Pat Forde's top 3 coaches on the hot seat

[NUinID]

Again, if Bo Pelini had been fired after last year's UCLA game or Iowa game, it may not have been the right choice but it certainly wouldn't have been surprising.

The win against Georgia and the off-season makeover made a difference, but we're only 9 months removed from a Code Red, so yeah.....that's a hot seat.

The off-season makeover is no different than any we've seen over the past couple of seasons. Any PR guy can make you look good when you are carrying out his choreographed actions. When the heat of the moment comes, that's when we'll see it.

This PR response to everything Bo does is BS...His players, co-workers and people that have known him for a long time all say he is a great guy and very personable. We as fans don't see that side like they do but instead see the intense Bo when he is working. Maybe, just maybe, Bo is letting us fans see his real demeanor and it isn't some PR bullsh#t like everyone claims it is.

How is it BS? Let's just pretend that you entertain the idea. It's been happening for the last 3 years. When the heat of the moment comes, he snaps. It's not just on the field. It's on the streets, it's at reporters, it's at freaking little league umpires. However, when you give him a plan to follow, he looks great. I'm not saying that he doesn't like the idea or wouldn't do it if he wasn't told to. I think he has the final say on everything. But he has a PR guy. That's a fact. Why else would he have one?

Are you saying you know more than the average fan. I have never heard of him yelling at little league umpires.

Every major college athletic program as a PR director in fact most have several in the office the head of it is called the Sports Information Director. It is there job to get info out and make all the sports look good.

I think BP has always been this type of guy when out of the lime light. Has the "PR guy" said lets show everyone that side, is probably true. But, I don't think they have been sitting around thinking up things for BP to do to make him look better all the time.

 

[Mierin]

Every time I've ever run into Bo in person he's either been grinning or laughing or saying thank you to random fans who come up to him when he's in public. (And no I'm not one of those people. I just like to eavesdrop creepily while pretending I don't know who he is).

 

[huskerswrkhavoc]

Are you saying you know more than the average fan. I have never heard of him yelling at little league umpires.

Every major college athletic program as a PR director in fact most have several in the office the head of it is called the Sports Information Director. It is there job to get info out and make all the sports look good.

I think BP has always been this type of guy when out of the lime light. Has the "PR guy" said lets show everyone that side, is probably true. But, I don't think they have been sitting around thinking up things for BP to do to make him look better all the time.

More than some a lot less than others. I am by no means extremely privileged when it comes to information. However, I was under the impression that it was fairly common knowledge by now. It's taboo to talk about and TO did well to calm the storm, but I guarantee there are people on here that could confirm it.

And I understand that every athletic department has PR people. The post that I replied to acted as if it had nothing to do with PR. That's false.

And I think they absolutely have been looking for things to do to make him look better. It's called repairing the image. Do you think they would have needed to do all these things if none of the volatile parts of his personality had showed themselves?

 

[huskerswrkhavoc]

Every time I've ever run into Bo in person he's either been grinning or laughing or saying thank you to random fans who come up to him when he's in public. (And no I'm not one of those people. I just like to eavesdrop creepily while pretending I don't know who he is).

Of course. So do most (if not all) coaches. But what does he do when you cut him off or drive too slow and cause him to miss a light? What does he do if he feels you've missed a call in his daughters game? What does he do if he feels you have an agenda against "his program"?

All I am saying is we are getting thrown this idea that he is a new person. We won't see it until those moments occur. We've seen the PR stunts over the last couple of years. I hope he actually has changed. It's a lot better for the state and the program. But I've been fooled a few too many times to buy into it yet.

 

[Count 'Bility]

I have one question. If it's okay for media and fans to develop and obviously false bad boy perception of Bo based on roughly 50 whole frickin hours of broadcast a year, then why is it NOT ok for him to start to repeatedly show the person he really is? This whole thing about PR this and that pisses me off. This is who he really is. It's said a person should be judged how a person acts when no one's watching. Well........

 

[Mierin]

Every time I've ever run into Bo in person he's either been grinning or laughing or saying thank you to random fans who come up to him when he's in public. (And no I'm not one of those people. I just like to eavesdrop creepily while pretending I don't know who he is).

Of course. So do most (if not all) coaches. But what does he do when you cut him off or drive too slow and cause him to miss a light? What does he do if he feels you've missed a call in his daughters game? What does he do if he feels you have an agenda against "his program"?

All I am saying is we are getting thrown this idea that he is a new person. We won't see it until those moments occur. We've seen the PR stunts over the last couple of years. I hope he actually has changed. It's a lot better for the state and the program. But I've been fooled a few too many times to buy into it yet.

Ah, the softball rumor again.

 

[NUpolo8]

I have one question. If it's okay for media and fans to develop and obviously false bad boy perception of Bo based on roughly 50 whole frickin hours of broadcast a year, then why is it NOT ok for him to start to repeatedly show the person he really is? This whole thing about PR this and that pisses me off. This is who he really is. It's said a person should be judged how a person acts when no one's watching. Well........

Can we judge on what he says when he thinks no one is listening?

Is Bo a constant walking anger ball ready to explode at any moment? Probably not. Is he a happy go lucky prankster who picks precise moments on social media where he knows his delicious bon mot's will get the most retweets, whilst dusting off a piece of retro memoriabilia to wear to a PC? Probably not.

The answer of who he is probably pulls a little of both columns and lies somewhere in the middle. And it's completely reasonable to think there's someone the University is paying to make sure both sides have representation in the public.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I have one question. If it's okay for media and fans to develop and obviously false bad boy perception of Bo based on roughly 50 whole frickin hours of broadcast a year, then why is it NOT ok for him to start to repeatedly show the person he really is? This whole thing about PR this and that pisses me off. This is who he really is. It's said a person should be judged how a person acts when no one's watching. Well........

Can we judge on what he says when he thinks no one is listening?

Is Bo a constant walking anger ball ready to explode at any moment? Probably not. Is he a happy go lucky prankster who picks precise moments on social media where he knows his delicious bon mot's will get the most retweets, whilst dusting off a piece of retro memoriabilia to wear to a PC? Probably not.

The answer of who he is probably pulls a little of both columns and lies somewhere in the middle. And it's completely reasonable to think there's someone the University is paying to make sure both sides have representation in the public.

Yep.

I've always said everybody is right about Bo Pelini.

 

[TheSker]

Can we judge on what he says when he thinks no one is listening?

That's so 2011......

 

[True2tRA]

Some of you just aren't very fair in the way you judge the guy. Thats fine. He can't do anything to win with those of you. It's best to stop hiding behind this veil as if you haven't made up your mind about him. Your mind is made up, you don't like him, and there's nothing he can do to change that. Admit it, and move on. It'll be okay.

The other side of this is you folks who continue to argue with people you know damn good and well don't like the guy. You may consider giving up that conquest to persuade them otherwise.

For those in between, I like Bo's fire. i like his commitment and his passion for his players. I think he usually has the best intentions but may fall short in delivery sometimes. He has gone overboard in some instances, but who the hell hasn't? If you're a passionate guy like Bo or myself, you've probably ticked some folks off. It's about being man enough to admit your faults and to improve yourself. Bo has demonstrated willingness in those areas. I applaud him for that. It might not be easy for him to be the center of attention in this PR machine we've seen a bit of, but more than likely to improve his image, someone felt it necessary.

I can forgive and forget fairly easily, I'm that kind of person, but I expect when someone apologizes for something or admits fault, they fix the behavior. That, or the apology means nothing to me. Let's see if Bo is learning some things, He seems to be. We will find out, that's for sure. There will be a moment when he has a chance to prove it and I don't just mean his demeanor, but I also mean as a coach.

 

[NUinID]

Every time I've ever run into Bo in person he's either been grinning or laughing or saying thank you to random fans who come up to him when he's in public. (And no I'm not one of those people. I just like to eavesdrop creepily while pretending I don't know who he is).

Of course. So do most (if not all) coaches. But what does he do when you cut him off or drive too slow and cause him to miss a light? What does he do if he feels you've missed a call in his daughters game? What does he do if he feels you have an agenda against "his program"?

All I am saying is we are getting thrown this idea that he is a new person. We won't see it until those moments occur. We've seen the PR stunts over the last couple of years. I hope he actually has changed. It's a lot better for the state and the program. But I've been fooled a few too many times to buy into it yet.

I don't think he is a new human being. I think he is just a human being. He is a human being that is a product of his rust belt Catholic HS upbringing. When I coached the Catholic school coaches were the most foul mouthed, yelling coaches you saw in a season. Get them away from the field they were just as nice as any guys,

He is not TO, and that is what everyone wants. They want someone with that demeanor that is going to win big.

That is probably not going to happen.

 

[Ratt Mhule]

Every time I've ever run into Bo in person he's either been grinning or laughing or saying thank you to random fans who come up to him when he's in public. (And no I'm not one of those people. I just like to eavesdrop creepily while pretending I don't know who he is).

Of course. So do most (if not all) coaches. But what does he do when you cut him off or drive too slow and cause him to miss a light? What does he do if he feels you've missed a call in his daughters game? What does he do if he feels you have an agenda against "his program"?

All I am saying is we are getting thrown this idea that he is a new person. We won't see it until those moments occur. We've seen the PR stunts over the last couple of years. I hope he actually has changed. It's a lot better for the state and the program. But I've been fooled a few too many times to buy into it yet.

Same thing a lot of people would do, including many on this board

 

[Ratt Mhule]

Can we judge on what he says when he thinks no one is listening?

Seriously, you're going to judge someone on a personal conversation they have in private? You're going to sit here and claim you've never talked poorly about your boss, in-laws, someone who wronged you, etc. to someone in private?

 

[NUpolo8]

Can we judge on what he says when he thinks no one is listening?

Seriously, you're going to judge someone on a personal conversation they have in private? You're going to sit here and claim you've never talked poorly about your boss, in-laws, someone who wronged you, etc. to someone in private?

Two different things entirely.

But ultimately, Bo's seat is hot for more than that reason, nor is it cooled for any other of his non coaching antics over the offseason. It is what is for his performance.

Will that improve? Probably could. Will it worsen? Probably could.

But the seat is unquestionably hot, and I for one feel that's a good thing. It proves that Nebraska is still about championships. When writers write about it, it proves that the name Nebraska can still be associated with championships, and us not winning any for 15 years still seems odd, and they're wondering how that's going to be solved.

Basically it still shows that there's expectations. And when those aren't meant, well there's going to be heat.

What we don't know yet, is if the changed/not changed/new/the same Bo can handle the pressure of that during the season. But, that's going to become clearer sooner rather than later.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Actually. Just out of curiousity I did some quick research on this "losing by X" deal. Take what you want from the numbers.

TO

In 25 years, lost 7 games by 20+ points, and 2 games by 30+ points.

I know you had to pick a number to establish a benchmark, but some of us remember a few more Osborne games as blowouts:

1973: Oklahoma 27 Nebraska 0 #10 Nebraska never snapped the ball in Oklahoma territory the entire game

1975: Oklahoma 35 Nebraska 10 Nebraska was ranked #2. It was embarassing.

1977: Oklahoma 38 Nebraska 7 Nebraska fans were getting really tired of Switzer outcoaching Osborne

1985: Oklahoma 27 Nebraska 7 Nebraska was ranked #2. Ouch.

1988: UCLA 41 Nebraska 28 UCLA went up 28 - 0 on Nebraska turnovers and coasted. We were #2 at the time.

Miami 23 Nebraska 3 We were getting the feeling that Nebraska couldn't hang with the big boys

1989 FSU 41 Nebraska 17 We were getting the feeling that Nebraska couldn't hang with any Florida school

1990 Oklahoma 45 Nebraska 10 And Oklahoma wasn't even ranked

G-Tech 45 Nebraska 21 It wasn't even that close. Maybe our most embarassing bowl game.

1991 Miami 22 Nebraska 0 Zero?

1996 ASU 19 Nebraska 0 How did that '96 offense fail to score a point?