Catching up with Cory "Porkchop" Ross

[VectorVictor]

Good to hear from one of my favorite players from the BC era...

 

Via Athlonsports.com

 

 

What have you done since leaving Nebraska?

After I left Nebraska, I played for the Baltimore Ravens for three years, got hurt and had to sit out a year. Then I played in the United Football League under coach Dennis Green for three year. Then I had a stint in Canada with the Edmonton Eskimos. Though all the injuries my body has taken, I called it quits. I ended up coming back to Lincoln and did a lot of radio appearances. I ended up meeting a couple of guys who were starting an Arena football team in Lincoln while I was here, and they asked me to come on staff. I really took a liking to it and fell into the head coaching gig with the Lincoln Haymakers. That ended up falling through, but the owner of the Omaha Beef, Rich Tokheim, wanted me to take over last January. That’s how it started. I just fell in love with it the last three years. I really want to get into the college level and let people I know I’m interested. I’m getting a feel of how it is to be a coach. I love coaching. I love teaching, I love being around football.

 

 

I bet if you polled Nebraska fans, Callahan would not be their favorite coach. You admire him quite a bit. Does it bother you that Nebraska fans don’t hold him in high esteem?

Sometimes it does. I was a captain the years he was here. I got to meet with him every week. I knew him personally, and I knew where his heart was and what he was trying to do. Some people just didn’t take it the right way. He brought in a system that was almost perfect for Nebraska. A lot of things that weren’t in the head coaches control, they blamed him for it. Everyone here knows I’m pro-Callahan on the radio because of what I’ve seen and what he’s done and what kind of players he was bringing in at Nebraska and changing it and making it fun offense to be a part of. Some guys really profited from it. Zac Taylor is working with the Miami Dolphins now (as quarterback coach). I thought he could be a pro quarterback. He took that offense and ran with it. Those coaches were why I really fell back in love with football. They made football even more fun. They made me realize there was more to it than the simple plays I had in high school. I came in and it was option left, option right and ISOs. I learned a lot more football and I understood what football had to offer and fell in love with that.

 

I've said this before, but if Callahan would have been willing to replace Cosgrove as DC with someone of quality, he could still be our head coach today. The offense was great--IMO, it was the defense (and Callahan's staunch refusal to admit that his choice in DC wasn't up to snuff) that got him fired. And I think the comments from Mr. Ross illustrate that Callahan was a good coach behind the scenes and had a good offensive staff.

 

Regardless, I didn't see this posted yet and it didn't come up in a forum search, so hopefully this isn't a doublepost, and you folks enjoy the info.

[chainsaw]

I've often wondered why, bill couldn't see that cosgrove was overwhelmed in the D-cord job. sometimes i wonder if he didn't just get stubborn!

[NUinID]

I have no doubt that Cory Ross learned a ton about football and the West Coast offense from BC while he was at Nebraska, BC knows his football. Bill Callahan's big problem was that he didn't understand that the most important thing was for him to win games, not install his very complicated offense. He could have easily won 8 games and maybe 9 his first year at Nebraska I am talking about the S. Miss, Iowa St and Colorado games, but he wanted to force feed the offense.

 

Then when he finally had his offence working he let his defense start sucking.

 

 

A lot of guys think MR is BC 2.0 when it comes to offense, if you really watch stuff they aren't all that similar. They have some of the same principles, but it still looks different. MR understands that he is here to win also.

[NUance]

Good to hear from one of my favorite players from the BC era...

 

Via Athlonsports.com

 

 

What have you done since leaving Nebraska?

After I left Nebraska, I played for the Baltimore Ravens for three years, got hurt and had to sit out a year. Then I played in the United Football League under coach Dennis Green for three year. Then I had a stint in Canada with the Edmonton Eskimos. Though all the injuries my body has taken, I called it quits. I ended up coming back to Lincoln and did a lot of radio appearances. I ended up meeting a couple of guys who were starting an Arena football team in Lincoln while I was here, and they asked me to come on staff. I really took a liking to it and fell into the head coaching gig with the Lincoln Haymakers. That ended up falling through, but the owner of the Omaha Beef, Rich Tokheim, wanted me to take over last January. That’s how it started. I just fell in love with it the last three years. I really want to get into the college level and let people I know I’m interested. I’m getting a feel of how it is to be a coach. I love coaching. I love teaching, I love being around football.

 

 

I bet if you polled Nebraska fans, Callahan would not be their favorite coach. You admire him quite a bit. Does it bother you that Nebraska fans don’t hold him in high esteem?

Sometimes it does. I was a captain the years he was here. I got to meet with him every week. I knew him personally, and I knew where his heart was and what he was trying to do. Some people just didn’t take it the right way. He brought in a system that was almost perfect for Nebraska. A lot of things that weren’t in the head coaches control, they blamed him for it. Everyone here knows I’m pro-Callahan on the radio because of what I’ve seen and what he’s done and what kind of players he was bringing in at Nebraska and changing it and making it fun offense to be a part of. Some guys really profited from it. Zac Taylor is working with the Miami Dolphins now (as quarterback coach). I thought he could be a pro quarterback. He took that offense and ran with it. Those coaches were why I really fell back in love with football. They made football even more fun. They made me realize there was more to it than the simple plays I had in high school. I came in and it was option left, option right and ISOs. I learned a lot more football and I understood what football had to offer and fell in love with that.

 

I've said this before, but if Callahan would have been willing to replace Cosgrove as DC with someone of quality, he could still be our head coach today. The offense was great--IMO, it was the defense (and Callahan's staunch refusal to admit that his choice in DC wasn't up to snuff) that got him fired. And I think the comments from Mr. Ross illustrate that Callahan was a good coach behind the scenes and had a good offensive staff.

 

Regardless, I didn't see this posted yet and it didn't come up in a forum search, so hopefully this isn't a doublepost, and you folks enjoy the info.

 

You might be right. There's a lot to be said for loyalty. Too bad Callahan was more loyal to Cosgrove than to the Husker program.

[Touchdown Tommie]

BC was/is very similar to Bo...both stubborn beyond belief to make some minor changes to make things work. Bo was loyal to his cronies just as BC was loyal to his.

 

It is hard to remember the positives for these two. BC came in and ruined a lot of the traditions set up by Devaney/Osborne...Bo came in and tried to correct those issues, but in the end he left the program's reputation in a pretty bad light.

 

Will be interesting to see how MR does and what his legacy will be when it is all said and done.

[kchusker_chris]

I've often wondered why, bill couldn't see that cosgrove was overwhelmed in the D-cord job. sometimes i wonder if he didn't just get stubborn!

 

What about the 2006 season makes you think Bill should have known Cosgrove was in over his head going in to 2007. It's easy to say after 2007, but Bill never got a chance to rectify that season so everyone that complains about Bill's "sticking with Cosgrove" must be looking at 2006 unless you think firing him mid-2007 would have mada a difference right?

 

So, 2006. 5 losses. What about those 5 losses makes think Cosgrove was in over his head? Held USC to less than 400 yards and 28 points on the road while the offense wasn't doing anything - that was an 11 win highly ranked team. Not exactly a rough outing considering what we've witnessed the last few years. Maybe Texas? The 340 yards, only 38 on the ground on 24 attempts...to a 10 win team. Oklahoma St. is where we got our real red flag. The D held up fine against Oklahoma (307, 21pts) and Auburn (230, 17 pnts) though. Both losses, but certainly not on the D in either of them.

 

That team only gave up a little north of 18 points a game that season. Chunks of yards often, but points were really only yielded to the point it would be tough on the offense once, 41 to Okie St. As a reference, Bo gave up 24.8, 24.8, 27.6, 23.4 his last 4 years in the B1G...not exactly the scoring explosions of the B12 teams...and certainly not the schedules Cally played.

 

I just don't see why you'd fire the D-coordinator in that situation. The D wasn't the issue going into 2007.

[zoogs]

They're not cronies, they're friends! I think all coaches will find it difficult to ruthlessly make scapegoats out of their friends, or at least to have a blind spot there.

 

BC did not really ruin traditions. He was a good guy who did, as Cory Ross points out, some good work for Nebraska in a tough period of transition. He also lost the crew entirely in 2007 and that was too much to come back from. He's not worthy of the same anger that Bo earned himself.

 

Bo built on what he was given and was probably a better coach; he never lost his team and the players loved him to the end. But he did cast the program in a negative light and tried to convince everyone that this was a terrible job nobody would want to take. Big mistake Rule #1 - respect the position.

 

A coach can be forgiven for failing; success is not easy. They can't be forgiven for disparaging the place. Riley will almost certainly never do that, win or lose.

[BigRedBuster]

I hold much more animosity towards Peterson than I do Callahan.

[Creighton Duke]

I hold much more animosity towards Peterson than I do Callahan.

[TITANIC VS LUSITANIA]

So 10 years later fans coming around and love him huh...how times change.

[ColoradoHusk]

Looking back at the Callahan era, it was not good. Frankly, his teams pretty much sucked, except for a decent year in 2006 when NU won the Big 12 North. I can't believe that people are looking back at his teams with more admiration that the Bo era. Callahan was decent at bringing in talent, but he had no idea what to do with them once they got to NU.

[teachercd]

Looking back at the Callahan era, it was not good. Frankly, his teams pretty much sucked, except for a decent year in 2006 when NU won the Big 12 North. I can't believe that people are looking back at his teams with more admiration that the Bo era. Callahan was decent at bringing in talent, but he had no idea what to do with them once they got to NU.

I get the feeling that when it is all said and done we will have some NU fans trying to tell us that Bo really never even won a single game in 7 years.

[RADAR]

 

Looking back at the Callahan era, it was not good. Frankly, his teams pretty much sucked, except for a decent year in 2006 when NU won the Big 12 North. I can't believe that people are looking back at his teams with more admiration that the Bo era. Callahan was decent at bringing in talent, but he had no idea what to do with them once they got to NU.

I get the feeling that when it is all said and done we will have some NU fans trying to tell us that Bo really never even won a single game in 7 years.

 

None that mattered.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

Looking back at the Callahan era, it was not good. Frankly, his teams pretty much sucked, except for a decent year in 2006 when NU won the Big 12 North. I can't believe that people are looking back at his teams with more admiration that the Bo era. Callahan was decent at bringing in talent, but he had no idea what to do with them once they got to NU.

I get the feeling that when it is all said and done we will have some NU fans trying to tell us that Bo really never even won a single game in 7 years.

 

Don't you know that Bo didn't win any games and he killed puppies and kittens on the sideline.

[RADAR]

Callahan lost his team in 07, the same thing happened to Danny Nee. They were both very good coaches, but they also had some flaws that led to their dismissal.