LINCOLN — Before they ever stood across the field from each other, Will Muschamp tried to get Bo Pelini on his side.
“Bo was a guy we thought had done a great job there at Nebraska (in 2003), was at Oklahoma and had been in the NFL,'' Muschamp said Monday. “I actually called and asked if he would have any interest in coming to Miami, and that's when he said he was contemplating the LSU job.''
They talked instead about Baton Rouge and the Tigers and the Southeastern Conference. “And kind of hit it off,'' Muschamp said.
Muschamp and Pelini eventually formed a friendship and mutual admiration that again will have to be put aside when Nebraska plays Texas in the Big 12 championship game Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
Pelini and his brother, NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, will be taking a Husker unit to Cowboys Stadium that ranks No. 3 in scoring defense and No. 11 in total defense. As defensive coordinator for Texas, Muschamp will direct Longhorn units that rank No. 9 and No. 5, respectively.
Just like the old days in the SEC.
“The bottom line is I just respect what he does,'' Bo Pelini said. “I think he's a hell of a coach.''
After one season in the NFL, Muschamp returned to college football as defensive coordinator for Tommy Tuberville at Auburn. That led to Muschamp and Pelini trying to outdo the other when Auburn and LSU played in both 2006 and 2007 — including a 7-3 win by LSU in 2006 that included just 493 yards of total offense.
“They have a healthy respect for each other,'' said NU assistant coach John Papuchis, who worked for both Muschamp and Pelini at LSU. “Obviously they're two of the premier defensive coaches around.
“We had a couple wars against Auburn. The 7-3 game was one of the more physical games I remember. Then in 2007 we beat them on the last play of the game at home (30-24), which again was a slugfest all the way through.''
Pelini and Muschamp are maybe as much alike as they are successful.
Both stayed in their home states to play safety at major-college powers — Pelini for John Cooper at Ohio State, Muschamp for Ray Goff at Georgia.
They each emerged as big-name defensive coordinators in their mid 30s. Pelini landed his first head coaching job at a Big 12 school just as he turned 40, while Muschamp is 38 and the head coach-in-waiting at Texas under Mack Brown.
If there is a major difference, Pelini started his climb with three successful NFL programs before coming to NU in 2003, while Muschamp first plugged away at places such as West Georgia, Eastern Kentucky and Valdosta State before arriving at LSU.
But their styles are built around passion, emotion, motivation and almost a raw edge to what they do — and a knack for it often being captured by TV cameras.
“He's a fiery guy,'' Pelini said. “I think his players just seem to play like that. They play the right way. That's why they've had a lot of success. That's why he's had a lot of success.''
Muschamp returns the compliment.
“I think as much as anything the players like him,'' Muschamp said. “They play for him. That's what jumps out at you. The guys believe in what he's doing and they're going to play hard for him.''
Pelini said he and Muschamp “touch base every now and then during the season'' or at least exchange text messages. Their wives also have gotten to be friends, partly through mutual acquaintances at LSU.
When Pelini was going to spend time in Florida last summer, Muschamp said the two hoped to hook up and maybe play some golf. It just didn't work out to where they could do it at the same time.
The offseason also is for studying and cherry-picking from others in the business, and Pelini and Muschamp regularly take their looks at each other.
“You're always looking to learn more things,'' Pelini said. “And you want to learn from people that you believe are doing good stuff.''
Muschamp said the two believe in some of the same things, such as being strong up the middle and winning up front. He said Pelini defenses find ways to take away what an offense might do best, “and make you beat him left-handed.''
Muschamp is more attached to a 3-4 scheme and Pelini said they do come from different backgrounds, but said they see a lot of things the same way.
Papuchis, 31, said he's just been lucky to work under both and considers each a great mentor.
“They have a little bit different structure but both of them have some of the same core philosophy,'' Papuchis said. “There are some similarities in the way that they approach defensive football, for sure.''
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