Solich Interview

[C N Red]

Solich was on 1620thezone on USC. They had a great interview with him. They asked about coming back to Nebraska for coach or player honor. He talked very well of Nebraska, and really sounded a little emotional about it. Said he hears alot from Nebraska people and gets great support from them.

 

Just wondering how he could have done at Nebraska if he wasn't fired and able to mature as a HC. The offense he is running at Ohio is a great offense. Actually, I think what he is running there is what Beck wants to run here but Solich is ahead of ours by about 5-6 years.

 

He's really changed his philosophy and shows great maturity of a HC that isn't afraid to tinker with offense and make changes to things that are working in college football now. I'm pretty sure he is taking alot of ideas from Oklahoma and Oregon and he's doing very well with it. I'm really impressed with what he has been able to do as a HC! I wasn't so sure about him when he was the HC at Nebraska, but he has made me a believer in him.

[Husker John]

I always have, and always will be, a big fan of Frankie Solich....

[HSKR]

He was on 590 as well this afternoon.. Must be doing the radio tour today. Probably a smart thing to come back on the air in Nebraska every so often since he has something like 6 kids from here playing for Ohio. I'm glad Frank is doing well in Ohio. I don't have anything against him but I don't know if he ever would have taken us back what we were with TO and expect every year with Bo. Honestly the best thing that ever happened because of Frank getting fired was it eventually led to Pederson getting the boot. I see SP is now getting his third head coach in a little over a year. If Solich would have not got canned, there is no way Bo would have ever stayed here for more then a couple of years as DC.

 

Of course maybe the biggest thing about Frank getting fired is it eventually led to TO coming back as AD and getting Nebraska in the BIG 10. Think about that, if Frank never gets fired we may still be in the Big 12.

 

One thing I will say about Frank is he has always been 100% class when it comes to his time at Nebraska. He could have easily taken a different more negative path when it came how his coaching tenure came to an end here but he has always said the right thing. I'll always give him props for that.

[Comish]

Gratified to hear of the public support for Frank. What Pedey and his ego did (not just the firing and it's timing) but the infantile stripping of Solich remnants from the athletic offices was an embarrassment.

 

I have been trying quietly behind the scenes to get the University to honor Frank at a home game for several years. Because Ohio plays so many mid-week games, scheduling it should not be that much of an issue.

 

So far, the efforts have not yielded much, but as time passes, it definitely should happen. Perhaps Frank was hesitant early on, wondering about the reception he would receive. But there is no doubt in my mind, Husker fans (even those who were/are critical of him and his coaching) recognize the length and quality of service he invested as a Husker, and would respond with a thunderous ovation at Memorial stadium. Maybe everyone could move on and close that chapter. (that still seems to linger passionately even on message boards)

[Street Novelist]

No matter what happens, I will also love Frank Solich. People expected him to be Tom Osborne. That was the problem.

[Landomatic]

I have a lot of respect for Frank and he's always a Husker in my book. I'm also glad he's doing well at Ohio. But I don't spend much time looking back on what could have been with Frank as I don't believe he was the right fit for Nebraska's head coach. Hated how it was handled and what was to follow, but he needed to go. And the only reaffirmation I need is seeing that his head coaching career has plateaued at Ohio. If he were "head coach of a major program" material, he would be well on his way to that by now. Everyone in football expressed a collective "WTF?" when Frank was fired after a 9 win season, yet nobody other than Ohio was willing to put their program in his hands...and haven't since. If he were at the level we needed, he'd have been on several school's short list of candidates by now and that just hasn't happened. If he were climbing the coaching ladder and playing in some BCS games, then I would have some serious seller's remorse. But as it stands, the market would indicate it was the right move.

[irafreak]

It's possible FS has made it clear he wants to be at Ohio. Home state and all. He is up there in age too so I don't think there's going to be much demand. He'll finish out as one of the most successful football coaches in that school's history. He deserves it. He probably prefers being out of the Nebraska pressure cooker...

[Comish]

I have a lot of respect for Frank and he's always a Husker in my book. I'm also glad he's doing well at Ohio. But I don't spend much time looking back on what could have been with Frank as I don't believe he was the right fit for Nebraska's head coach. Hated how it was handled and what was to follow, but he needed to go. And the only reaffirmation I need is seeing that his head coaching career has plateaued at Ohio. If he were "head coach of a major program" material, he would be well on his way to that by now. Everyone in football expressed a collective "WTF?" when Frank was fired after a 9 win season, yet nobody other than Ohio was willing to put their program in his hands...and haven't since. If he were at the level we needed, he'd have been on several school's short list of candidates by now and that just hasn't happened. If he were climbing the coaching ladder and playing in some BCS games, then I would have some serious seller's remorse. But as it stands, the market would indicate it was the right move.

You make some valid points but I would argue that you are incorrect about him having no other offers. Immediately after Pedey struck, Army came calling and I do believe that would have been a very good fit for Frank and for his personality. BUT, it happened so soon and he wasn't ready to commit right away because he took that next year off to visit programs and think things through. There have been some other feelers since then I believe, but irafreak is probably right when he mentions his age and his comfort level at Ohio. So, I guess he is probably settled in there. I would also suggest the reason there weren't more suitors immediately after NU was because he was seen as a one school guy who had never played the resume hop-scotch game all over the country. Just my two cents.

[default_28]

Solich was on 1620thezone on USC. They had a great interview with him. They asked about coming back to Nebraska for coach or player honor. He talked very well of Nebraska, and really sounded a little emotional about it. Said he hears alot from Nebraska people and gets great support from them.

 

Just wondering how he could have done at Nebraska if he wasn't fired and able to mature as a HC. The offense he is running at Ohio is a great offense. Actually, I think what he is running there is what Beck wants to run here but Solich is ahead of ours by about 5-6 years.

 

He's really changed his philosophy and shows great maturity of a HC that isn't afraid to tinker with offense and make changes to things that are working in college football now. I'm pretty sure he is taking alot of ideas from Oklahoma and Oregon and he's doing very well with it. I'm really impressed with what he has been able to do as a HC! I wasn't so sure about him when he was the HC at Nebraska, but he has made me a believer in him.

This is the first year of this offense for them too I believe. He had Chris Ault teach it to him last summer.

[huskered17]

He is one of my all time fav Huskers, right behind Turner Gill. I don't know what he might have been able to accomplish had he stayed. Having to work under Pud, would have been real tough, as Pud didn't care about the fans, team, or tradition, was trying to only make a name for himself. To that end, he did. We will never forget Pud.

I thought the Army job would be a hard one to jump into, then I thought that they never were much of a passing team, and the brand of football Frank new best, would have probably worked out for Army and Frank. Just glad he landed on his feet. and is appreciated at Ohio.

 

GBR!!!

[da skers]

Solich was on 1620thezone on USC. They had a great interview with him. They asked about coming back to Nebraska for coach or player honor. He talked very well of Nebraska, and really sounded a little emotional about it. Said he hears alot from Nebraska people and gets great support from them.

 

Just wondering how he could have done at Nebraska if he wasn't fired and able to mature as a HC. The offense he is running at Ohio is a great offense. Actually, I think what he is running there is what Beck wants to run here but Solich is ahead of ours by about 5-6 years.

 

He's really changed his philosophy and shows great maturity of a HC that isn't afraid to tinker with offense and make changes to things that are working in college football now. I'm pretty sure he is taking alot of ideas from Oklahoma and Oregon and he's doing very well with it. I'm really impressed with what he has been able to do as a HC! I wasn't so sure about him when he was the HC at Nebraska, but he has made me a believer in him.

This is the first year of this offense for them too I believe. He had Chris Ault teach it to him last summer.

Thats correct. He just switched to this spread type offense. The day after his bowl win he was on XM College Sports being interviewed by Mike Leach and Solich stated he never thought in a million years he's be running an offense like this but he realized he was behind the times and needed to evolve so they made the switch.

 

Thats why TO was successful. He was constantly building on his offense and reinventing it ever so slightly. It kept evolving. Frank didn't understand that when he became a head coach and honestly it didn't click until recently for him. He thought it was about putting a type of player into and offense and that would work. To an extent it does but you're much better having the ability to adjust your offense to a player too. It cant be one sided. That mindset and horrible RC in Gilespie were his down fall.

 

The one think I see in Bo that I like is he's stated you need to stay on the edge to be ahead of game. He knows their needs to be evolution. He did that with the D the first two years and started with the offense 2 years ago. The offense will continue with that. I'm fairly confident of that. I think Bo forgot that on the D just a little bit but it looks like he might be headed back that direction with the Katz hire and the new things he's going to bring. The only thing that scares me a little is that Els, Raymond and Katz are all known as technique guys. Thats fine but they need to be able to be big picture guys too so players don't get lost. Sanders thought that way. Els s that way and its shown as his guys got better. I think JP teaches that way as he's been that way in other areas of his work. I'm guessing we'll find out. I know Raymond struggled himself at times with teaching all concepts but having Bo work with him the second half seemed to improve that. Its one thing to be a great player at a position, but its another to be a great coach there. I think Raymond will be greatly improved next year.

[VectorVictor]

That mindset and horrible RC in Gilespie were his down fall.

 

I wouldn't just fault Gilespie--we had an offensive line coach in (Uncle) Milt Tenopir that was so banged up that he couldn't even get onto the field and show kids how to line up in a basic stance, let alone fly around and recruit. By the time Milt retired, the damage had been done to the pipeline.

 

Please note I am not saying that Milt was a bad coach or a bad person, nor was Milt the sole contributor to our downfall during the Solich era--I'm not.

 

I'm just saying that age caught up with him, and while Milt fought the good fight, he may have done so at the expense of continuity in our offensive line's "pipeline". Hindsight and all...