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Defensive guru status


True2tRA

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whether it was earned in the past or not is a thing for debate. I could buy an argument that says it was somewhat earned in the past. I could also buy the argument that it was not. That is a tough call.

 

As to whether Bo is a defensive guru now... that is not up for debate. the answer is emphatically... NO. We have to follow where the data leads... and the data is in on this one... Bo's recent teams have been far, far, far removed from what could be objectively described as "well coached." A guru he may at one time have been... but the game evolves and that was then and this is now... he is no defensive guru now.

 

This seems entirely reasonable. Bo learned most of his defensive philosophy while in the NFL for eight years. I don't know that he innovated much on any of the basic concepts. When I think of terms like guru or genius in the context of football, I think of great innovation. So I probably wouldn't go that far with Bo. He understood the concepts very well and had the right type of personality to coach defensive players. Combine those with the the amount of talent he had to work with in 2003, and you had the perfect storm for great defensive results. Same goes for 2009 and 2010. But when the talent isn't great, his defenses run into big problems. And he's very stubborn about the way he does things. I envision his output like this:

 

bod.gif

 

From what I've heard, the big boosters wanted him back in 2008 and TO didn't have much of a choice. This may or may not be true, but it would make sense to me. The boosters emotions are no different than any of the fans', and Bo was very popular because he was the last string holding together our decades of proud tradition that had started to crumble between 2000 and 2007. I remember being at the 2000 Alamo Bowl and listening to everyone chant "We want Bo!". It may not have been the most logical desire, but it made sense from an emotional perspective. Bo's personality fit here and Frank hired him, so (in a minor way) he was the last viable link to Frank, Tom and Bob. Since Frank had already been fired, the fans wanted to hold onto whatever remaining link they could. They didn't want to see an outside hire with a whole new staff to break the 40-year continuity that was so rare in college football.

 

After Callahan was fired, those emotions from the Alamo post-game came rushing back, and the powers that be were set on Bo. As a head coach, he was entirely unproven-- literally had never been in the position at any level. So it was a risky hire. But maybe he was the best available. I don't know. The results have been better than Callahan but still mixed. With great talent his defenses can be scary. With average talent, they can be scary bad. We all laugh at Cosgrove as the epitome of a clueless defensive coordinator, but several of Bo's games have matched or exceeded Cosgrove's worst. We can't ignore that. And Bo's assistant hires have not been home runs by any amount of Kool-Aid.

 

I'm not drawing any grand conclusions from any of this, but it's safe to say that 2012 is not where we want to be. And what we saw against Wyoming is not where we want to be. Maybe Bo has lots of potential for change and improvement. Maybe not. All we can do is wait and see, and hope. And get in lots and lots of ridiculous arguments about it on the internet.

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Total Defense though 1 game means nothing without looking at opponents

 

Southern Miss played Texas State

and Texas State = Wyoming

LOL no.

 

LOL? Are you sure?

 

Texass St. who is a member of Sun Belt, is stronger than you think

 

Common opponents (2012)

 

Wyoming 40 - Idaho 37

Texas St. 38 - Idaho 3

 

Nevada 35 - Wyoming 28

Nevada 34 - Texas St. 22

 

Wyoming 28 - New Mexico 23

New Mexico 35 - Texas St. 14

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Total Defense though 1 game means nothing without looking at opponents

 

Southern Miss played Texas State

and Texas State = Wyoming

LOL no.

 

LOL? Are you sure?

 

Texass St. who is a member of Sun Belt, is stronger than you think

 

Common opponents (2012)

 

Wyoming 40 - Idaho 37

Texas St. 38 - Idaho 3

 

Nevada 35 - Wyoming 28

Nevada 34 - Texas St. 22

 

Wyoming 28 - New Mexico 23

New Mexico 35 - Texas St. 14

 

So... Wyoming barely beat Idaho. Ok. Point Texas St.

 

Wyoming came closer to Nevada than texas st. Point Wyoming.

 

Wyoming beat NM and Texas St. lost. Point Wyoming.

 

Seems Wyoming is the better team...last year at least. Totally different year.

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whether it was earned in the past or not is a thing for debate. I could buy an argument that says it was somewhat earned in the past. I could also buy the argument that it was not. That is a tough call.

 

As to whether Bo is a defensive guru now... that is not up for debate. the answer is emphatically... NO. We have to follow where the data leads... and the data is in on this one... Bo's recent teams have been far, far, far removed from what could be objectively described as "well coached." A guru he may at one time have been... but the game evolves and that was then and this is now... he is no defensive guru now.

 

This seems entirely reasonable. Bo learned most of his defensive philosophy while in the NFL for eight years. I don't know that he innovated much on any of the basic concepts. When I think of terms like guru or genius in the context of football, I think of great innovation. So I probably wouldn't go that far with Bo. He understood the concepts very well and had the right type of personality to coach defensive players. Combine those with the the amount of talent he had to work with in 2003, and you had the perfect storm for great defensive results. Same goes for 2009 and 2010. But when the talent isn't great, his defenses run into big problems. And he's very stubborn about the way he does things. I envision his output like this:

 

bod.gif

 

From what I've heard, the big boosters wanted him back in 2008 and TO didn't have much of a choice. This may or may not be true, but it would make sense to me. The boosters emotions are no different than any of the fans', and Bo was very popular because he was the last string holding together our decades of proud tradition that had started to crumble between 2000 and 2007. I remember being at the 2000 Alamo Bowl and listening to everyone chant "We want Bo!". It may not have been the most logical desire, but it made sense from an emotional perspective. Bo's personality fit here and Frank hired him, so (in a minor way) he was the last viable link to Frank, Tom and Bob. Since Frank had already been fired, the fans wanted to hold onto whatever remaining link they could. They didn't want to see an outside hire with a whole new staff to break the 40-year continuity that was so rare in college football.

 

After Callahan was fired, those emotions from the Alamo post-game came rushing back, and the powers that be were set on Bo. As a head coach, he was entirely unproven-- literally had never been in the position at any level. So it was a risky hire. But maybe he was the best available. I don't know. The results have been better than Callahan but still mixed. With great talent his defenses can be scary. With average talent, they can be scary bad. We all laugh at Cosgrove as the epitome of a clueless defensive coordinator, but several of Bo's games have matched or exceeded Cosgrove's worst. We can't ignore that. And Bo's assistant hires have not been home runs by any amount of Kool-Aid.

 

I'm not drawing any grand conclusions from any of this, but it's safe to say that 2012 is not where we want to be. And what we saw against Wyoming is not where we want to be. Maybe Bo has lots of potential for change and improvement. Maybe not. All we can do is wait and see, and hope. And get in lots and lots of ridiculous arguments about it on the internet.

 

Great post. I think it would be crazy to fire Bo right now. But I think it would be even more crazy to accept this as the status quo for another season or two. So if the 2014 season ends and we haven't seen measurable improvement, I think it'll be time to pull the trigger. 9 or 10 wins with a blowout loss or two, an upset loss to a team we shouldn't lose to, multiple games where we give up 600+ yards and the sense that the coaching staff is consistently overmatched and outcoached are not sustainable at Nebraska.

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You know that is where the NFL looks for their future defensive gurus. Right between 100 and 105 the sweet spot!!

 

You are aware he worked in the NFL prior to Nebraska, right?

 

Oh and you know 2 years ago when there was an uproar about him possibly leaving? Yeah, it was an NFL team that came calling - we're lucky he is still here.

 

Nobody in this thread said we weren't King. Maybe it's just time a new voice comes in....an outside voice. A whole new defensive approach.

 

Believe it or not some of you, Bo is no defensive legend. He can still learn quite a bit. If you or he doesn't believe there is still learning to be done in his part then your ficking delusional.

 

I know it was just one game, but last night did not look promising when you consider that was supposed to be a walk through last night. We had people on this board poking fun at others who were concerned about Michigan a couple weeks ago. Not so ridiculous to think now.

 

Once again, expectations got ahead of reality. Me and the majority of Husker nation are a sucker for it every time. Some more than others.

 

I have been on the hire a legit, high profile, D coordinator bandwagon for a long, long time. I think Pap is pretty overrated due to his recruiting ability. I guess to my eye, it looked more promising than other openers. A) Our defense got off the field more often than not on third down. BIG, BIG win. The game could've EASILY been 44-21 if not for some interesting playcalling by Beck.

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You know that is where the NFL looks for their future defensive gurus. Right between 100 and 105 the sweet spot!!

 

You are aware he worked in the NFL prior to Nebraska, right?

 

Oh and you know 2 years ago when there was an uproar about him possibly leaving? Yeah, it was an NFL team that came calling - we're lucky he is still here.

Look at what has happened the past two years, we're so lucky, right??

 

Yeah, because if he would've left, where do you think this program would be? Fun fact - the coaching list they were starting to compile (because it looked like Bo was gone for sure) was not comprised of world beaters or high profile coaches. We would NOT be good right now.

 

And Skersfan, whatever you say. I know quite a bit about Bo. :)

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The Wyoming we saw last night was nothing like the Wyoming of last year. It'll take several more games by both Nebraska and Wyoming to decipher if last night was the new norm for Wyoming or an aberration.

 

Regardless, I don't think there's a Brett Smith on Texas State.

Agreed. BTW, Wyoming will face Texas St. @ September 28th. And I'm very curious for the next game score........Cowboys vs. low life Idaho.

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I have relatives who are huge LSU fans and live in La. They were ecstatic when they heard the news Bo was going to Neb. They hated his defensive efforts.

 

Here is a better question. When Bo finally had to pick a defensive Coordinator, why did he go with John Pupuchis? He was a lowly intern on the LSU staff in 2004. Eight years later, he was in charge of the most storied defensive group in the history of college football, The Black Shirts. How the hell does that make any sense? I do not like Lou Holtz but I agree with him on one issue when he said, "It does not pay dividends to hire friends as your assistant coaches. You hire people with proven results."

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A) Our defense got off the field more often than not on third down. BIG, BIG win. The game could've EASILY been 44-21 if not for some interesting playcalling by Beck.

When is everyone going to see this? That the last 6 minutes is overshadowing that the coaches put up a very mild game plan on both sides to just get a win, it worked, only everyone packed it in a little to soon.

 

I'm still way more concerned of the some issues on offense and the fact that we turned the switch off early than I am with the defense. Re-watcing for the 3rd time now. I'm seeing lots things on defensive that can be built on. Some things are actually quite impressive when you realize the age of the young man executing it.

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