Terry Pettit on the current Husker fishbowl

"When things approach chaos (this week the offense, last week the defense) fans can afford to react as if they are being personally embarrassed. But no one inside the arena has that luxury...You have to hope that you have built a relationship with your players that they can ignore all of those things as well."
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I love Terry's reasoned response.

Probably my main question though is, was our football team not completely embarrassed on Saturday? 

And as a follow-up, when does the answer to Terry's last comment quoted above start to transcend simply ignoring the outside's reaction to the results on the field. Do Riley and his staff have a relationship with the players to the degree that they're all able to ignore the embarrassment on the field? Probably, but potentially too well. Seemingly almost to a degree that it doesn't seem to ever rebound into an attitude really wanting to change those results. 

 
Agree with this.  That's why you almost always get the canned wording from the AD about supporting the coach right up until they get fired.

Which is why ADSE's comments Saturday were notable - not what you usually get and definitely different from anything he's done before.

 
Mavric said:
Agree with this.  That's why you almost always get the canned wording from the AD about supporting the coach right up until they get fired.

Which is why ADSE's comments Saturday were notable - not what you usually get and definitely different from anything he's done before.
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Honestly, I'm surprised Cavanaugh wasn't let go today. I figured we'd hear Riley announce that in the presser and was surprised it didn't happen.

I took Eichorst's comment as "heads WILL roll," not "heads might roll."

 
Eh, I think Eichorst is just finally realizing that he could be in deep trouble himself.  He created the s#!tstorm earlier this week and now people are REALLY getting fired up.  

I don't think he would demand people be fired.  I think it was a quick pivot into "Try to save my own @$$" mode.

 
I stand by Bo on his comments about SE

“He’s a f------ lawyer who makes policies. That’s all he’s done since he’s been here: Hire people and make policies to cover his own a$$.”

“I didn’t really have any relationship with the A.D.,” Pelini said. “The guy, you guys saw him (Sunday), the guy’s a total p----."

 
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Undone said:
I love Terry's reasoned response.

Probably my main question though is, was our football team not completely embarrassed on Saturday? 

And as a follow-up, when does the answer to Terry's last comment quoted above start to transcend simply ignoring the outside's reaction to the results on the field. Do Riley and his staff have a relationship with the players to the degree that they're all able to ignore the embarrassment on the field? Probably, but potentially too well. Seemingly almost to a degree that it doesn't seem to ever rebound into an attitude really wanting to change those results. 
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Everything I've seen from coaches, to players etc has shown they were embarrassed.  Why would you question this?  What would they need to do in order to convince this rabid fanbase that they're embarrassed enough?  What did you see that leads you to believe they're ok with what happened?  I saw nobody laughing, goofing around - I did however see reporters reporting that players leaving the field had tears in their eyes and that was met with horrible comments about the players referenced on twitter.

I don't think there's anything short of $hitcanning everybody including Tanner Lee that the people here would consider enough.

 
BIG ERN said:
I stand by Bo on his comments about SE

“He’s a f------ lawyer who makes policies. That’s all he’s done since he’s been here: Hire people and make policies to cover his own a$$.”

“I didn’t really have any relationship with the A.D.,” Pelini said. “The guy, you guys saw him (Sunday), the guy’s a total p----."
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A lot of people got their panties in a huge bunch because of the way he said it. I didn't because I care a lot more about the substance than the style, and what he said was basically true.

 
meh...Eichorst may or may not be a good AD but he has very little to do with what we see on the football field IMO. We can blame him for hiring Riley or any number of other things but the football product is Riley's responsibility. Same with Pelini and his comments about SE being a lawyer and a Pu***.  Even if that is true, how does it excuse all the records of futility and blow out losses Bo suffered as HC? Bo's disdain for the expectations of the fanbase? Bo's unacceptable demeanor? I really wish people would quit acting like firing Eichorst solves our football problems or somehow makes the team play better.  Eichorst may need to go since he is tied to the hip with Riley's success, or lack thereof, but he is not responsible for the problems we've seen on the field these first 3 games or last season's late implosion or the prior season's lack of clock management. He isn't the fricking coach, he doesn't develop the offensive line, he doesn't call the plays, he isn't the one who tells our corners to give a 15 yard cushion at the line.

 
I think I saw this elsewhere but lost the follow-up (imagine that, with all the posts about the same thing I can't find anything).  What this fanbase seems to forget is that this same man they want fired (Eichorst) also has responsibilities for all sports.  VB?  Yes - his thing.  Wrestling?  Yup.  Gymnastics, baseball etc etc.  He is visible right now cuz of the season, and because of the focus but his skils and responsibilities are broader.  From my perspective (and it's VERY limited) our sports programs as a whole are doing ok no?

 
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^ How many of those sports has Eichorst hired the current coach for? And how many of those sports are dependent on revenue from football to even exist?

 
Toe said:
A lot of people got their panties in a huge bunch because of the way he said it. I didn't because I care a lot more about the substance than the style, and what he said was basically true.
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That whole thing was weird. And Bo was a jerk and probably shouldn't have said it.

Like you said though, that doesn't mean Bo was wrong. 

 
Osborne hired Pelini, Miles, and Erstad. None of them were great hires.

Eichorst only hired Riley.

Eichorst - 1

Osborne - 0

That's how this works right? :lol:  

 
There are many unseen and publicly unknown factors that are weighed into hiring and firing decisions.   To be fair to the Athletic Directors, (Osborne, Byrne, Eichorst, etc.) all had UNL senior admin looking over their shoulders and probably had the final say (up or down) on any and all the H.C. hires and pay and other terms involved.  We don't know but I would certainly suspect that things like maximum compensation were a major consideration in who and how and when we could hire and or fire any of them.   If the A.D. is limited on the $$$ he can offer, he is clearly limited in the pool of potential candidates that may be even offered, much less hired.   

We as fans want to hire the very best and the money is less than relevant.  In fact, most of us feel we ought to pay whatever it takes as we see the 'big' picture as being winning championships will more the generate the funds needed to meet our pay obligations, etc.  But no doubt there are political (internal to the University certainly) issues within the compensation strata.  For example, how many of the long tenured and highly paid UNL professors who don't care at all if there is a football team or sports of any kind, who raise hell when they read the millions of dollars being paid to a 'football coach' of all things.    And frankly, the prevailing salaries are in the big picture 'nuts'.  We are paying an defensive coordinator upwards of a million a year.

The football program is near and dear to my heart and has been for over 40 years.   But there would be many folks who might say it is not worth the trouble and or worry and could care less if they ever played again.  I think the joinder to the Big Ten was as much about academics and prestige and so on as it was about sports.  In fact, probably more so.     

 
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