I have kept out of this conversation till now, and I only enter it to ask a couple of questions that have probably been asked 100 times prior, but anyway........I am truly on the fence with this (things went south for me with the tape-recording earlier in the season, sorry, but it did). So when is Bo's time up? Obviously many people feel he deserves more time and has accomplished an adequate amount to keep his position. So if he wins 9-10 games in each of his next 5 seasons, but has no conference titles, has played in no BCS bowls, continues to be outside of the top 15, etc.,etc, etc., will you still support him? How long does he have? Or. again for those people who feel he deserves more time, is it out of fear that the next coach will have similar results that you wish to keep him on? Is staying status quo better than taking a chance on getting better and possibly failing? I just want to know what is the breaking point for the pro-Bo individuals.
You're treating the hiring and firing of head coaches like it is some one variable decision. It's
not just about wins and losses and it's
not just about how we win and how we lose. So if I were the person in charge of making the decision to hire or fire Bo Pelini, here's what I would consider:
Record--Bo Pelini has won at least 9 games every season he's been a head coach. He's also lost 4 games every season. We've been in conference championship games, and we've been close to winning said conference championship games. We've also been embarrassed on national TV multiple times. We've been ranked as high as #5 in the nation and have been in the Top 10 on a few occasions. It's year six of Bo's time here, and he hasn't shown that he can get over the 10 win mark, but he also hasn't shown that he can fail to reach the 9 win mark.
Overall, this decision is a wash; Bo Pelini can not be let go on record alone.
Image--Bo has been shown on national TV yelling at his coaches, yelling at the refs, and yelling at his players. He's an emotional, fiery guy. While some people do not like that, other people are okay with that. Any person outside of the program (the program includes the fans) can't make a reasonable judgment as to the character of Bo Pelini because all they read about and see on TV are his outbursts. That's misleading information.
Overall, this decision is a wash; Bo Pelini can not be let go on image alone. Combined with record, the scale should be tipped a little towards firing--we could always get a coach who doesn't yell a lot; that way, people outside the program can't form that perception about the new coach and Nebraska.
His Players--It's been said numerous times that the players would run through walls for their coach. That's something that can't be ignored, and something that wouldn't be true for a new coach. Bo came here in 2008 and, with players that were recruited and played under a different person, Bo commanded and earned their respect. A player-coach relationship like that is something that not a lot of programs have, and it's something we'd give up if we let Bo go.
Overall, Bo should not be fired for this reason.Combined with record and image, the scale should be tipped towards keeping Bo Pelini.
The Program--We have not been in an controversy since Bo Pelini has been here. Keeping the program out of trouble is good; especially in a time where scandals and investigations are the norm. Staying clean and winning football games is good.
Overall, Bo should not be fired for this reason. Combined with record, image, and players, Bo Pelini should be retained as the head coach at Nebraska.
If the decision has already been made to let Bo go, then we better have a damn good replacement already in waiting. If we don't we risk scrambling for a hire, again.