Sokol. That took guts, because they (NU) can come down on you very hard. Ask some of my (former) players who had radio shows and would criticize the Huskers and get a phone call the next day from the athletic department.

 

 

IMO, we're witnessing history repeating itself right now in Lawrence, KS. Mangino wasn't KU's AD's choice. I think Gill made a horrible mistake becoming the pawn down there.

While i see your point, Kansas doesnt have half as much to lose as Nebraska. They'll just go about business as usual, use football to get thru the fall until basketball starts in November, kinda backwards from here.

Don't make the mistake of underestimating what Gill can do at KU.

 

He took the worst team in Div I and made them MAC champions, not because they were better physically or more talented than the other team, but he made them believe they were.

[Count 'Bility]

Just a few quick thoughts I had.

 

 

 

1. I believe full-heartedly that Steve Pedersen thought that his actions were the best direction for the program, but the downfall was his over-confidence in his own genius, and being quick to dismiss any other possible ways of going about things.

 

 

2. Say what you want about Callahan, and a lot of it will be fair, but the guy did get us 8 and 9 win seasons, and into the top 15 of the national rankings (Maybe it was #17, can't remember). Not saying he was a good coach, but he wasn't a terrible one. Terrible coaches never make it to bowl games, have consistent losing seasons and don't show any signs of hope (unless you have a ton of talent, then you are still considered a good coach, ie Mack Brown).

 

 

3. Maybe Solich can come be AD when Osborne finishes his career

That's what my point was as well, not to mention an outright north title and literally shoulda won 11 games that year, one of them against that team that beat the national champions. 06 was a decent year, at least all 5 losses were competitive.

[junior4949]

http://www.omaha.com...PORTS/701289742

 

"I quit right after the Colorado game. I knew they were going to fire Frank (Solich). I told Frank when Steve Pederson was hired that he was going to fire him. Frank didn't believe me. He said no way. But I knew Steve didn't want him. I knew he would bring in different people and there would be different principles. I knew what was going on. Nobody had the courage to stand up and say what was going on except one businessman in Omaha, and that was David Sokol. That took guts, because they (NU) can come down on you very hard. Ask some of my (former) players who had radio shows and would criticize the Huskers and get a phone call the next day from the athletic department.

 

 

IMO, we're witnessing history repeating itself right now in Lawrence, KS. Mangino wasn't KU's AD's choice. I think Gill made a horrible mistake becoming the pawn down there.

While i see your point, Kansas doesnt have half as much to lose as Nebraska. They'll just go about business as usual, use football to get thru the fall until basketball starts in November, kinda backwards from here.

Don't make the mistake of underestimating what Gill can do at KU.

 

He took the worst team in Div I and made them MAC champions, not because they were better physically or more talented than the other team, but he made them believe they were.

 

 

KU football will always and I stress always play second fiddle to KU basketball. They're trying to do a stadium expansion right now, and it's failing miserably. Gill will never get the support needed to do anything at KU. Leach was basically forced out at TT because his football program was outshining the basketball program. KU will never give the support needed to let Gill succeed. The fans from the moment he was announced as the next coach have already shown disappointment. The hill is just too steep to climb down there in Lawrence.