On Bo Pelini's values: What he says vs. what he does

[drmathprog]

The image of walking into a McDonald's and finding myself face-to-face with Bo behind the counter is deeply disturbing.

[Guy Chamberlin]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

 

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

 

But they defended this a-hole to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

 

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

 

Awkward? Absolutely. But all you have to do is talk to the people who were in your corner. And Bo had a lot of them for a very long time.

 

You can layer in a lot of vitriol with the things you DON'T say.

 

But you gotta say something.

 

Unless you are hopelessly thin-skinned.

 

And have no class.

[Redux]

To say Bo will never get another FBS coaching gig seems silly. Charlie Weis failed everywhere yet got countless opportunities.

 

Im not holding my breath for some sort of apology from Bo to us, just like Im sure he isnt waiting for one from us.

 

The era is over and we can speculate all day about the good and the bad that none of us personally know anything about. The change was necessary and it was made.

[Guy Chamberlin]

To say Bo will never get another FBS coaching gig seems silly. Charlie Weis failed everywhere yet got countless opportunities.

 

Im not holding my breath for some sort of apology from Bo to us, just like Im sure he isnt waiting for one from us.

 

 

Not quite sure what apology needs to come from the fans. Bo didn't need to apologize either. He just had to say something.

 

I'm going to write a response for Bo Pelini that took me no longer than that breath you're holding:

 

 

 

To the People of Nebraska,

 

For the past seven years it has been my distinct honor to coach the University of Nebraska football team and be part of one of the greatest traditions in college athletics. I will always remain grateful for this rare opportunity.

 

In these seven years we have accomplished a lot. And yet there remained much to be done. I regret that we weren't able to take the Cornhuskers to the championship level the program both expects and deserves, and wish the best for my successor as he takes over this remarkable roster of talented young athletes.

 

I will always remember the young men I had the privilege to coach, the fans who stood shoulder to shoulder with us, and the many friendly Nebraskans I met throughout the state.

 

Go Big Red indeed,

 

Bo Pelini

[zoogs]

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

It's so simple to do this stuff, I've come to the conclusion that it just does not occur to Bo.

 

It's not that Bo offends me -- I'm sure we will get many to chime in and say how they, personally, are made of tougher stuff and won't let Bo's words bother them -- but to think they were paying this guy to represent the University to the world for so long.

 

If Bo were still HC here, even this amount of criticism would be muted (as it was last year). Part of being a fan, and part of what made last season not very fun -- what we were asked to get behind. They sure gave a good go of it, but I suppose a tiger doesn't change his stripes, and Bo's true colors prevailed in the end.

[Elf]

To say Bo will never get another FBS coaching gig seems silly. Charlie Weis failed everywhere yet got countless opportunities.

 

Im not holding my breath for some sort of apology from Bo to us, just like Im sure he isnt waiting for one from us.

 

The era is over and we can speculate all day about the good and the bad that none of us personally know anything about. The change was necessary and it was made.

Charlie Weis didn't burn any bridges when he was fired. There is no telling how many bridges Bo burned when he left Nebraska. If I was an AD, after tapegate2 I wouldn't even consider hiring Pelini.

[ScottyIce]

 

To say Bo will never get another FBS coaching gig seems silly. Charlie Weis failed everywhere yet got countless opportunities.

 

Im not holding my breath for some sort of apology from Bo to us, just like Im sure he isnt waiting for one from us.

 

The era is over and we can speculate all day about the good and the bad that none of us personally know anything about. The change was necessary and it was made.

Charlie Weis didn't burn any bridges when he was fired. There is no telling how many bridges Bo burned when he left Nebraska. If I was an AD, after tapegate2 I wouldn't even consider hiring Pelini.

 

 

BUT THAT WASN'T HIS FAULT! DARN TAPE RECORDER!!!

[NoLongerN]

Enjoyed reading post #27 on ... thanks guy. Good stuff.

[Redux]

I understand its the offseason, but this isnt even speculating. This is dwelling. Most of the fanbase wont forgive Bo for his taped rants and his lack of adjusting etc etc when its really just the fact he didnt bring a trophy home. Thats it. The lack of hardware is really the base of the hatred. He just made it convenient to blame his shortcomings by offering so many.

 

But really, its the lack of trophies. Lets be honest here. We saw that after 7 years we werent any closer to a MNC, and it was time to move on. Bo made it easy by calling the AD names and many other "unforgivable" acts.

 

Just cracks me up a bit.

[TGHusker]

Glad the guy is gone. Really surprised that The Vest hired him so quickly and still retained him after that rant.

[4skers89]

 

This seems like an appropriate thread for this.

 

A guy I know went to a recruiting banquet a couple days ago, meet some of the new coaches, and talked to some department insiders. One of these insiders worked very closely with Pelini and had some unflattering things to say about him. Said that Bo had his favorite players and coaches and everyone else was treated like sh#t. Said it was pretty widely known that Bo would rather lose, doing it his way with his people, than to accept help or ideas from others. Apparently the coaching staff had addressed the problem of what Wisconsin was doing to us but Bo would not implement any of their possible solutions. Said the issues was brought up to him when things started going south once again and he flat out refused to let them change anything.

 

This is all I've gotten so far but this guy said there were many more unbelievable stories and that we are extremely lucky he is no longer here. I realize this may not seem like earth shattering news at this point but it sure does help put a few things in perspective and sheds light on why adjustments weren't made against all common sense.

 

I know a couple of people in the Athletic Department who have told me similar things about Pelini. He was a complete jackass to most people he encountered and an absolute nightmare to work with. We're very lucky to be rid of him and luckier still to have replaced him with a man like Mike Riley.

 

Thanks for passing this along. I normally don't like to gossip but glad to hear what the heck was going on behind the scene and I doubt this is untruthful. As a fan you normally only see the end product on the field. After some of the embarrassing losses all you can do is shake your head and speculate what went wrong. Obviously the scheme was wrong but why? This explains a lot. From experience, a coach that plays favorites is very bad for a team.

 

I'd like to hear something that definitely explains the relative inexperience of the assistant coaches that Bo chose. I've considered

1. Advised to do so by TO since some of his success was due to having a staff that had been together for a long time. The logic being that giving a chance to an inexperienced assistant they would feel indebted and less likely to leave.

2. Wanted assistants that wouldn't challenge him. Often speculated on HB

3. The people he had worked with in the past knew him and didn't want to work with him again unless it greatly benefited them such as a jump up in status. I had this thought after a Bielema interview when he made a comment about working with Bo as a GA and said something about Bo was probably always yelling at him. Nice dig by Bert but got me thinking. Did experienced assistants turn him down? \

Based on what you've heard 2 & 3 seem to fit.

 

I'm looking forward to the Riley regime since he does not seem like someone that has the same flaws. The fact that experienced assistants want to work for him says a lot.

[Guy Chamberlin]

I understand its the offseason, but this isnt even speculating. This is dwelling. Most of the fanbase wont forgive Bo for his taped rants and his lack of adjusting etc etc when its really just the fact he didnt bring a trophy home. Thats it. The lack of hardware is really the base of the hatred. He just made it convenient to blame his shortcomings by offering so many.

 

But really, its the lack of trophies. Lets be honest here. We saw that after 7 years we werent any closer to a MNC, and it was time to move on. Bo made it easy by calling the AD names and many other "unforgivable" acts.

 

Just cracks me up a bit.

 

I have no trouble talking about Bo Pelini in the off-season, and I'm pretty sure his name will come up in seasons-to-come. I want to know what happens to him at Youngstown State, and if anyone learns things about the man that people didn't want to mention while he was still here, I'm all ears.

 

I'm not obsessed. I'm not even dwelling. I'm just curious.

 

Human nature.

[Redux]

We made the right move, no doubt about it.

 

But nobody would give a hoot had he brought a couple trophies home during his tenure. He would probably still be here. The rants and the blowouts are nice covers for the real reason we all wanted him gone.

[True2tRA]

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time now? How do things like this happen? I'm here almost everyday.......

[TheSker]

Despite what you might think from this thread, or this board, Bo Pelini had plenty of loyalists, even after Tapegate Two. Many of those willing to admit it was time for Bo to go still gave the man his respects.

 

Personally, I was baffled why so many Husker fans came to his defense. I'm guessing the majority saw Bo being criticized by outsiders -- which they hate -- or the target of pencil-pushing administrators -- which they hate.

 

But they defended this a-hole to all comers. They're Nebraskans. They shook off Tapegate One with remarkable foregiveness.

 

And unless I'm mistaken, to this date Bo Pelini has offered no statement to Husker fans, or to the people of Nebraska who made him the highest paid state employee by an entire decimal point.

 

One of Pelini's loyalists is some guy named Osborne.