Which 'What If' Would Have Caused the Biggest Change?

[Mavric]

Yeah, that all sounds familiar.

As far as why he selected Frank instead of another long time asst., IDK but at the time Frank seemed the most qualified for HC. Sure we had quite a few excellent assistants on staff but I think Frank probably had the best aptitude and personality for a HC. What we failed to consider at the time was just how superior Tom was as a play caller. Nobody was going to replace his abilities. I think Frank may have adapted and got it back on track but he didn't get the chance. TBH I wanted him or Bohl fired after the 2001 game in Boulder and for sure after going 7-7. Little did we realize how much worse things could get. I guess that's what happens after 25 years of 9 wins being the floor.

I think this is definitely the case.  He was amazing.  Not only calling the plays but designing the scheme to implement them.  And it would have been extremely difficult for anyone to replicate that.  And I think that may have been Frank's biggest down-fall.  He tried to be Tom - head coach and OC.  But he definitely didn't have the feel for being the OC.  Perhaps if he would have let someone else call the plays (Gill? Brown?) things would have gone differently.  

But the biggest thing that baffled me about Frank was how little he seemed to have learned about offensive scheme during all those years with Tom.  It's one thing to just not be as good.  But he didn't even seem to grasp the simple foundations of how to set up a game plan.  I remember listening to one of his post-game pressers early on.  Someone asked him about the number of carries the fullbacks had been getting (with limited success).  His response was basically "you have to run the ball inside to set up the option outside".  Really???  Had he not paid any attention over the 20-ish years where we would run the option all game until they forgot about the fullback and then all of the sudden the fullback would be running free down the middle???  Cory Schlesinger anyone???

I could literally be watching the game from the stands and correctly predict about two-thirds of what plays would be run based simply on the formation we lined up in.  But I'm sure opposing defensive coordinators who had been watching film all week had no clue.  He was simply a terrible OC.  Which is too bad because it probably made everything else look all that much worse.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Tom Osborne was a great head coach, obviously ... But he was an even better offensive coordinator/play caller.

When he left, Nebraska lost both an elite head coach and an elite coordinator. Those aren't easy to replace. 

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

This is incorrect.

Perlman bypassed any possible BOR interference by simply keeping them out of the loop the "second go 'round".

No. It's correct. 

 

[Xmas32]

Also, I believe the reason Tom had promised Frank the head job was Frank had an offer to be a head coach somewhere else a few years (4-5?) earlier.  Tom told him something to the effect of "if you stay until after the 96 season, I'll retire and you can be head coach" so Frank stayed.  After the way the 96 went, Tom asked for one more year and Frank agreed.  So that's a lot of why Tom retired when he did.

Now that is a fun 'what if' too.  What if Frank decides he doesn't want to wait and takes job elsewhere?  How long does TO stick around?  I caught a small piece of Severe's show yesterday and another one I liked was what if TO had won the election to become Governor in 2006?  No chance he's able to take the AD job obviously.

 

[teachercd]

Now that is a fun 'what if' too.  What if Frank decides he doesn't want to wait and takes job elsewhere?  How long does TO stick around?  I caught a small piece of Severe's show yesterday and another one I liked was what if TO had won the election to become Governor in 2006?  No chance he's able to take the AD job obviously.

Good lord, if TO had won that race...there would be a dome over the state so that nothing "bad" could get in...we would have only access to NETV, Google in NE would be TOogle and if you left to hit up the casinos in CB you would not be allowed back in the state.

 

[Xmas32]

Good lord, if TO had won that race...there would be a dome over the state so that nothing "bad" could get in...we would have only access to NETV, Google in NE would be TOogle and if you left to hit up the casinos in CB you would not be allowed back in the state.

Haha very true.  I went back and looked and thought it was interesting that TO carried Omaha/Lincoln but Heineman carried the rural communities and Central NE which was TO's district.  

 

[teachercd]

Haha very true.  I went back and looked and thought it was interesting that TO carried Omaha/Lincoln but Heineman carried the rural communities and Central NE which was TO's district.  

That is interesting.  I thought he was going to win with about 100% of the vote.  Thank god he didn't.

 

[NUinID]

2 things to add to TO retiring. 

1. He really thought his health was failing. He didn’t think he could keep things up and meet the demands of coaching the way he did things.

2. He thought he owned it to his wife to get out and slow down. He said that several times.

The problem is type A personality’s have a hard time slowing down and relaxing. So if you are an ex football coach used to 80-90 hour weeks. You run for Congress, win and take another long hour job. Or become the AD and have another long hour job.

Of the scenario’s presented, I like to not fire Solich.  Solich was a good coach, not TO legend type, but good.  I just wanted to see what his staff was going to be able to do. I thought he put together an excellent staff.

 

[OH HSKR FAN]

The staff changes that Frank made after the 2002 season was too little too late.   He should have been more proactive earlier in his tenure.  

I’m curious if Bill Byrne really had the carte blanche to make the new hire without Osborne’s influence?   I also wonder how interested Alvarez and Stoops were?    That was a rumor that never went away.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Of the scenario’s presented, I like to not fire Solich.  Solich was a good coach, not TO legend type, but good.  I just wanted to see what his staff was going to be able to do. I thought he put together an excellent staff.

I think Solich was a solid coach. I don't completely agree with the staff he put together after the 2002 season being excellent.

Defensively, it was very good. No arguments there. He did hire Barney Cotton as his offensive line coach and offensive coordinator though.

Outside of Cotton though, good hires. 

 

[runningblind]

I think Solich was a solid coach. I don't completely agree with the staff he put together after the 2002 season being excellent.

Defensively, it was very good. No arguments there. He did hire Barney Cotton as his offensive line coach and offensive coordinator though.

Outside of Cotton though, good hires. 

What if he'd never hired Cotton? He might have been upset,  talked his kids into going to Iowa State, and we might have never have had this:

 

[Comish]

The staff changes that Frank made after the 2002 season was too little too late.   He should have been more proactive earlier in his tenure.  

I’m curious if Bill Byrne really had the carte blanche to make the new hire without Osborne’s influence?   I also wonder how interested Alvarez and Stoops were?    That was a rumor that never went away.

His choices for assistants were hamstrung earlier by perceived pressure from T.O.

Most responding here are neglecting the root cause of the recruiting "failures". Frank was actually a pretty fair recruiter, but a number of his holdover staff were aging and had trouble getting out on the road with surgeries, knee issues, etc.  He couldn't do it alone.  His 7-7 season was a giant blemish, but remember the trigger in the bowl game with Eli Manning when our backup fullback misread a punt fake call and we ended up turning it over? Still wouldn't have been a great season, but 8-6 would have been easier to stomach and preserve some records.

Frank did have a legit shot at the Pitt job, but Ditka basically demanded a "Pitt"guy. It would have been interesting because of his Ohio/Pitt recruiting area ties to see how that might of gone.

And then he did get an offer from Army but chose to sit out a year and sift through things.  The Army gig would have been really interesting as an option guy in power position.....it Might have proven more successful then Ohio. Still, it's all speculation but certainly an interesting thread going on here..............

 

[huskered17]

Also, I believe the reason Tom had promised Frank the head job was Frank had an offer to be a head coach somewhere else a few years (4-5?) earlier.  Tom told him something to the effect of "if you stay until after the 96 season, I'll retire and you can be head coach" so Frank stayed.  After the way the 96 went, Tom asked for one more year and Frank agreed.  So that's a lot of why Tom retired when he did.

:thumbs :thumbs .

Been waiting for someone to remember that.

GBR!!!

 

[Undone]

3) Pederson doesn't fire Frank?

That one is so unlike the other ones that it probably shouldn't be on that list, so I'm just going to pretend it's not there.

The Carl Crawford option is pretty tempting, but the thing is that you don't really know if he would have been good. He and Jammal Lord were both in the 1999 class, so presumably he takes over after Crouch graduates and helps 2002 not turn out to be 2002. But again...maybe he wouldn't have been that great, despite how Solich has said over and over that he would have been.

I used to be convinced that winning that 2009 Big XII title would have launched the program into a different attitude and environment for years to come. That importance was probably overstated but I do think that the fan base would have had a different mindset. But, I don't think it would have really made any difference in the context of Wisconsin having Bo's number in the Big 10 and embarrassing him over and over with blowouts.

I'll take the Carl Crawford one to be honest. Could have really changed the outcome of that 2002 season which is really what got Frank fired.

 

[Toe]

What if we'd had a competent AD from 2002-2007?