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Perlman says Pelini is better prepared than 4 years ago
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Not that his first interview with Bo Pelini went poorly, but University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman saw a difference in Pelini the second time he was pursuing the Husker football head coaching job.
Most obvious, Perlman said, was that Pelini had four more years of experience.
"I have a sense he has a broader appreciation of what the responsibilities of a head coach are," Perlman said Monday. "I think he's learned from his experiences, as we hopefully all do. I thought he had more confidence in his own abilities and could articulate the role of the head coach better than he could four years ago.
"I'm pretty confident in the choice that's been made and very supportive of the choice."
Interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne asked Perlman to travel with him to meet Pelini on Nov. 25 in Baton Rouge, La. Perlman already had been through this before with the Louisiana State defensive coordinator.
Pelini had interviewed separately with Perlman and former NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson after the 2003 Alamo Bowl. Pederson picked Bill Callahan a few days later.
"I think he would have been a good choice at that point, but what you can't read into that is that I thought he'd be the best choice," Perlman said. "Certainly, he was an acceptable choice, and that wasn't my call. I'm not in position to assess the football elements of these matters."
Upon Callahan's hiring, Perlman told the Associated Press: "When your choices are between someone relatively untested and you have a guy who has the experience and talent of a Bill Callahan — and you're responsible for a program that is as prestigious and as important as this one — you go with the experience."
Since that time, Pelini has spent a season as co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma (under Bob Stoops) and three seasons as defensive coordinator at LSU (under Les Miles). He turns 40 on Dec. 13.
Perlman said that showed through in Pelini during their interview last weekend and his introductory press conference on Sunday.
"In my few interactions with him, I've seen considerable growth in the four years he's been away from Nebraska," Perlman said.
"I like Bo. I've always liked him. It's almost becoming trite now, but he's a very passionate person."
Perlman said Osborne worked hard to complete the search in just over a week. He commended his handling of the process.
"What you see with Tom is what you get," Perlman said. "He understood the urgency of getting a coach in place as quickly as we could. He also understood the importance of making sure we got the right person. Both of those came into focus and he was able to do it in a short period of time."
Perlman said things fell into place for NU. There were interested candidates able to meet on short notice; a search firm to organize and carry out the necessities; and the right candidate willing to say yes.
Perlman said using the Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search firm was beneficial.
"We had access to a broad array of potential names," Perlman said. "I suppose Tom knows a lot of coaches around the country and probably could have collected the data, but it made for an efficient process of going through who might be available and filtering them out. The search consultant also allowed us to organize this in an efficient way, and in a way that doesn't put either party at risk."
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Not that his first interview with Bo Pelini went poorly, but University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman saw a difference in Pelini the second time he was pursuing the Husker football head coaching job.
Most obvious, Perlman said, was that Pelini had four more years of experience.
"I have a sense he has a broader appreciation of what the responsibilities of a head coach are," Perlman said Monday. "I think he's learned from his experiences, as we hopefully all do. I thought he had more confidence in his own abilities and could articulate the role of the head coach better than he could four years ago.
"I'm pretty confident in the choice that's been made and very supportive of the choice."
Interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne asked Perlman to travel with him to meet Pelini on Nov. 25 in Baton Rouge, La. Perlman already had been through this before with the Louisiana State defensive coordinator.
Pelini had interviewed separately with Perlman and former NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson after the 2003 Alamo Bowl. Pederson picked Bill Callahan a few days later.
"I think he would have been a good choice at that point, but what you can't read into that is that I thought he'd be the best choice," Perlman said. "Certainly, he was an acceptable choice, and that wasn't my call. I'm not in position to assess the football elements of these matters."
Upon Callahan's hiring, Perlman told the Associated Press: "When your choices are between someone relatively untested and you have a guy who has the experience and talent of a Bill Callahan — and you're responsible for a program that is as prestigious and as important as this one — you go with the experience."
Since that time, Pelini has spent a season as co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma (under Bob Stoops) and three seasons as defensive coordinator at LSU (under Les Miles). He turns 40 on Dec. 13.
Perlman said that showed through in Pelini during their interview last weekend and his introductory press conference on Sunday.
"In my few interactions with him, I've seen considerable growth in the four years he's been away from Nebraska," Perlman said.
"I like Bo. I've always liked him. It's almost becoming trite now, but he's a very passionate person."
Perlman said Osborne worked hard to complete the search in just over a week. He commended his handling of the process.
"What you see with Tom is what you get," Perlman said. "He understood the urgency of getting a coach in place as quickly as we could. He also understood the importance of making sure we got the right person. Both of those came into focus and he was able to do it in a short period of time."
Perlman said things fell into place for NU. There were interested candidates able to meet on short notice; a search firm to organize and carry out the necessities; and the right candidate willing to say yes.
Perlman said using the Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search firm was beneficial.
"We had access to a broad array of potential names," Perlman said. "I suppose Tom knows a lot of coaches around the country and probably could have collected the data, but it made for an efficient process of going through who might be available and filtering them out. The search consultant also allowed us to organize this in an efficient way, and in a way that doesn't put either party at risk."