Mandel's Mailbag: The State Of Nebraska

Saunders

Saunders

Heisman Trophy Winner

Stewart: Husker fan here. Talk us off the ledge. I am not one of the fans that have unrealistic visions of us competing for national championships on a regular basis. I am just tired of being embarrassed. How do we fix the program? And how quickly can it be done? Our arms are tired from “hanging in there.”


— James O.


Like I wrote Monday, I feel like that program has been suffering from some sort of curse since then-AD Steve Pedersen fired Frank Solich coming off a 9-3 season. I’m under no delusion he’d still be the coach at Nebraska today — if anything it now seems he was destined to spend 13 years and counting in the MAC — but that situation could not have been handled worse.


 

There’s no magic formula for fixing Nebraska football. Like any other tradition-steeped program, it’s all about hiring the right coach. Bo Pelini actually did an admirable job in hindsight, but he caused too much embarrassment and couldn’t get over the 9-4 hump. Nebraska was fully justified making a change when it did. But if you’re going to fire a career .713 coach, you better be certain you’re making an upgrade with your choice of replacement.
Instead, AD Shawn Eichorst took a huge gamble in hiring a seemingly past-his-prime Mike Riley.


 

I defended Riley’s hiring at the time, stressing to Nebraska fans not to get hung up on his sub-.500 Pac-12 record or lack of a division or conference championship at Oregon State. That’s one of the hardest Power 5 jobs in the country, a program that could not have been more hopeless prior to his first tenure there. If anything he’d performed above the mean for much of his tenure there.


 

But I also believe those of us who cover Riley find ourselves subconsciously rooting for him because you want the rare genuine nice-guy coach to succeed. It’s not looking good right now.


 

But if you’re a Nebraska fan looking for a morsel of hope, keep in mind that Riley has a weird penchant for slow starts and strong finishes to seasons. His 2006 Oregon State team that finished 10-4 and upset No. 1 USC started that season 2-3. Arguably his best team there, in 2008, started 0-2 before coming within a game of the Rose Bowl. This year’s Nebraska squad could well do the same.



https://theathletic.com/105744/2017/09/20/mandels-mailbag-is-usc-overhyped-or-not/
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Some of the bigger selling points for recruits is that Big Red N on the side of the helmet, and all it stands for. But everything it stands for has been over with since 2001.  We teach this mantra that "We're Nebraska," but we aren't that Nebraska and haven't been for a long time. 

The problems plaguing this team have persisted through coach after coach. At some point it becomes clear that it's not the talent, it's not (so much) the coaching, it's the mindset.

If we had approached our last three games with the same state of mind NIU approached our game, we'd be 3-0 with three comfortable wins. 

 
I find myself in the same boat.  I was one of the very few here that was excited when Riley was announced as coach.  Now, I'm in the camp thinking he may be past his prime.  I still believe him bringing in Diaco was a good thing, but it appears we still have some glaring holes within the staff.

 
junior4949 said:
I find myself in the same boat.  I was one of the very few here that was excited when Riley was announced as coach.  Now, I'm in the camp thinking he may be past his prime.  I still believe him bringing in Diaco was a good thing, but it appears we still have some glaring holes within the staff.
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I was also thinking Riley could work initially, because he did have some good teams at Oregon State from 2006-2009.  But, as I researched his tenure further, his program went into a deep decline in 2010.  I agree that some of it could be blamed on lack of facilities at Oregon State and the rise of Oregon just down the road.  However, I see more of the same results from Riley at NU that he had at the end of his tenure at Oregon State.  I think opponents have figured him out, and he's not able to get everything from his players.

 
I've been in the "I want Mike Riley to succeed at Nebraska" camp, because I like how he does things. I still find myself in that camp and because of that I'd like to see this staff be given more time. However, I also want Nebraska to succeed. The question for me boils down to whether we can have both, and if not, what is the cost to each? While I desire a return to relevancy for this football program, and want this program to compete for championships, I do not want it to come at the expense of sacrificing doing things the right way.

 
knapplc said:
Some of the bigger selling points for recruits is that Big Red N on the side of the helmet, and all it stands for. But everything it stands for has been over with since 2001.  We teach this mantra that "We're Nebraska," but we aren't that Nebraska and haven't been for a long time. 

The problems plaguing this team have persisted through coach after coach. At some point it becomes clear that it's not the talent, it's not (so much) the coaching, it's the mindset.

If we had approached our last three games with the same state of mind NIU approached our game, we'd be 3-0 with three comfortable wins. 
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And honestly, that's one of the things that I'm most worried about with our current staff from the day they were hired. It's not about teaching or X's and O's, it's that they have become used to losing, and that it doesn't seem to bother them. They lack a hard edge, and it's rubbed off on the team.

 
saunders45 said:
And honestly, that's one of the things that I'm most worried about with our current staff from the day they were hired. It's not about teaching or X's and O's, it's that they have become used to losing, and that it doesn't seem to bother them. They lack a hard edge, and it's rubbed off on the team.
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I have noticed that, too.  I know Bookie is just a recruit at this time, but I heard he tweeted a comment about Nebraska's losses saying to the effect of "Hey, losses happen".  I don't know if that's a product of today's youth or what, but at the level of football that is played at Nebraska, I would hope that the kids are more upset about the losses.

 
saunders45 said:
 It's not about teaching or X's and O's, it's that they have become used to losing, and that it doesn't seem to bother them. They lack a hard edge, and it's rubbed off on the team.
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I don't discount the idea that this staff doesn't have a winning edge to it, but this team's issues are very much an X's and O's problem, amongst other issues. This is an incredibly assignment unsound team, on both sides of the ball. It's baffling how many basic tenants of the game they manage to break every week.

 
I find some of the things that are being said, seemly over and over, to be a bit on the pertinaciously delusional spectrum. About the only thing I'd be close to agreeing with right now is Mike Riley might be a decent person, in a semi-senile grampa sort of way.

 
I think over the years since 2003 and all the coaches we had since then, a Riley coached team might be worst of them all. Thats saying something considering what we had with Callahan. I truly question his ability to out coach anyone or be a great leader. You see it with his game to game preperation, his offensive and defensive mentality and approach, special teams, clock management, his depth chart management and recruiting (we need linemen!). Over and over as I pay attention to a Riley coached team, it is nothing short of pure frustration nearly 90% of the time. Heck, even Bo Pelini could come up with a great game plan every now and then. The Missouri game in 2010 comes to mind. 

I mean how do you hire a guy like Bruce Read or keep Banker as you DC over all these years up until last year? It's not loyal, it's ignorant and just plain stupid. Do we want that kind of a guy as our coach? I certainly hope not and i for sure dont. 

 
NebraskaHarry said:
I think over the years since 2003 and all the coaches we had since then, a Riley coached team might be worst of them all. 
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There are teams that made me angrier; maybe because of decisions being made or just being outplayed, whatever. I can't recall one that confused me like this one.

 
What has changed for the better since Bo (only talking about what happens on the field, of course)?  I want to say we don't have so many false starts but all I'm sure of is the fumbling isn't the problem it was.  That's one step closer to a title, baby!

 
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Good stuff in that response. I was concerned about the trend we've experienced the last 9 games (3-6, 3 blowouts, NIU, almost Arkansas State). He mentions the 2006 season where they went 10-4. The previous year, they lost 4 of their last five (3 blowouts). They then started 2-3 (2 blowouts) before really turning it around. That gives me a little bit of fleeting hope.

 
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