"I wish I knew." -Bo Pelini 10/6/12

[kid nickels]

I don't think this will be Bo's last season, although I do think he'll be on the hot seat after this season. I doubt we'll win 9 games. Michigan, MSU, NW, and even Penn State will all be tough games. Martinez will be a SR next year and if we can't win something with the talent we'll have coming back then I think Bo will be shown the door.

[strigori]

Bo sounded defeated last night. The text does not truly convey they emotion and desperation in his voice. No talk of 'the process' or 'the next game' he flat out said he told the team "We need to win out. We need to win out" Very out of character. With the way the defense quit and the finger pointing on the field, things are bad. And a loss (which I expect quite frankly) at Northwestern, and this team may not make 6 wins. The wheels may well come off all together.

 

Its also worth mentioning that TO did not want to pay big money to a head coach or staff. With the expectations we have as Husker fans, $3mill in the absolute lowest a head coach should be making here. Probably closer to $3.5 or $4. And TO went out and spent $1.5. Gill at one point was making more at Kansas. You have quality coaches that would take us right off the table with that lowball effort. If you remember, there were really only three names that it sounded like TO interviewed. Pelini, Gill and Grobe. For the freaking NEBRASKA JOB. Two guys who never had been had coaches, and the guy from Wake Forest.

[AFhusker]

Yes, we are f'ing Nebraska. And we've created such insatiable expectations that no seasoned, established exceptional coach wants anything to do with us. So what's wrong with these guys learning on the job for a few year while we rattle off some 9 and 10 win seasons. I dont see the issue yet. It's a talent gap right now. This year is lead by his first couple of recruiting classes that were not very good(in comparison to what they need to be). That aspect has gotten better. As far as comments at a post game presser, statements like "I wish I knew" I dont lead into too much. I'll wait for the monday presser when he's had time to view film on what actually happened.

 

That is BS, in my opinion. LSU and Bama and other top-tier teams have the same expecatations (if not higher) and any coach would jump at the chance to coach at those schools. We have to stop making excuses for our shortcomings. Money talks.

The lim-fac IMO is finding a good coach who won't come in and change the entire culture of the program. Callahan tried it and look how that turned out for him.

 

That's because the good old boy system (Tom and the former players) acted like spoiled kids that didn't get what they wanted and undermined him. I hope they do not do that to the new AD and whoever he picks to replace Bo.

[kid nickels]

To me it's pretty silly to even have the "fire the coach!" conversation until he's at least had a losing season. And I think it's a little premature to declare his hires are failures. We're pretty depleted in talent on the defensive side of the ball right now. Even if we would have gone out and gotten a "name" coordinator, we'd probably still be seeing more or less the same result.

 

Kaczenski was a proven commodity and the lack of talent on the defensive line still shows.

 

I disagree. Anything under 9 wins is unacceptable, IMO. Osborne established that number as the standard and never went beneath it. The first time a coach achieves less than that, a possible replacement must be discussed.

[Manny Bob]

Well Husker_X, we all appreciate the fact that you are not calling for the heads of the coaches. Stability as you pointed out, is a good thing. And I totally agree with the setiment that there might be a national perception of unrealistic expectations. If Bo can win nine games this year, he should be left alone.

 

What are our expectations?

 

1. Win 9 games a year and go to mediocre bowls?

2. Win 10+ games a year and go to a good bowl?

3. Win the legends conference and go to a better bowl?

4. Win any of the above bowl games?

5. Win the B1G Championship and go to the Rose Bowl?

6. Play for the National Championship? And win?

 

What is our expectation for a coach that directs one of the most successful college football programs in the nation?

[It'sNotAFakeID]

A very fair opinion. You see, fire Bo posters, this is how you make your argument.

 

This is going to be a wake up call for Bo, and it's going to come down to this:

 

1) Does he realize that the players who are out on the field when we're going up against a higher powered offense just can't get it done? Yes, they are probably the ones Bo "likes"--thinks are the better players, or the more deserving to start; but is he going to wake up after watching the tape and realize that some of them just aren't getting it done against these types of offenses?

 

2) Does he realize that his scheme against mobile QBs just doesn't work, and starts to develop a new one--just for those types of QBs? The Michigan game last year was indeed a wake up call, but could it have been a fluke? Could the players just have had an off day? They did contain Connor Shaw, the next mobile QB we played, fairly well, and it wasn't Hundley rushing for 200+ yards against us when we played UCLA. So perhaps this is, the second time a mobile QB has really shattered our defense, a sign to Bo that he needs to do something different when it comes to playing mobile QBs.

 

Let's not forget this, either. Nobody, and I mean nobody, takes losses harder than the coaching staff. They don't want to lose, as much as we don't want them to lose, but us losing is no fault of the fans. They'll have two weeks to come up with a new plan, so the bye week has come at a fortunate time. Let's hope they can figure something out that will work.

 

The talent is there, it's just not being utilized in the right situations.

[kid nickels]

If we actually end up with a losing record this year, then yeah, I could see Pelini being axed. Not sure if the team will drop that low, though. Probably will go to some second-rate bowl and then talk about how good we'll be next year.

[strigori]

Yes, we are f'ing Nebraska. And we've created such insatiable expectations that no seasoned, established exceptional coach wants anything to do with us. So what's wrong with these guys learning on the job for a few year while we rattle off some 9 and 10 win seasons. I dont see the issue yet. It's a talent gap right now. This year is lead by his first couple of recruiting classes that were not very good(in comparison to what they need to be). That aspect has gotten better. As far as comments at a post game presser, statements like "I wish I knew" I dont lead into too much. I'll wait for the monday presser when he's had time to view film on what actually happened.

 

That is BS, in my opinion. LSU and Bama and other top-tier teams have the same expecatations (if not higher) and any coach would jump at the chance to coach at those schools. We have to stop making excuses for our shortcomings. Money talks.

The lim-fac IMO is finding a good coach who won't come in and change the entire culture of the program. Callahan tried it and look how that turned out for him.

 

That's because the good old boy system (Tom and the former players) acted like spoiled kids that didn't get what they wanted and undermined him. I hope they do not do that to the new AD and whoever he picks to replace Bo.

Incorrect. Callahan failed for the same reason Bo is failing now. Too much blind loyalty. If Callahan had fired Cosgrove after the '06 season, and brought in a good DC, and let the DC pick his assistants, he may still be here. But his loyalty to Cosgrove cost him his job.

[Landomatic]

Bo sounded defeated last night. The text does not truly convey they emotion and desperation in his voice. No talk of 'the process' or 'the next game' he flat out said he told the team "We need to win out. We need to win out" Very out of character. With the way the defense quit and the finger pointing on the field, things are bad. And a loss (which I expect quite frankly) at Northwestern, and this team may not make 6 wins. The wheels may well come off all together.

 

This would b the best thing that could happen to us. One step closer to this little Bo experiment being over. Time to take it like a bad aid and rip it off quickly. Dragging it out with more 8-9 win seasons is just prolonging the pain.

 

Its also worth mentioning that TO did not want to pay big money to a head coach or staff. With the expectations we have as Husker fans, $3mill in the absolute lowest a head coach should be making here. Probably closer to $3.5 or $4. And TO went out and spent $1.5. Gill at one point was making more at Kansas. You have quality coaches that would take us right off the table with that lowball effort. If you remember, there were really only three names that it sounded like TO interviewed. Pelini, Gill and Grobe. For the freaking NEBRASKA JOB. Two guys who never had been had coaches, and the guy from Wake Forest.

And this is spot on!!! TO needed to make a PC hire to reunite the fans and that's exactly what he did.

 

That time has passed. Time now for the next AD to make a WINNING hire! We are Nebraska!! Not Buffalo, not Kansas, not Ohio, not Wake Forest....NEBRASKA!!!!

[melscott62]

Is Pelini getting fired?

 

I wish!!

do people honestly think if we fired pelini this year we would get someone better to replace him? thats hilarious. The last 2 times we were looking for a coach people weren't exactly lining up to apply.

[Nevada Husker]

I want to add something. I'm not a big "get mad and demand coach X gets fired" person just because we lost. I'm not even mad. Or calling for heads. I expected this season would suck, and lo and behold, it does. The people who think we're about to win out I'm not even going to address. They're too far gone.

 

For the rest of us, I think Bo knows he's boxed himself in. I hope he has the clarity to look past friendship and see that his method is failing. When that happens sometimes staying the course is a bad decision, maybe even the worst of all possible decisions.

The problem in my opinion is that Bo doesn't have the ability to look past those things. He's stubborn and worries about bringing in coordinator talent outside of his group of contacts because they may outshine him, his ego can't take it. We will continue to be out-coached when up against competent staffs on other teams. They will have effective game plans for us and make smarter adjustments throughout the game as well as out-fox us on the recruiting trail. There is zero evidence to think the above statements are off-base.

[AFhusker]

Bo sounded defeated last night. The text does not truly convey they emotion and desperation in his voice. No talk of 'the process' or 'the next game' he flat out said he told the team "We need to win out. We need to win out" Very out of character. With the way the defense quit and the finger pointing on the field, things are bad. And a loss (which I expect quite frankly) at Northwestern, and this team may not make 6 wins. The wheels may well come off all together.

 

Its also worth mentioning that TO did not want to pay big money to a head coach or staff. With the expectations we have as Husker fans, $3mill in the absolute lowest a head coach should be making here. Probably closer to $3.5 or $4. And TO went out and spent $1.5. Gill at one point was making more at Kansas. You have quality coaches that would take us right off the table with that lowball effort. If you remember, there were really only three names that it sounded like TO interviewed. Pelini, Gill and Grobe. For the freaking NEBRASKA JOB. Two guys who never had been had coaches, and the guy from Wake Forest.

 

IMO the NW game is the season and it doesn't look good for Bo because of the mobile QB issue. If/when we lose that game, we have Dennard the week after and likely another loss. That puts us at 4-4 and in a 3 game losing streak, so then you have the possibility of Bo losing the team aka 2007 with BC. Then it may not matter if the QB is mobile or not as the kids just wont' care anymore.

 

Bo has two weeks to figure out a Mobile QB, if not then his tenure here may be over at seasons end.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I want to add something. I'm not a big "get mad and demand coach X gets fired" person just because we lost. I'm not even mad. Or calling for heads. I expected this season would suck, and lo and behold, it does. The people who think we're about to win out I'm not even going to address. They're too far gone.

 

For the rest of us, I think Bo knows he's boxed himself in. I hope he has the clarity to look past friendship and see that his method is failing. When that happens sometimes staying the course is a bad decision, maybe even the worst of all possible decisions.

The problem in my opinion is that Bo doesn't have the ability to look past those things. He's stubborn and worries about bringing in coordinator talent outside of his group of contacts because they may outshine him, his ego can't take it. We will continue to be out-coached when up against competent staffs on other teams. They will have effective game plans for us and make smarter adjustments throughout the game as well as out-fox us on the recruiting trail. There is zero evidence to think the above statements are off-base.

 

I love the "Bo can't take it because of his ego" excuses. They do make me laugh.

[Zaimejs]

Well Husker_X, we all appreciate the fact that you are not calling for the heads of the coaches. Stability as you pointed out, is a good thing. And I totally agree with the setiment that there might be a national perception of unrealistic expectations. If Bo can win nine games this year, he should be left alone.

 

What are our expectations?

 

1. Win 9 games a year and go to mediocre bowls?

2. Win 10+ games a year and go to a good bowl?

3. Win the legends conference and go to a better bowl?

4. Win any of the above bowl games?

5. Win the B1G Championship and go to the Rose Bowl?

6. Play for the National Championship? And win?

 

What is our expectation for a coach that directs one of the most successful college football programs in the nation?

 

I like this. I don't want to sound like a spoiled fan, but we can't be happy with 9 wins and a crappy loss in a crappy bowl game year in and year out. Even in Osborne's darkest years, he might pull off an upset or win a bowl game or something to make us happy. So far, Bo has done nothing but disappoint season in and season out. South Carolina last year was just about my last straw. To just piss away a lead like that... just like last night. Winning the first quarter handedly. Then THEY make adjustments and we do not... and Vrooom. Steamrolled.

 

I just kept thinking about his comment from last week, "I still know how to stop the run." How that came back to bite him hard. He couldn't stop a runny nose with a wad of Kleenex at this point.

 

I just can't understand how Braxton Miller could do exactly what he did in that game when that is Ohio State's only weapon. When teams play us, they key in on our weapon and shut it down. Remember Martinez during his freshman year? Once teams figured him out, he was helpless. Are you telling me that we couldn't have put an extra guy on Braxton, leaving some holes in the secondary to force him to throw once in awhile? Make him beat us with his lousy arm? Defenses do that to us ALL THE TIME. Why can't we just once do that to them?

 

It's ridiculous. Pelini is just not smart enough to run a football team. I'd love to have him back as a defensive coordinator with a capable person running the show. Take the pressure off him and let him do what he does best. He just isn't a head coach.

[kid nickels]

What happened to the Nebraska football program?

 

1. Frank stopped recruiting

2. Steve P. stopped tradition

3. Cosgrove stopped the Blackshirts

4. Bo kept the status quo.

 

WE ARE NEBRASKA!!! And Nebraska does have standards.

• We believe in running the football and stopping the run on defense.
  
• We believe in physically dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
  
• We believe in option football. We believe in power football.
  
• We believe in a play-action passing game.
  
• These spread offenses may work for other teams, but we had an identity that worked for over 50 years, and it wasn't the spread.
  
• We understand that penalties are part of the game, but many of these stupidly repeated penalties lately have to stop. It's not just a coincidence anymore, the frequency of the same penalties have become a habit, and they are costing us games.
  
• We believe in winning at least 9 games a year, at least competing for a conference championship every year, playing in a bowl game, and being consistently in the Top 10.
  
• We believe in playing for a National Championship before we ever think about roses.
  

So a message to you Coach Pelini, your efforts the last 5 years have been respectable, but these last two years your teams are starting to slip below our standards for our Nebraska Cornhuskers. Defensive performances such as UCLA this year, and Ohio State are examples of the Nebraska brand being embarrassed on national tv. It may surprise you but we can tolerate a loss in Nebraska. However these kind of performances at UCLA and Ohio State are unacceptable. A change in defensive and offensive schemes are no longer just a suggestion, they are now a requested demand.