continuity - the key to our past success

[Huskerlambs]

Does it seem like we're a little confused on offense? It occurs to me that the key to our past success was continuity in the coaching staff. Charlie McBride, George Darlington, Milt Tenopir, Dan Young, Frank Solich, Turner Gill, Ron Brown - they all stayed with our program forever, unceasingly loyal to Tom Osborne. When did we become the program that wanted to fire everybody? What if we had a staff and a quarterback that stuck together like the old days?

Year Quarterback Offensive Coordinator Head Coach Comment

2001 Crouch Solich Solich Great season with a 3-year starter in the same system - played for the title

2002 Lord Solich Solich Ouch - worst year of my life...at age 32

2003 Lord Cotton Solich 10-3 - maybe we should have stuck with him...and Pelini

2004 Dailey Watson Callahan Ouch - trying to make an option qb run the west coast

2005 Taylor Watson Callahan 8-4 - at least we beat Michigan!

2006 Taylor Watson Callahan lost Big 12 championship - not bad - the same system two years in a row!

2007 Keller Watson Callahan dumbest decision ever - could have gone with Ganz - program destroyed

2008 Ganz Watson Pelini 9-4 - I got to go to that Gator Bowl - loved it!

2009 Lee Watson Pelini so close to glory - we got screwed by a Texas ref

2010 Martinez Watson Pelini trying to fit a square peg into a round hole; still almost achieved glory

2011 Martinez Beck Pelini sophomore tries to learn new system - decent but not great results

2012 Martinez Beck Pelini Won't it be exciting to have the same qb, OC, and HC in the same system

for two consecutive years for the second time in 11 years?

Tagge, Gill, Frazier, Crouch - they played in the same system for years. In the old days, most players were certain to redshirt, learn the system, pay their dues, and play for the glory of Dear Old Nebraska U. Why do some want to make changes every year now?

 

[Huskerlambs]

Wow, the spacing was so much better when I wrote it - sorry.

 

[ladyhawke]

Could it be that we are impatient? Could it be that unless we're in the Top 5 or 10 or playing for the CCG or NCG that we're nada? Could it be that we don't have time to wait for our team to grow because the team down the street doesn't have to wait for their team to grow so neither should we. Could it be that we should keep getting rid of staff until we are equal or better than the team down the street? OR Could it be that football now is different than football was back in the days of consistency?

 

[knapplc]

When did we become the program that wanted to fire everybody?

A LOOOOONG time ago. Back in the 1970s, when many wanted Osborne run out of here and he nearly went to Colorado. Back in the late 80s when they wanted Osborne out again because he "couldn't win the big game." Also, everyone wanted McBride fired in the late 80s as well, probably moreso than Osborne.

Nebraska Fan has a long, rich tradition of wanting to fire coaches.

 

[Enhance]

College football in general is impatient today, and it was to some degree in the past. The problem is with the fact that some universities hire new coaches and have success almost immediately. Oklahoma with Bob Stoops, Alabama with Saban, LSU with Miles, etc. However, as I eluded to in another thread, those three schools have a much easier path getting to the top than a school like Nebraska does.

For Nebraska to be a powerhouse again, it has to all be done a certain way. Hiring and firing coaches has never worked here, and it produced the darkest decade in recent history. Bringing in a new coach won't fix the problem immediately, and there's no guarantee it will bring powerhouse status in the future. Nebraska is an interesting school. We have very little here that can be compared to other powerhouse programs when you evaluate student-body size, attractiveness to recruits, championships, location, etc. We also have pretty poor high school football. Yet there are places like Missouri, which has more population, better high school football, a larger university, etc., and they've never been great at football. T.O. has said he was surprised Missouri was never good at football consistently.

Things have to be done a certain way here, and every time we've tried to change that, we've failed. That's why I think hiring a new coach is faulty at best.