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Thoughts on Pelini and the State of the Program

Ric Flair

By Ric Flair,
in Husker Football

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Ric Flair

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I was never sold on Bo Pelini to be our Head Coach. I appreciated the way he coached the defense in 2003 and loved the way the defense played upon his return. But he couldn't put an even-competent offense on the field. And even more disturbingly in my mind, he seemed to lack some fundamental leadership skills that are required to be a big-time college football coach.

 

Watching the Huskers the past several seasons has been nothing short of maddening. They've been a team that seems to be completely overmatched and get blown out a couple of games a season. In at least some of those games, it's hard to avoid the sense that they simply quit. But they also have managed to gut out some close wins the past couple of seasons. So the blowouts by the likes of Wisconsin, Ohio State, UCLA and Michigan State have to be viewed with the string of comeback wins last season and the gutty wins we've managed against Northwestern, Michigan and Penn State. The former would convince you that the team is mentally weak and has a psychological issue. The latter seem to refute that and indicate that this is a team capable of mental toughness.

 

Adding to the impression that a part of the team's problem is mental is the frequency with which they commit mistakes. The turnovers are inexplicable. Martinez committed more than his share, but so do Armstrong and Kellogg. It doesn't seem to matter who plays, turnovers are a problem.

 

The physical nature of the game also is concerning. A couple of times a season we seem to be completely physically over-matched. We have some good skill position guys, but watching us get annihilated on the line of scrimmage is tough. Injuries and the resulting need to play younger players earlier in their careers is undoubtely a factor. But my take is that strength and conditioning needs to do a far better job in developing our linemen. There's no reason to have guys sucking wind early in the first half.

 

In Year 6 of Pelini's tenure here, we still seem to lack an identity. Are we a running team, a passing team or something in between? On defense, are we paying read and react or are we attacking? I frankly don't have a clue and can't escape the conclusion that the coaches and players don't have a good sense of that either. It reminds me a bit of the scene from the movie "Office Space," where the consultants ask an employee having trouble explaining his job, "What would you say...you do here?" If Bo were to be summoned to a similar meeting, how would he answer that question in describing the program? What would he say we do here?

 

I don't like that we don't practice live tackling in practice. I don't like the soft way we play offense or the paddy-cake nature of Pelini's defense. I like the way we've played the last couple of games as Pelini has turned the D-Line loose and started attacking and blitzing more. So perhaps we've turned a corner there. But we need to be a lot more physical on both sides of the ball. That needs to be a big part of our identity.

 

Part of the problem in my view is that Bo has surrounded himself with "yes men." Who does he have on that staff that will question him, challenge him or push him? He's insulated himself with a bunch of guys from Youngstown and coordinators that are completely beholden to him for their jobs. Neither Beck nor Papuchis was ready to be a coordinator at a program like this. If we let them go, neither would find a comparable position elsewhere. They have ther jobs and owe their careers to Bo. That creates difficulties for Bo as neither is ready to guide their unit and take control of their side of the ball without supervision. As long as they require training wheels in the form of Bo's attention, it takes time away from something else. So the team suffers because they're not top-flght coordinators. But they also suffer because they're not the caliber of coaches that can challenge Bo in a meeting room, film session or on the field. So Bo is never forced to rethink, reevaluate or rework the way he's doing things.

 

Bo seems to be a hardhat guy. I contend that he's more suited to be a coordinator than a head coach. His attitude is that if something isn't working, they should simply try harder, push harder, etc. There's some merit to that. Sometimes the problem is a simply lack of effort and just wanting it more and trying harder is enough to get it done. But I think Bo's so dug-in to that mentality that he's unable to step back and reassess problems. He's so busy ramming his head harder and harder into whatever obstacle he's confronting that he can't back off, look at the big picture and find a way around, under or over the obstacle. I think that's a big part of why he struggles to make adjustments. And the "yes men" he's surrounded with are incapable of helping him in that regard.

 

I would be remiss not to mention the great job Bo has done recruiting and graduating quality kids. I like seeing us rack up Academic All-Americans as much as anyone. But it's also notable how deficient Bo and his staff have been in developing the type of vocal leaders who can tack over a unit or the team and simply will them to victory. It's hard to watch games and see how uninspired our sideline is and not to compare it with the insanity on the sidelines during the championship years. Who are the guys pushing the other players in the weight room and during practice? Who are the vocal leaders that rumble up and down the sideline screaming at guys and motivating them? As inspiring as it is to see guys playing through injuries for the sake of a team that doesn't have much left to play for, I'd like to see the team be a lot more vocal in support of each other. And I think Pelini and his staff could do a better job of developing vocal leaders that can lead that effort.

 

It's Year 6 of Bo's tenure here. These are his coaches and coordinators. These are his players, recruited and developed by him. So the buck stops with him at this point and excuses for struggles seems more and more strained. We've had a lot of injuries, but so do a lot of teams. We've had to start some young players, but so does everyone else. Football is a physical game and injuries are to be expected. If we don't have the right players or sufficient depth to overcome injuries by this point, then that's on Bo. But in my view, the time for excuses is over.

 

Bo wins 9 or 10 games a year and loses 4. That's not shabby, but not great. He loses a game he shouldn't and gets blown out once or twice every season. In the past couple of seasons, one of those blowouts came in the conference championship game. This season, we won't even make it there. So in year 6, we seem to be regressing. We have some young talent, but so does everyone else. He gets routinely outcoached.

 

So what do we do? Bo's record isn't good enough to merit job security, but isn't bad enough to make the call to fire him an obvious one. So do we flush him and this staff and start over, knowing from recent experience that could set us back? Or do we ride this out for another season or two and see what happens? It's a close call and there are arguments to be made on either side.

 

The key questions to be asked in my view are:

 

1) Are we making measurable progress and clearly trending upward as a program?

2) Are we convinced that Bo is the caliber of coach who can lead us to a national championship?

3) If we have to replace Bo, can we find someone better?

 

I don't see the measurable progress I would like to and think we are regressing a bit as a program. Getting blown out in conference championship games is bad enough, but not even making it there is worse. I'm not convinced that Bo can lead us to a national championship and think we can find someone better. And having made that decision, every season we allow Bo to hang around is a waste of time that we could be spending getting a new coach in here and getting the transition underway.

 

So reluctantly I'm of the opinion that Bo needs to be let go and we need to start over.

  • Fire 6
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Ratt Mhule Defensive Coordinator

Ratt Mhule

Posted
Posted

Can I get the short version of this? .

 

Insert negative thing.

 

Insert negative thing.

 

Insert negative thing.

 

Insert negative thing.

 

Recruiting is okay, but insert negative thing.

 

The key questions to be asked in my view are:

 

1. Derp

2. Derp

3. Derp

 

Bo Pelini isn't getting it done.

 

Fire Bo!

  • Fire 4
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Ric Flair Travel Squad

Ric Flair

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I think it's a pretty balanced look at the program. There are good arguments to be made for keeping Pelini, just as there are for getting rid of him. So any decision in that regard should try to work through all fo them and come to a conclusion. There are plenty of other threads where people are sniping back and forth at each other over what to do. I thought a separate thread for a more serious discussion would be nice.

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