OWH
The obvious things all came to mind as Shawn Watson accepted Nebraska's offer to be a Husker football assistant coach and headed to Lincoln this week.
Watson was a Big 12 Conference offensive coordinator content with taking a lesser position. He was a recruiter who knew Texas, one of Nebraska's target areas. He helped orchestrate three Colorado wins over the Huskers between 2001 and 2004, including the game plan that bludgeoned NU 62-36.
There's one more thing, former CU quarterback Mike Moschetti said, that might show what a coup Nebraska really pulled off.
"I've been telling people for the last five years that he's head coaching material," Moschetti said. "You guys have got a head coach who's coaching tight ends. He's got it all."
Watson, 46, was the front-runner for the Utah head coaching job after the 2002 season until Urban Meyer took his stab at it. Former Colorado coach Gary Barnett said Watson turned down a Mid-American Conference position two years ago, one he wouldn't name but is believed to be Akron. He pursued the Miami of Ohio job a year ago, and was mentioned at Illinois before the Illini search turned toward Ron Zook.
How close is Watson to being an NCAA Division I-A head coach? Barnett said: "One interview away."
"He doesn't chase very many," Barnett said. "He was not a guy who was always looking to go somewhere else. He doesn't need that."
But while Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said the Huskers "look forward to having Shawn with us for a long time," Watson admitted this week he wants to be a head coach again someday.
"I've done it once, and I'd like to do it again," said Watson, head coach at Division I-AA Southern Illinois from 1994 to 1996. "I want to learn more, that's the attraction here, learning the next part of this offense."
Watson's arrival presents an interesting situation on the Nebraska staff. Jay Norvell is the Huskers' offensive coordinator, but both Callahan and Watson are former offensive coordinators, and offensive line coach Dennis Wagner is a former assistant head coach at Fresno State and a former Division II head coach at Wayne State.
"I can just imagine being in those offensive meetings," Moschetti said.
Watson was Colorado's quarterbacks coach for Moschetti's senior year in 1999. In 2000, Moschetti was a student assistant when Watson became offensive coordinator under Barnett, a position he held until the Colorado staff was dismantled last month.
Moschetti called Watson an offensive "genius," as good as there is at the X's and O's. And while former CU head coach Rick Neuheisel was a yeller and in-your-face coach - what Moschetti called contrary to public perception of Neuheisel - Watson was patient, calm and dedicated to detail and explanation.
"If there was an 'I' that wasn't dotted on a game plan, he'd tear up the copy, throw it away and make new ones," said Moschetti, now an assistant at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.
Moschetti and Barnett say Watson fits the profile of a head coach - from knowledge to looks to personality to honesty to family values. At CU, Watson had full autonomy with the offense but always made sure others were part of the process.
"He doesn't have an ego," said Barnett, echoing a comment Callahan made during Friday's press conference introducing Watson. "So everything you saw out there came out of a staff meeting, out of a collection of thoughts. Then he made the calls."
That included that 2001 mugging of a then-unbeaten Nebraska team. Watson pushed all the right buttons as the Buffs piled up 582 yards and 62 points while needing to throw the ball just 16 times.
"Lucky day," Watson said, recalling the wipeout. "Nothing went wrong."
Watson helped build that team and others at Colorado by recruiting all over the country. His most recent forte was the Houston and Fort Worth areas, but Barnett said Watson "is so well-respected in our business that he can walk into just about anywhere and be known."
Back in the 1980s, Callahan took Watson under his wing. They shared an office. Callahan was on the way to becoming Watson's mentor, as Watson put it, making it so he always wondered about working with Callahan again.
That opportunity popped up, no strings or promises attached. The conversation never turned to what might happen should Norvell leave NU, Watson said, or what might be ahead the longer Watson stays with the Huskers.
"That would be totally unfair," Watson said. "That would be totally wrong of me (to ask), and that's not why I'm here."
Watson already knows Callahan and has spent a day with Norvell. He's confident that all involved are like-minded, including receivers coach Ted Gilmore, whom Watson worked with at Colorado.
If there are questions of how it all works out, Callahan said they should take care of themselves because of the way Watson will carry himself.
"He'll complement us very well in what we're trying to get accomplished," Callahan said. "There's no better person for this position to help our staff.
"No doubt, Jay Norvell is the offensive coordinator here, and Shawn comes in as an assistant coach to augment, to assist and to contribute to our staff. It'll just be good for all of us to bounce ideas off one another."