Athlon Sports: Can Mike Riley Make Nebraska Football Great Again?

[NUance]

Former Oregon State coach Mike Riley is the latest man charged with returning Nebraska to prominence. He follows Pelini, who took over for Bill Callahan, who replaced Frank Solich. None matched Osborne’s exploits, and as the 2015 season dawns, Skylar Taylor isn’t the only one wondering whether it’s possible for Nebraska to return to college football’s elite.

I don't think player commitment is a factor unto itself. That comes largely from the coaches. Callahan's 2007 team was the last Husker team I can recall that lacked commitment. After they got blown out by USC they sort of gave up. I pin that directly on Callahan. It's the coach's job—maybe his most important job—to get all the players motivated and moving in one direction. And keep them that way. Callahan knew that he was getting the ax in 2007. And his team played like a lame duck team.

Pelini was a different sort of cat. His players loved him—especially the starters—but their commitment was to Bo more than the program. I think this was because Pelini seemed to cultivate an us-against-them mentality, pitting the team against the fans and media. Doing that takes our greatest advantage—a dedicated, zealous fan base—and makes it out to be the opposition.

A better approach is to take the Husker fan enthusiasm and make it work for the team, rather than pitting the team against it. It seems like that's what Riley is doing. Just look at the Spring Game. Riley and the players had a blast with it! The fans had fun! Just a few years ago it seemed like Pelini wanted to cancel cancel the Spring Game. This year with Riley it was a celebration kicking off a new season. And a new era! Riley's infectious enthusiasm for all things Husker seems to be spilling over into recruiting. Look at the class he's quietly assembling. It's gonna be one of our best. This summer and fall there won't be any problems with the players' commitment to win on Riley's team. His guys are excited to be Huskers. And they're doing what it takes to win.

 

[jmfb]

There is a big difference between hopping around, jumping all over each, making a bunch of gestures other etc and swagger

The swagger the dominant NU teams of the past wasnt about false bravado

They just came out onto the field very focused and confident that they were going to play physical and effective football

So did the opposition- who often times were looking for a soft place to lay down in the 3rd or 4th quarters

If youve been a part of a team like that- you know what Im talking about- inner passion and legit confidence in the end outcome

That comes from demonstrated and consistent excellence in the offseason and practice- not some false bravado thing prior to the game

I have played on very good teams and you are wrong on your assessment of swagger. Those 90's teams jumped around, taunted and made gestures all the time. No different then what they do know except they backed it up.

My personal experience of playing on, playing against and coaching for, coaching against many teams like that are much different than yours

The dominant teams NU had in the 70s, 80s and 90s- from watching them in person and knowing and coaching with a bunch of the guys who played then- some coaching their sons.-They would disagree with you about quiet confidence vs jump around swagger. BTW Ive seen a lot of that fake bravado swagger of late in the tunnel- often times followed by a blowout loss.

NU tried some of that jump around swagger stuff for a very brief time period when NU was trying to break through the OU losing funk. TO let the kids do more of that, didnt work very well at all.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

For the best case scenario, consider the Golden State Warriors.

The previous coach, Mark Jackson, pulled them out of mediocrity and made them a playoff team, albeit mid-tier in the Western Division. He was respected by the team and fans appreciated having winning seasons for a change. When management fired Jackson last year, some folks thought they were crazy. Steph Curry was reportedly very unhappy with the decision. Jackson was a man of the cloth, and had made fellow faith-based teammates a tight knit group. Nobody really understood the firing, even when it came out the Jackson simply didn't get along with his bosses. He didn't want consultant Jerry West attending practices. He hated his assistants getting credit. He fired worthy assistants and found more subservient assistants. He rejected management's request to hire more and better assistants on their dime. He banned the media from talking to his assistants. Unknown to the average fan, Mark Jackson had created an unpleasant workplace, believing his win total did all the talking for him.

So the Warriors hired a really nice guy in his place, confident enough to surround himself with top-notch assistants, to whom he gave respect, control and media access. If you didn't watch the NBA this year, that culture change made a historic difference.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

As for the swagger...I don't know. There are still players in the NFL who thump their chest after making a hard hit, refusing to notice they also gave up a first down.

And there are teams that just ooze swagger -- like the Seahawks -- and manage to back it up. I hate them but respect them.

I think you can have showboaters and deadly quiet lunchpail guys on the same team. Most good teams are a mix of personalities. You tend to remember the showboaters for obvious reasons. The Peters Brothers had swagger. They also had a good reason to swagger. They also came in with swagger personalities, and it didn't always work out so well for them off the field.

Nebraska does have a body language problem and it's not swagger exactly. When you saw the team on the sidelines, in games when things weren't going well, you saw almost NO emotion. You saw the coach going nuts, but the players looked flatlined. You wanted to see some frustration, you wanted to see a player or two pounding on some shoulder pads, firing up teammates. Some guys didn't even seem to be watching the game.

I want to see some swagger in the tunnel walk, but I also want to see some emotion -- other than passive acceptance -- on the sidelines.

 

[bleedNUred]

I've believed since the hiring that coach Riley will be able to make Nebraska a consistent contender for conference titles and occasionally national titles. I'm optimistic even about this season, the team is young but playing for a conference title certainly is not out of the question in my opinion. I think these coaches will be the difference as it seemed to me the past few seasons that was the difference, not the personnel on the field. I will remain optimistic until proven otherwise.

 

[Landlord]

Guy, found the perfect article to relate to your last two (really good) posts.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/stephen-curry-and-the-culture-of-self-trust

STEPHEN CURRY AND THE CULTURE OF SELF-TRUST
In the last 70 years, we’ve changed how we celebrate victory, David Brooks argues in his new book, The Road to Character. While listening to a radio broadcast from August 15, 1945, the day after V-J Day, Brooks noticed how the host Bing Crosby described the program’s tone: “Today, though, our deep-down feeling is one of humility.” One guest, recalls Brooks, quoted a war correspondent, saying, “We did not win [the war] because destiny created us better than all other people. I hope that in victory we are more grateful than proud.”


When the program ended, Brooks turned on his TV to watch a football game just in time to see a wide receiver catch a short pass before he got tackled. Immediately, the defensive lineman did a “self-puffing victory dance” to celebrate his accomplishment. “It occurred to me,” Brooks reflects, “that I had just watched more self-celebration after a two-yard gain than I had heard after the United States won World War II.” He then zooms out to comment on this significant cultural shift:

It did occur to me that there was perhaps a strain of humility that was more common then than now, that there was a moral ecology, stretching back centuries but less prominent now, encouraging people to be more skeptical of their desires, more aware of their own weaknesses, more intent on combatting the flaws in their own natures and turning weakness into strength.

In contrast with our “modest” tone of former years, our current era embraces “the gospel of self-trust,” Brooks says. Citing modern-day “prophets” like Ellen DeGeneres and Joel Osteen, Brooks says that this gospel tells us to trust ourselves, to follow our passions, and to embrace our destinies.

 

[TGHusker]

Guy, found the perfect article to relate to your last two (really good) posts.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/stephen-curry-and-the-culture-of-self-trust

STEPHEN CURRY AND THE CULTURE OF SELF-TRUST
In the last 70 years, we’ve changed how we celebrate victory, David Brooks argues in his new book, The Road to Character. While listening to a radio broadcast from August 15, 1945, the day after V-J Day, Brooks noticed how the host Bing Crosby described the program’s tone: “Today, though, our deep-down feeling is one of humility.” One guest, recalls Brooks, quoted a war correspondent, saying, “We did not win [the war] because destiny created us better than all other people. I hope that in victory we are more grateful than proud.”


When the program ended, Brooks turned on his TV to watch a football game just in time to see a wide receiver catch a short pass before he got tackled. Immediately, the defensive lineman did a “self-puffing victory dance” to celebrate his accomplishment. “It occurred to me,” Brooks reflects, “that I had just watched more self-celebration after a two-yard gain than I had heard after the United States won World War II.” He then zooms out to comment on this significant cultural shift:

It did occur to me that there was perhaps a strain of humility that was more common then than now, that there was a moral ecology, stretching back centuries but less prominent now, encouraging people to be more skeptical of their desires, more aware of their own weaknesses, more intent on combatting the flaws in their own natures and turning weakness into strength.

In contrast with our “modest” tone of former years, our current era embraces “the gospel of self-trust,” Brooks says. Citing modern-day “prophets” like Ellen DeGeneres and Joel Osteen, Brooks says that this gospel tells us to trust ourselves, to follow our passions, and to embrace our destinies.

Excellent article. I just happened to have ordered the Timothy Keller book linked to in the article

http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Self-Forgetfulness-Path-Christian/dp/1906173419/?tag=thegospcoal-20

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Interesting article, but that's a dangerously false dichotomy between the horrors of World War II and a football game played for entertainment purposes.

I would hope to see more celebration in a football game, right?

And the sporting world had plenty of big, swaggering personalities before World War II. It wasn't the simpler, more humble time some choose to remember. If you want to compare our sense of humility in terms of military force, that's another conversation.

Steph Curry has tons of swagger. He's very demonstrative on the floor, fist clenching, chest-thumping, pointing, gesturing, and yes even strutting because he's absolutely on fire and it feels great. In some ways his MVP season was about Steph Curry unleashing his swagger. That he's a devout Christian who thanks God for his incredible ability doesn't have much to do with the larger point about public displays of confidence. There are plenty of chest-thumping football players who are devout Christians. And we could certainly argue that the difference between Self Trust and The Lord Helps Those Who Help Themselves is in the eye of the beholder (and the agenda of the publication.)

And again, every successful team is all about the team; individuals of different abilities, motivations, religions and humilities who apply those difference to a common good. Good coaches create an atmosphere of trust, regardless of the differences.

 

[BigRedBuster]

The players would run through a wall for Coach Osborne. All of them. The players would run through a wall for Bo, if they were in the clique. Not all were. No player would run through a wall for Calahan. None of them. Now, if Mike Riley can inspire them to that level, from the ball boys to the quarterback, from the 5 year scholarship players to the first year walkons, then we will have something. But they have to have the heart, desire, and be willing to make some sacrifices, to get there. They have to realize they will have to work harder than anyone in the Big Ten conference this summer and during the season at practice to get there. We have had too many players recruited with the promise that "I can get you drafted into the NFL". There is a limit to how much those players will give of themselves. Mike Riley is going to be a nice guy. But he is not going to be TO. He better be able to inspire his players to achieve things they never thought possible for themselves. When he does that we will be able to beat Ohio State and Michigan State. (and Minnesota).

I love TO and agree that he was one of the greatest coaches ever.

However, let's not exaggerate. There has never been a coach in the history of sports that ALL the players that ever played for him loved him. Did the vast majority love him? Yes. But, there were players that came during the TO era that left disillusioned also just like any other coaching staff.

 

[raw1]

The players would run through a wall for Coach Osborne. All of them. The players would run through a wall for Bo, if they were in the clique. Not all were. No player would run through a wall for Calahan. None of them. Now, if Mike Riley can inspire them to that level, from the ball boys to the quarterback, from the 5 year scholarship players to the first year walkons, then we will have something. But they have to have the heart, desire, and be willing to make some sacrifices, to get there. They have to realize they will have to work harder than anyone in the Big Ten conference this summer and during the season at practice to get there. We have had too many players recruited with the promise that "I can get you drafted into the NFL". There is a limit to how much those players will give of themselves. Mike Riley is going to be a nice guy. But he is not going to be TO. He better be able to inspire his players to achieve things they never thought possible for themselves. When he does that we will be able to beat Ohio State and Michigan State. (and Minnesota).

I love TO and agree that he was one of the greatest coaches ever.

However, let's not exaggerate. There has never been a coach in the history of sports that ALL the players that ever played for him loved him. Did the vast majority love him? Yes. But, there were players that came during the TO era that left disillusioned also just like any other coaching staff.

True but if there has been a coach in the last 50 years in the whole world of college football who could inspire his team to perform beyond their individual talents it is TO. The Whole being greater than the sum of the parts. And he did it with the dignity that a whole state can get behind.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

Riley has the same demeanor IMO

 

[Redux]

So basically we are gonna won the playoff this year?

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Tom Osborne led us to a second place tie in the Conference and a #7 national ranking his first season (both down slightly from the previous year)

I think we'd be okay with that.

But you never know.

 

[bleedNUred]

I know I'd be happy with a top ten finish and most likely playing in a solid bowl and while also seeing the Huskers play for a conference title

 

[skersfan]

Would?

I am happy with a real team, one that works together to accomplish a mission, to overcome shortfalls, that is proud to represent Nebraska and its fans. A team and a Head Coach I can be proud of, that leads the team with solid moral fiber, ethics and truly appreciates everything that has been given to him. Just having a person walking that sidelines that is not a total embarrassment to the program, the university, the state and himself will be far more than enough for me.

Because normally when you do things right, work hard, and respect others, life, sports in general smile on you. NC or CC who knows, but having hope/faith that we will be working towards those things makes me very happy.

I have known Coach Osborne for a very long time, and one of the first things I said about this, is it is about as close to being Coach Osborne's personality as you could get. We need to heal, to grow and to gain respect. Mike Riley will bring that to us, I truly believe that. I supported Frank completely, Coach Callahan because I needed to, the past coach, never wanted to a single day, but Coach Riley, I totally support in every way. He is a great person. Will he win every game, highly doubtful, will we have frustrating losses, most likely, but will we get curb stomped time and time again, very doubtful. Respect, that is all I am looking for. The nation does not respect Nebraska football, He will work until he can provide it, or he will tell us he can not do it and move on.