Like him or not, Steve Pederson's vision...

[Blackshirtsguru]

will likely be proven to be correct.  Firing Solich, hiring Callahan, the new building project, etc.  Granted he has this Julius Caesar complex thing going on and he's an easy target for abuse, but if you take his personality out of it and judge him on what he's done (not how he's done it) I think time will show him to be correct in making these moves.  I applaud the guy.  He's got a tough job.  Similar to the president of the United States, you either like him or you don't.

10-10 against division 1 teams is not a heck of a vision to me. I don't see us much better then 6 or 7 wins next year with actually a decent schedule.

And yet he doesn't disappoint me once again!

[Utah_Husker]

Pretty ballsy to fire Solich. Pretty lucky to land Callahan. I think over the next two years, we will see huge improvements in the team and all of this talk about if Callahan is the right guy for the job will go away. Who cares if Pederson tries to take credit for it. I think all we care about is the product on the field.

Ballsy, yes. Even more ballsy was firing him without having a frickin' clue as to who he was going to hire. I know that the ship on which we all argue weather or not the firing should have happened has sailed, so I won't go there. But I will say that Pedersen sure botched the whole thing. The fact that most people in the country even knows who he is tells you he's screwed up. Do any of you know the AD's name at USC? Probably not. If an AD makes national news and his name sticks, it's probably not a good thing.

He's an egomaniac...I agree you have to have a healthy ego to do a job like that...confidence in your decisions is a must. But he takes it to a whole new level. So to summarize, no comment on weather he made the right decision on the firing, but he handled the firing like an ass and then botched the coaching search. IF BC works out, it won't be because of Pedersen's vision, it will be because he (Pedersen) got extremely lucky.

Oh, and I have to agree with Benard on the whole 'all we care about is the product on the field' part. I sure hope that's not all we care about anymore. Wouldn't surprise me, though.

[benjibean1]

So then the question becomes this. What will this football team need to acomplish next year for Pud to be ok.

 

Will Callahan need to win 9 Games. Would just a bowl appearance be ok. I know there are alot of factors there but I think,

 

1. Bowl Game for sure.

2. Need to see On field Improvement

3. Dare I say he needs 8 to 9 wins.

[Utah_Husker]

So then the question becomes this. What will this football team need to acomplish next year for Pud to be ok.

 

Will Callahan need to win 9 Games. Would just a bowl appearance be ok. I know there are alot of factors there but I think,

 

1. Bowl Game for sure.

2. Need to see On field Improvement

3. Dare I say he needs 8 to 9 wins.

I've said before that there's no excuse to not win the North in it's current shape. We should have done it last year and we definitely should have done it this year. So I say a big12 North title will be enough to keep everyone happy. But I think they could underachieve again and not get any significant pressure as long as there aren't any Kansas or Missouri like losses. Or as long as they don't drop a game against a team like Southern Miss like last year.

[HuskerFaithful]

Oh, and I have to agree with Benard on the whole 'all we care about is the product on the field' part. I sure hope that's not all we care about anymore. Wouldn't surprise me, though.

Not all we care about anymore???? Don't tell me that during all of Osborne's years, winning didn't matter. If Osborne would have run the program with all the integrity he did, but not get it done on the field, he wouldn't have coached Nebraska for 25 years. The product on the field is all that has ever mattered. The Academic All-Americans and everything else is icing on the cake. While important, don't try to tell me that 77,000 fans would have sold out the stadium to watch a bunch of AAA's if they consistently went 7-5. The tradition that everyone talks about here is because of the success of the program. Whatever you want to point to, the continuity of the staff, the bowl streak, all the records, have to do with one thing...and that is winning. Husker Tradition = winning. The Husker Faithful are faithful because it was easy to be a fan from the early 60's to the late 90's. Bottom line...this aspect hasn't changed since Callahan took over. Winning is all that has ever mattered here. Winning with class. Winning with integrity. But bottom line, winning. Everything our program has today is because of the success on the field that we've had in the past.

[HuskerFaithful]

I've said before that there's no excuse to not win the North in it's current shape. We should have done it last year and we definitely should have done it this year. So I say a big12 North title will be enough to keep everyone happy. But I think they could underachieve again and not get any significant pressure as long as there aren't any Kansas or Missouri like losses. Or as long as they don't drop a game against a team like Southern Miss like last year.

As bad of shape as the Big 12 North is in, I think it's utterly ridiculous to say that we should have won the division last year. What about the following scenario breeds that confidence:

 

1) New coach

2) Total change of offensive system

3) Third defensive coordinator in three years

4) Talent level was way down from that in the late 90's

 

This proves to me that some fans have unreasonable expectations. This year, I will agree with you, we SHOULD have won the North. Next year, we WILL win the North and hopefully give the South winner a game in the championship. I don't understand where fans think that you can have overnight success. People look to coaches like Charlie Weis, who inherit a team full of talent and he tweaks the offense a bit, and they do well. He's a hero. A better example to compare to would be Mack Brown. He's in his 7th season and coaching in his first national title game. Their team has improved a little bit each year and now that they are an older team they are hitting their stride. The Huskers are a young team that continues to improve and get more talented. I share your optimism about the future of Husker football, but I think the improvement will be a little slower than some expect. Two years from now playing in a BCS game should be considered a reasonable goal.

[huskerstag]

Pretty ballsy to fire Solich.  Pretty lucky to land Callahan.  I think over the next two years, we will see huge improvements in the team and all of this talk about if Callahan is the right guy for the job will go away.  Who cares if Pederson tries to take credit for it.  I think all we care about is the product on the field.

Yeah winning is all that matters who cares about anything else. Win at all cost.

I don't know if that statement can be taken any way but seriously coming from you. All you've ever said is how bad SP and BC are because they gave us a losing season, the end of the bowl streak, close games and losses to ISU, KU etc. Do I hear a John Kerrey in the house?

[HuskerWisdom]

...Next year, we WILL win the North and hopefully give the South winner a game in the championship.  ...

what will your analysis of Pederson/Callahan be if we don't win the north next year?

[HuskerFaithful]

First of all I don't link Callahan/Pederson like some. That implies that you can't like one but not the other, like its a package deal, which its not. I like Callahan, like what he's doing with recruiting and the improvements I've seen. I don't like Pederson as a person. He's a slimeball.

 

If Nebraska doesn't win the North next year, it would be interesting to see why. I think the Huskers are a team on the rise. I see Iowa State as another team rising, but not as fast as us. Kansas and Missouri appear to be going sideways. Colorado is on the decline at least for now. Who knows about next year, but I would expect some kind of transition growing pains. All of this is just conjecture anyway and since none of us know what's going to happen, I would prefer to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. I'm not drinking cool aid or wearing rose colored glasses, but I think our program is going in the right direction and if it succeeds, all the credit goes to Callahan. Not Pederson.

[StuckinChicago]

Steve Pederson is going to be tied to the success of his football coach, there is no dispute about that. But is that really fair? Look at all of the other great things he has done for Nebraska athletics. The obvious is the expansion project, but he also put together the fan pavilion before games, moved woman's soccer to campus so students could actually go and support their team, helped to make the spring game a big event, and governs the only athletic department in the big twelve that actually makes money for their university. Something to think about isnt it?

[Utah_Husker]

Steve Pederson is going to be tied to the success of his football coach, there is no dispute about that. But is that really fair? Look at all of the other great things he has done for Nebraska athletics. The obvious is the expansion project, but he also put together the fan pavilion before games, moved woman's soccer to campus so students could actually go and support their team, helped to make the spring game a big event, and governs the only athletic department in the big twelve that actually makes money for their university. Something to think about isnt it?

Yes, it's fair. He made football his issue and I for one will hold him to what he promised. Words mean things.

[StuckinChicago]

And W made weapons of mass destruction his issue, are you asking for his head?

[Blackshirtsguru]

Pretty ballsy to fire Solich.  Pretty lucky to land Callahan.  I think over the next two years, we will see huge improvements in the team and all of this talk about if Callahan is the right guy for the job will go away.  Who cares if Pederson tries to take credit for it.  I think all we care about is the product on the field.

Yeah winning is all that matters who cares about anything else. Win at all cost.

You mean like the year when Osborne benched L Phillips the entire year saying he was pretty much done with him. Then the NC game comes up and low and behold LP is in there playing. Hmm seems to me TO went in with the "win at all costs" as you put it. Funny Benard you have this thing called "selective memory"!

[skersfan]

The key words here are "He made football his prime mission". That in its self is a major improvemnt over the past. Bill is the reason this program started down hill. No money on the football side of the house hurt this team and the battle between Frank and Bill did not help.

[HuskerFaithful]

Well said skers, Blackshirts, and Chicago. SP is a lightning rod for criticism because he changes things and people in general are against change, which is funny, because the only constant is change. And baseball...if I remember someone's sig line correctly.