Watson discusses job rumblings and Callahan
Shawn Watson has had his name mentioned in relation to some head coach vacancies in recent weeks, and more of that talk might be anticipated as the coaching carousel swings around.
After Thursday’s practice, the Husker offensive coordinator said it would take something special to leave his current situation.
“The way I approach those things is I’ve got a great job here,” Watson said. “I’m blessed because I have a tremendous working relationship with Bo (Pelini) at a great place. So it would take something really, really special for me to be interested. I don’t let that be a factor right now. Because I’ve really locked in on us getting ready for Clemson, so I just kind of live day-to-day.”
Like most in the profession, Watson said he’s wanted to be a head coach.
“I know this, though. Good Lord willing, when the time comes, those doors will open up. I don’t really worry about it,” said Watson, who had a brief run as a head coach at Southern Illinois from 1994-96. “I just keep doing my job. Because if I don’t keep doing my job, nobody will be interested in me.”
He said he’s not worried about outside talk affecting the team“because there’s nothing to be concerned with right now, so I don’t worry about it.”
On another front, Watson was asked if he’s spoken at all recently with former Husker head coach Bill Callahan, now the offensive line coach for the New York Jets.
“Have not, not since the season’s been on. We’ve not,” Watson said. “He’s obviously busy. That’s a different deal. And I’ve been really, really busy. I don’t get a chance to talk to my wife much.”
Does he think Callahan would be pleased with what this offense has done this season?
“I think he would be. I obviously learned a lot of this from him, so he gets a lot of credit. That’s just what it is. We’ve put our spin on it. Yeah, we have. My personality in the playcalling? Yes,” Watson said. “But again, the soundness and some of the things that we do that I think could give us an edge come from what I’ve learned from him. So I’d be remiss, I’d be wrong, if I didn’t say that.”
Watson says Lee and Witt go back and forth: A quarterback race is coming around the corner.
It seems to be a four-person race for next season, led by current backups Patrick Witt and Zac Lee, but not excluding Kody Spano and current commit Cody Green.
“They’ve been urgent all fall,” Watson said when asked about the preparation of Witt (a-sophomore-to-be) and Lee (a junior-to-be). “I haven’t let them be any place but that.”
Watson said the race between Witt and Lee has gone back and forth this year.
“That’s the beautiful thing. They’ve really battled each other and I think they’ve grown a new respect for one another because they spend a lot of time in the film room together,” Watson said. “I hear them in there talking because the film room is right next to my office. … It’s really competitive because every week, every day, it can swing, it can change. We have two competitive kids that know what we’re doing. They push each other because of that.”
Is one of the quarterback’s natural abilities better-tailored to the offense than the other one’s?
“We’ve tweaked ourself to our personnel and that always starts with the quarterback,” Watson said. “Whoever wins the starting job in the spring, we’ll tweak the offense to fit them. That’s just what we do.”
This and that: Watson said veteran players enjoyed Thursday’s practice since the Huskers started putting attention toward Clemson. “The guys have wanted to be here, so their attention is with us. They’re hungry to play again,” Watson said. “It’s not been hard at all to get their attention and focus because this is what they’ve wanted.” … Nebraska will practice again today and Saturday. … Most early lines have established Clemson as a 2- to 2½-point favorite for the Gator Bowl.
Just Asking: With the game still three weeks away, what’s the attitude of the team?
“We haven’t even got close to Jan. 1 yet,” said sophomore running back Quentin Castille, “but I just feel like there’s a hunger in everybody — the coaches, the players. … I just feel like we’re ready to go out there and dominate.”
