As poor a fit as I think he is as the HC, and that putting off replacing him is just putting off the inevitable, I think he's a great person. I think his priorities are exactly right. Maybe we should consider him as the AD? I'm sort of serious. He knows coaching and he's even keel and he has the right mindset. then again, I don't know if I'd trust him to fire the right head coach.
Basically, I think you give him the normal timeframe to show something befitting Nebraska standards (including on-field results). If he fails at this, you move on -- and I would expect such a split to be as classy as Muschamp's exit at Florida or Hoke's at Michigan.You hope to find someone with the same priorities and class, and hope for that person to be able to get the on field results, too. Repeat until you find a guy, and keep him as long as you can.
The "normal timeframe" CANNOT involve taking a 9-10 win program and losing 8-9. (Yes, I know it is "only" 6 right now, but get real...) These are decidedly "abnormal" circumstances. This is Ellis Johnson-type incompetence. Historical ineptitude at a level we have not glimpsed since 2004-2007 or the 40's and 50's at Nebraska, while in fact we are approaching one of the absolute lows in the 120+ year history of this program. He has already showed he is incapable of meeting even the most basic of "Nebraska standards."
I was willing to give Riley an 8-5 transition season. I think even the most pessimistic about his history and his 'ability' and I will definitely include myself in that group, were willing to give him a reasonable chance if he didn't back-slide..but you simply cannot lose multiple games against demonstrably and unequivocally over-matched opponents (while displaying head-shaking incompetence in fundamental coaching areas like clock management and game planning) because you are too arrogant, stupid, weak, old, disengaged, hired three incompetent coordinators, or whatever to just go out, run the ball more than you throw it, and win games ugly no matter what, because that's what HAD to be done. For all of Callahan's hubris, at least he admitted it up front...he was going to sacrifice an entire season or more to implement his rotten, poorly-conceived system. Riley spent 10 months lying to everyone, just to tell them what they wanted to hear. He'd have been better off saying that he was going to run a weak, pass-first offense from day 1 regardless of the skill sets of the players in the program or the outcome. It wouldn't have played well, but it's better than being purposely untruthful.
There is no urgency and no recognition of the magnitude of the failure coming from anyone within the program, and clearly Eichorst is beyond tone-deaf. It is a ship that has already hit the rocks and the captain and crew are more worried about trying to preserve the paint job they did on the cabin in the off-season than the fact that the entire ship has already capsized beneath them.
There is a time to be patient and "wait and see", and a time to take decisive, program-saving action. We are now, unfortunately, in the latter category...already...in year ONE.
