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Turning 40 not so hard for Pelini
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Dec 14, 2007 - 12:07:00 am CST
A Bo Pelini name plate already has a home on the desk. A basketball owns space on the floor behind it.
Nebraska’s new football coach picked it up, bounced it a few times, before offering an imitation of the left-handed jump shot that scored him more than 1,000 points back in his high school days.
If he wasn’t busy with this coaching football, Pelini joked he’d be playing for the Knicks. Maybe he wasn’t joking. The Knicks might need him.
On his 40th birthday, Pelini was in good spirits as he spoke Thursday about his first 11 days on the job, the national title game, and his relationship with Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osborne.
Life’s a blur right about now for Pelini, who will leave early next week to help coach LSU in one more game, a national championship showdown against Ohio State on Jan. 7.
“I can’t wait to do it,” Pelini said. “And I expect to be there (someday) as a head coach. That’s the next thing. The more times you get in that situation, the more prepared you are when it happens to you.”
Pelini said it was easy deciding if he should go back and coach LSU in that game. He was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for the past three years. You don’t walk out on a team when it gets one step from winning it all.
“I could never live with myself. I couldn’t walk out on those kids. I like to finish what I start,” he said. “They want me to do it. They asked me to do it. I want to do it. Coach Osborne wants me to do it. I think our kids here want me to do it. When I met with them I asked a couple of them how they feel about it. They said, ‘Sheesh, you should be (coaching that game).’”
Since taking the Nebraska job Dec. 2, Pelini’s been flying around — literally — trying to recruit and finalize his coaching staff.
The staff is now pretty much in place. An official announcement will come in a day or two, he said.
“I feel real good about where we are and what we’ve accomplished up until now,” he said.
And given that Dec. 17 is the start of a recruiting dead period that runs through the bowl season, Pelini doesn’t think it will be a big deal that he’s helping the Tigers.
“It’s not like you practice and go all the way through the game. There’s time in there around Christmas and the holidays,” Pelini said. “If there’s something I’m needed to do, to come back and take care of, obviously I will do that.”
Pelini is also of the mind that coaching in the national title game could be a great recruiting tool for Nebraska.
“I think that’s a fact, but that wasn’t my motivation for doing it,” Pelini said. “I did it because it’s the right thing to do.”
It’s assumed the national television audience will see plenty of close-ups of Pelini, mentioning his new job at Nebraska along with it.
Yeah, life is good — a new office, a giant Bo birthday cookie on the front counter, and a national title game to get ready for.
And, yes, he’ll be ready for it, he assured.
“It’s not that big of a deal to me. I’m a multi-task person anyway. You just say, ‘OK, this is what you have to do. These are things you have to get done,” Pelini said.
“I’ve had time to get ready. ... I’ve just had a lot of other things on my plate to do, but I’ve done a little bit at a time. I’m about ready. I know what Ohio State does.”
While in this time of transition, Pelini said Osborne has been someone he’s turned often to for advice.
“Some things that you may think are very small and trivial, I ask him, ‘What do you think here?’ Just day-to-day things.’” Pelini said. “If anything, I probably drive him crazy sometimes.”
Pelini made clear that Osborne is not the type of guy who tries to interfere.
“At no point has he ever said, ‘I want you to do this, I want you to do that.’ He says, ‘You need to do what you see as best,’” Pelini said.
Did Osborne suggest that Pelini hire certain guys on the staff?
“No. He just gave me information. And I asked him for information. I said, ‘How do you see it? What is your evaluation?’ There’s not one person he told me to hire. I’m sure he wouldn’t have hired some of the guys I did.
“What he does is provide you with information. And obviously, he has good information.”
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Dec 14, 2007 - 12:07:00 am CST
A Bo Pelini name plate already has a home on the desk. A basketball owns space on the floor behind it.
Nebraska’s new football coach picked it up, bounced it a few times, before offering an imitation of the left-handed jump shot that scored him more than 1,000 points back in his high school days.
If he wasn’t busy with this coaching football, Pelini joked he’d be playing for the Knicks. Maybe he wasn’t joking. The Knicks might need him.
On his 40th birthday, Pelini was in good spirits as he spoke Thursday about his first 11 days on the job, the national title game, and his relationship with Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osborne.
Life’s a blur right about now for Pelini, who will leave early next week to help coach LSU in one more game, a national championship showdown against Ohio State on Jan. 7.
“I can’t wait to do it,” Pelini said. “And I expect to be there (someday) as a head coach. That’s the next thing. The more times you get in that situation, the more prepared you are when it happens to you.”
Pelini said it was easy deciding if he should go back and coach LSU in that game. He was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for the past three years. You don’t walk out on a team when it gets one step from winning it all.
“I could never live with myself. I couldn’t walk out on those kids. I like to finish what I start,” he said. “They want me to do it. They asked me to do it. I want to do it. Coach Osborne wants me to do it. I think our kids here want me to do it. When I met with them I asked a couple of them how they feel about it. They said, ‘Sheesh, you should be (coaching that game).’”
Since taking the Nebraska job Dec. 2, Pelini’s been flying around — literally — trying to recruit and finalize his coaching staff.
The staff is now pretty much in place. An official announcement will come in a day or two, he said.
“I feel real good about where we are and what we’ve accomplished up until now,” he said.
And given that Dec. 17 is the start of a recruiting dead period that runs through the bowl season, Pelini doesn’t think it will be a big deal that he’s helping the Tigers.
“It’s not like you practice and go all the way through the game. There’s time in there around Christmas and the holidays,” Pelini said. “If there’s something I’m needed to do, to come back and take care of, obviously I will do that.”
Pelini is also of the mind that coaching in the national title game could be a great recruiting tool for Nebraska.
“I think that’s a fact, but that wasn’t my motivation for doing it,” Pelini said. “I did it because it’s the right thing to do.”
It’s assumed the national television audience will see plenty of close-ups of Pelini, mentioning his new job at Nebraska along with it.
Yeah, life is good — a new office, a giant Bo birthday cookie on the front counter, and a national title game to get ready for.
And, yes, he’ll be ready for it, he assured.
“It’s not that big of a deal to me. I’m a multi-task person anyway. You just say, ‘OK, this is what you have to do. These are things you have to get done,” Pelini said.
“I’ve had time to get ready. ... I’ve just had a lot of other things on my plate to do, but I’ve done a little bit at a time. I’m about ready. I know what Ohio State does.”
While in this time of transition, Pelini said Osborne has been someone he’s turned often to for advice.
“Some things that you may think are very small and trivial, I ask him, ‘What do you think here?’ Just day-to-day things.’” Pelini said. “If anything, I probably drive him crazy sometimes.”
Pelini made clear that Osborne is not the type of guy who tries to interfere.
“At no point has he ever said, ‘I want you to do this, I want you to do that.’ He says, ‘You need to do what you see as best,’” Pelini said.
Did Osborne suggest that Pelini hire certain guys on the staff?
“No. He just gave me information. And I asked him for information. I said, ‘How do you see it? What is your evaluation?’ There’s not one person he told me to hire. I’m sure he wouldn’t have hired some of the guys I did.
“What he does is provide you with information. And obviously, he has good information.”
