Ex - Husker Parrella to be named Husker D-line coach

Sharp & Benning made an interesting point this morning in that they wonder if Parrella would have been more "accepted" by fans if he were hired a year ago, when Hughes was originally hired. There was criticism that Riley didn't put anyone with Nebraska ties on his original NU coaching staff, and Parrella was considered for the job a year ago.

 
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BigRedBuster said:
ColoradoHusk said:
Here are the reasons I like the hire, in no particular order.

1) He's a former Husker - while this isn't a necessity to be a NU coach, Parrella is a guy who understands the culture of Lincoln and what it takes to be successful in college football and at NU

2) Long NFL career - 12 years in the NFL can be a great selling point for recruiting guys, even if he's not a house hold name. He has experience in what it takes to be successful at the highest level of football. Yes there is a question in whether he can "teach" it to kids, but I like his chances. Plus, he played for Banker, so he coaching the philosophy of Banker's D isn't going to be foreign.

3) Ties to California - there will be a lot of coaches in California high schools who are familiar with Parrella and who will welcome him into their school

4) Recent knowledge with high school kids - he started a football program in high school, so that takes a lot "recruiting" to get kids to come out for football and he probably has a good understanding of what today's high school kids are thinking about

5) Some coaching experience - I understand Parrella doesn't have 10-20 years of coaching experience, but he does have experience coaching D-line camps and has been coaching in high school and smaller college level. That level of kids aren't oozing with talent, so those kids are going to need good teaching and coaching to become good ball players.

Overall, I think he's a good fit with the program and current coaching staff.
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I'll add one more.

He went from being a walk-on TE to being one of the best D tackles in the nation.

That takes a totally different mind set than someone who comes in as a 4* player and everyone expects they are going to do great things. He had to work his a$$ off to get noticed and become the player he became.

I always believe those kind of guys have a better chance of being a good coach because they know what it is like to have to work extremely hard to be able to do what is expected. Maybe they don't have the God given talent other players have but, he had the work ethic to over come that. Also, he knows kids can be developed like that.
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Let me add to the one more thing list. In looking at his past and the articles and comments written he looks like he brings a great deal of energy and dedication to everything he does. Starting a new HS program, keeping up relationships with past coaches, understanding the 24/7 recruiting commitment required at the lower levels, as the DL line coach he started a black shirt tradition with this line and that infected the entire defense Northern Michigan. All of this shows that he seems to be able to bring intelligently focused energy and enthusiasm to all that he does, I figure this will translate to player development and recruiting living rooms.

 
C N Red said:
I do love the fact he understands the blackshirt tradition. We've needed someone on staff for a long time that can really say he lived and played as a blackshirt when it was held to level it should be.
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This, Its not always possible, but I would like to have at least one of these guys coaching defense as a position coach or even DC. If Parrella is as advertised in that article then I think we may have just won here.

 
Waterloohusker26 said:
NUinID said:
Red Five said:
NUinID said:
Everyone hated Bray as a hire for linebackers.
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Completely false.
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Ok, that was an exageration. How about this many questioned the hiring of Bray at LB due to his lack of experience.
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I would say more people were up in arms about hiring a WR coach from Tulane........It was blasphemy and looked at how terrible that tur........oh wait
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I think the only thing people had a problem with regarding Bray was that he was an Oregon St guy.

 
Enhance89 said:
FTW said:
Enhance89 said:
Out of curiosity, would some people feel the same about this hire, or significantly less-thrilled, if he had zero Husker ties?

(Disclaimer: I don't hate or love the hire - just in a wait and see mode, and hoping he does great).
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I think you have to hire a guy who "gets it." Parrella might be the guy who gets it, who understands Nebraska football and can preach it to current and prospective players. I'd say with Parrella having ties to our program, it's a plus. It might not be the sexy hire people want but he could be the guy we need. Like you, I'm in a wait and see mode which I think is FAIR. Coaches should always be judged on a performance basis of wins and losses on the football field and in college, that includes recruitment of players.
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That's fair, and I too think the Husker ties are a plus. I just don't put as much stock into them as some other people do, I think.
For me, having Husker/Nebraska ties can be a factor that puts one coach over the edge of another candidate if all things are relatively equal. It is not, however, a significant determining factor. It seems some people are really excited simply because he's a Husker, and I would just urge people to look beyond that. Don't let that be the difference between whether or not we think this is a good hire, which it appears is happening to a degree.

I think it's a benefit he has a Husker background but it certainly is not weighing very heavily into my initial evaluation of him.
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I think it's a great question Enhance. Personally, I think if they hired someone with this same exact resume and no Husker ties people would be flaming the hire big time. But I do think the ties can be a factor which turns a meh hire into a potentially good one. As others said, he will be able to speak to recruits about what Nebraska did for him, how playing here prepared him for the NFL, the culture, etc. And when that comes from a guy who lived it I think it carries weight. My take is that they think he will be an effective recruiter and we desperately need that at DL right now.

 
I can't believe how wrapped up we as fans are about the DL coach. It's one assistant coach, not even the OC or DC. I can't even name the DL coach from the 95 team off the top of my head.

 
RedDenver said:
I can't believe how wrapped up we as fans are about the DL coach. It's one assistant coach, not even the OC or DC. I can't even name the DL coach from the 95 team off the top of my head.
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It important because of the abject failure of DL recruiting this year more then anything else. We have some underclassmen coming up but its ******* bare after that. Its going to be the single biggest recruiting need this coming year.

 
olddominionhusker said:
RedDenver said:
I can't believe how wrapped up we as fans are about the DL coach. It's one assistant coach, not even the OC or DC. I can't even name the DL coach from the 95 team off the top of my head.
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It important because of the abject failure of DL recruiting this year more then anything else. We have some underclassmen coming up but its ******* bare after that. Its going to be the single biggest recruiting need this coming year.
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Are the other coaches not going to recruit the DL?
 
RedDenver said:
olddominionhusker said:
RedDenver said:
I can't believe how wrapped up we as fans are about the DL coach. It's one assistant coach, not even the OC or DC. I can't even name the DL coach from the 95 team off the top of my head.
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It important because of the abject failure of DL recruiting this year more then anything else. We have some underclassmen coming up but its ******* bare after that. Its going to be the single biggest recruiting need this coming year.
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Are the other coaches not going to recruit the DL?
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I'm sure others will, but it's important for the position coach to make connections with potential d-line recruits since he is the one they will be working with the most if they come to Nebraska.

 
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