Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Osborne wishes Callahan well during hard times
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Like many Nebraskans, Tom Osborne is concerned about the state of Cornhuskers football.
Unlike many Nebraskans, the former Huskers coach is reserving judgment on the job Bill Callahan is doing.
"Unless you're there, unless you're preparing for 90 hours during the week and are in the meetings and on the practice field, it is so difficult to know for sure what all the circumstances are and what's going on," Osborne said Wednesday. "I would be the last one to pass judgment on another coach and what he's going through. I just know that it's a lot harder than it looks. I just wish him well."
Osborne, Nebraska's 3rd District congressman and a 2006 gubernatorial candidate, said he has attended most of the Huskers' home games this season. Nebraska is 5-4 after three straight losses, including last week's 40-15 defeat at Kansas. That loss ended Nebraska's 36-year winning streak over the Jayhawks.
Osborne called it a "fairly thorough beating."
"I know that after last Saturday I really felt bad," Osborne said. "I just felt bad for the players, I felt bad for the coaches, and I felt bad for the state. I figured that was one people were going to take hard.
"Nothing goes on forever. You can't beat a team forever. To have 36 years or whatever it was is almost unbelievable. I hope some people will look back and say we really did well for an awful long time and appreciate that as well as being concerned about the loss."
Osborne said he hasn't spoken much with Callahan since shortly after the coach was hired in January 2004. Osborne said former Huskers player and assistant Turner Gill had asked him to meet with Callahan and his staff to discuss Nebraska's football traditions.
"Everybody was very cordial," Osborne said. "I didn't detect any negativism. It's just that they've been busy, I've been busy, and I haven't had much contact since that time."
Osborne was 255-49-3 as coach from 1973 to 1997, and he won two national championships and shared a third. He never won fewer than nine games in a season.
Osborne's name will be attached to the football facility under construction at Memorial Stadium. As part of the project, some 5,000 seats will be added in the north end zone.
The Huskers have sold out every game since 1962, an NCAA record. Whether the sellout streak continues could hinge on how the Huskers finish this season, Osborne said.
"If they win the next two and a bowl game, there will be a lot of momentum going into next year," Osborne said. "On the other hand, if they don't win the next two, things will be much harder.
"Nebraska fans are fairly resilient, very loyal, and I think those seats will still be sold. It'll be easier if things go well."
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Like many Nebraskans, Tom Osborne is concerned about the state of Cornhuskers football.
Unlike many Nebraskans, the former Huskers coach is reserving judgment on the job Bill Callahan is doing.
"Unless you're there, unless you're preparing for 90 hours during the week and are in the meetings and on the practice field, it is so difficult to know for sure what all the circumstances are and what's going on," Osborne said Wednesday. "I would be the last one to pass judgment on another coach and what he's going through. I just know that it's a lot harder than it looks. I just wish him well."
Osborne, Nebraska's 3rd District congressman and a 2006 gubernatorial candidate, said he has attended most of the Huskers' home games this season. Nebraska is 5-4 after three straight losses, including last week's 40-15 defeat at Kansas. That loss ended Nebraska's 36-year winning streak over the Jayhawks.
Osborne called it a "fairly thorough beating."
"I know that after last Saturday I really felt bad," Osborne said. "I just felt bad for the players, I felt bad for the coaches, and I felt bad for the state. I figured that was one people were going to take hard.
"Nothing goes on forever. You can't beat a team forever. To have 36 years or whatever it was is almost unbelievable. I hope some people will look back and say we really did well for an awful long time and appreciate that as well as being concerned about the loss."
Osborne said he hasn't spoken much with Callahan since shortly after the coach was hired in January 2004. Osborne said former Huskers player and assistant Turner Gill had asked him to meet with Callahan and his staff to discuss Nebraska's football traditions.
"Everybody was very cordial," Osborne said. "I didn't detect any negativism. It's just that they've been busy, I've been busy, and I haven't had much contact since that time."
Osborne was 255-49-3 as coach from 1973 to 1997, and he won two national championships and shared a third. He never won fewer than nine games in a season.
Osborne's name will be attached to the football facility under construction at Memorial Stadium. As part of the project, some 5,000 seats will be added in the north end zone.
The Huskers have sold out every game since 1962, an NCAA record. Whether the sellout streak continues could hinge on how the Huskers finish this season, Osborne said.
"If they win the next two and a bowl game, there will be a lot of momentum going into next year," Osborne said. "On the other hand, if they don't win the next two, things will be much harder.
"Nebraska fans are fairly resilient, very loyal, and I think those seats will still be sold. It'll be easier if things go well."
