How would things have gone if we had retained Solich as coach?

[Gobigred44]

And how many of those you just listed got fired (or basically fired) for those down seasons?

Fired outright? Almost none. Maybe Dooley?

If we look only at the NC winners, think the only coaches that didn't make it through at least 4 seasons at the same school past his first down season were Holtz (who retired amid NCAA investigations after posting back to back 8-3 and 9-3 top 25 seasons) and Robinson, who retired.

Oh, and I forgot about Woody Hayes, who had 4 seasons that we described, including two outright losing seasons, after winning an NC.

Well Solich was not a NC winner. Solich has won just as many national titles as you, me, Bill Calahan and Bo Pelin have- zero.
And Larry Coker actually did win a NC and was fired after just 1 bad season, arguably 2 bad seasons if you count the season where they got blown out by LSU in the Peach Bowl. You haven't heard of Larry Coker, the guy who Solich lost to by a score of 37-14? Coker and Solich took over probably equally good situations and both ultimately ruined them. For some reason I can't figure out Solich is a lot more highly regarded than Coker even though Coker's the guy who won a NC, lead the head to head meeting at halftime 34-0, and went to OT in a NC game the following year.

 

[Gobigred44]

Gene Chizik is also a NC winner (unlike Solich) and he was fired after just 2 bad seasons. Granted Chizik went 3-9 which Solich did not do.

 

[cm husker]

We were talking about HOF coaches.

 

[Swiv3D]

And how many of those you just listed got fired (or basically fired) for those down seasons?

Fired outright? Almost none. Maybe Dooley?

If we look only at the NC winners, think the only coaches that didn't make it through at least 4 seasons at the same school past his first down season were Holtz (who retired amid NCAA investigations after posting back to back 8-3 and 9-3 top 25 seasons) and Robinson, who retired.

Oh, and I forgot about Woody Hayes, who had 4 seasons that we described, including two outright losing seasons, after winning an NC.

Well Solich was not a NC winner. Solich has won just as many national titles as you, me, Bill Calahan and Bo Pelin have- zero.
And Larry Coker actually did win a NC and was fired after just 1 bad season, arguably 2 bad seasons if you count the season where they got blown out by LSU in the Peach Bowl. You know Coker the guy who Solich lost to by a score of 37-14. Coker and Solich took over probably equally good situations and both ultimately ruined them. For some reason I can't figure out Solich is a lot more highly regarded than Coker even though Coker's the guy who won a NC, lead the head to head meeting at halftime 34-0, and went to OT in a NC game the following year.

they could have hired me (I would have been 5 at the time) and they still would have won the NC. Miami's team was too good that year not to win it all, no matter who was coaching.

 

[Gobigred44]

And how many of those you just listed got fired (or basically fired) for those down seasons?

Fired outright? Almost none. Maybe Dooley?

If we look only at the NC winners, think the only coaches that didn't make it through at least 4 seasons at the same school past his first down season were Holtz (who retired amid NCAA investigations after posting back to back 8-3 and 9-3 top 25 seasons) and Robinson, who retired.

Oh, and I forgot about Woody Hayes, who had 4 seasons that we described, including two outright losing seasons, after winning an NC.

Well Solich was not a NC winner. Solich has won just as many national titles as you, me, Bill Calahan and Bo Pelin have- zero.
And Larry Coker actually did win a NC and was fired after just 1 bad season, arguably 2 bad seasons if you count the season where they got blown out by LSU in the Peach Bowl. You know Coker the guy who Solich lost to by a score of 37-14. Coker and Solich took over probably equally good situations and both ultimately ruined them. For some reason I can't figure out Solich is a lot more highly regarded than Coker even though Coker's the guy who won a NC, lead the head to head meeting at halftime 34-0, and went to OT in a NC game the following year.

they could have hired me (I would have been 5 at the time) and they still would have won the NC. Miami's team was too good that year not to win it all, no matter who was coaching.

After year 1, when Solich went 9-4 while Coker went 12-0, their trajectories were almost exactly the same. Considering NU won 3 titles in 4 years before Solich there is not much of an argument Solich took over any worse of a situation than Coker did.
If Osborne had still been NU coach in 1998, they may have gone 13-0 and been as dominant as 1995. (No I'm not saying that would have been the case I'm just saying it's possible.) Then there would probably be people years later who would be saying "That 1998 NU team was so talented any person on the sidewalk could have coached it to a NC." Little would they know that if Osborne had decided to retire after 1997, a guy named Frank Solich would have lead that team to a record of 9-4.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I think it took more courage for the AD to fire Bo Pelini than to retain him for an 8th season.

The Solich situation seems more reactionary/cowardly in hindsight, although as mentioned for the millionth time, there were extenuating circumstances.

Pederson's big f#*k up was thinking that the first open casting call for Head Coach at Nebraska in 40 years would allow him to make a splash hire. Then again, that proved a wake-up call for a lot of us.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

If Osborne had still been NU coach in 1998, they may have gone 13-0 and been as dominant as 1995. (No I'm not saying that would have been the case I'm just saying it's possible.) Then there would probably be people years later who would be saying "That 1998 NU team was so talented any person on the sidewalk could have coached it to a NC." Little would they know that if Osborne had decided to retire after 1997, a guy named Frank Solich would have lead that team to a record of 9-4.

Get over it.

If Tom Osborne didn't go 13-0 in 1996, why would you assume he'd go 13-0 in 1998?

Tom had his own transitional years taking over for Devaney, just a season removed from a national championship. Tom's teams going 9-2-1 in 1973 and 9-3 in 1974 playing one less game than Solich hardly makes your case.

And one season after his transitional year, Frank Solich went 12-1 with a #2 national ranking, a season better than all but a handful of Tom's.

If your premise is "I don't know if that's the case, I'm just saying it's possible" then you can win any argument. But it's silly.

In the end, Bo Pelini ended up doing his same schtick in his new job at a far less desirable program, and Frank Solich has posted an unacceptable by Nebraska standards record at the University of Ohio. No Power 5 program stepped in to take advantage of Nebraska's entitled impatience with head coaches, so it's possible things might not have gone much differently after all.

Fun Fact: there is more talent on more competitive NCAA football teams than there was 20 years ago.

 

[Gobigred44]

Solich is getting up there in years anyway. He's around the age where even coaches who were actually any good in the 1st place aren't good anymore. See Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno Frank Beamer and Mack Brown.

 

[cm husker]

Solich is getting up there in years anyway. He's around the age where even coaches who were actually any good in the 1st place aren't good anymore. See Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno Frank Beamer and Mack Brown.

Isn't Mack brown younger than Riley? Or at least was when he stopped coaching at Texas?

 

[Gobigred44]

Solich is getting up there in years anyway. He's around the age where even coaches who were actually any good in the 1st place aren't good anymore. See Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno Frank Beamer and Mack Brown.

Isn't Mack brown younger than Riley? Or at least was when he stopped coaching at Texas?

Maybe, which is part of why we never should have hired him.

 

[cm husker]

Does that mean you've liked none of the coaches since at least Osborne?

 

[Redux]

I think Tom would have been better at protecting Solich from himself, ...

Yeah? In what way?
Do you believe Devaney did the same for Osborne?

Maybe he wouldn't have been so careless with his personal matters, or maybe he would have handled his staff like a boss and not as a buddy.

But you knew what I meant.

And I have no idea what Bob was for TO but I'm willing to bet that as his hand picked guy he was caring yet stern when TO did something he wasn't fond of.

 

[Redux]

Solich is getting up there in years anyway. He's around the age where even coaches who were actually any good in the 1st place aren't good anymore. See Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno Frank Beamer and Mack Brown.

Isn't Mack brown younger than Riley? Or at least was when he stopped coaching at Texas?

Irrelevant if the results showcase themselves on the field. Hell, it's irrelevant if they don't. Do you think age has any factor in Saban winning title after title? Does age have any factor in Kiffin sucking everywhere he goes?

 

[StPaulHusker]

Solich is getting up there in years anyway. He's around the age where even coaches who were actually any good in the 1st place aren't good anymore. See Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno Frank Beamer and Mack Brown.

Isn't Mack brown younger than Riley? Or at least was when he stopped coaching at Texas?

Irrelevant if the results showcase themselves on the field. Hell, it's irrelevant if they don't. Do you think age has any factor in Saban winning title after title? Does age have any factor in Kiffin sucking everywhere he goes?

But to answer the question. Mack Brown will be 65 in August. He "stopped coaching" when he was 62. Riley will be 63 in July.

Perspective: Nick Saban will be 65 in October. Lane Kiffin just turned 41

 

[ADS]

And wasn't TO in his sixties when he won his national titles?