Bo is One Tough Customer
11 comments so far
November 12, 2008 by
On the field, Tom Osborne and Bo Pelini share vastly different approaches to handling game situations.
Tom Osborne is revered as a stoic, faith-driven man with a calming influence that reminds most people of a grandfather. He never got too up or too down on the sideline and his outbursts were rare.
Bo Pelini is the complete opposite. He wears his emotions on his sleeve – so much so that Husker Nation has questioned at times if he’s gone too far. Tom would never get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Bo already has two in his 11 games as head coach and has probably deserved more.
But off the field, Bo has also dealt with one major area a bit differently than his boss --player discipline.
Cody Glenn was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday. We don’t know why. We’ll never know why. You’ll likely hear stories at the water cooler or on message boards but with a young man’s privacy at heart, I’ll choose not to speculate the reason.
But if we have learned anything in the early tenure of the Husker Head Coach, we know that he does not mess around. He set rules when he first got here. And the players are learning to follow them. Don’t be surprised if you see Bo walking around the Brass Rail late on a Saturday night. He has held his players accountable and will continue to do so. Either you act like a leader and keep the team first or you won’t be a part of the team.
If Tom Osborne had a fault in anyone’s mind, it was probably the way he dealt with problems with players. Whether it was the alleged “pay for play� money given to players by boosters, alleged ticket scalping issues, or the whole Lawrence Phillips debacle, many non-Nebraska fans and reporters labeled Osborne as a coach that would do what it took to win. When the team wins, many people turn a blind eye. But I do believe Husker fans want to do things the right way.
In my mind, Bo is doing it the right way. If you told me that Cody Glenn would get suspended from the team, I would have laughed. He seems to be a polite, yes,sir, no sir, kind of kid. He has done what he needed to for the team and has been successful doing it (3rd in total tackles for the season in just his first at linebacker). But he did something that Bo didn’t like and because of that he’ll have to watch from the stands.
We may never know why Cody Glenn was suspended today. But we do know that Bo is one tough customer. And today, the customer was right.
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Troy Nov 12 08
Zero tolerance is not always the best policy. Yes, it can be effective when setting an example but I believe Dr. Tom always put the players first and did everything he could to turn around a problem player. True, it did not always work as Phillips proved, but it is the players choice to do the right thing. How many players did TO turn around? We will never know because the media either wasn't aware of those situations or doesn't feel the story is juicy enough to talk about.
Dwayne Nov 12 08
In my mind, you do what's right for the program first and player second and hopefully those two can go hand in hand. Sometimes, obviously they can't.
bnahusker Nov 12 08
After years as a small company supervisor and manager, I know that while Bo came in with great fanfare he MUST set and maintain a level of discipline to keep his credibility. By suspending Cody he has sent a message to the team, the school, the fans, and future recruits. There are expectations and consequences when they aren't met. If Bo is consistent with future situations, the program as a whole will maintain great stability.
I'm not at all happy that Cody is gone "indefinitely". I hope this is a one game suspension, and that he can participate on Senior Day. I am impressed as hell with Bo.
GBR!
Bob
Jason Nov 12 08
Troy, keep in mind that Glenn hasn't been kicked off the team (as far as I know). He has only been suspended, which seems to leave the door open for a come back.
So, I wouldn't call this a zero tolerance policy where a guy is kicked off the team after a single violation. Also, we don't know if there were other previous violations. They keep things tight lipped (with good reason).
All we can do as fans is support the program and hope that Glenn straightens things out.
Renny Nov 12 08
I am certainly not claiming what is right and what is wrong. But if you read Armen Katayan's book from the '80s about the Husker program, Armen (again, not saying if its accurate or not) sorta labeled T.O. as a guy that didn't want to know the bad things that were going on, as if he wanted to be the one being sheltered and just appear that everything was fine. Its like the parent that has kids that go off to college and party and doesn't want to hear about to in a way to pretend it doesn't happen at all.
Bo seems like the kind of guy that knows what happens and wants to prevent those things from even being an issue in the first place. If a kid screws up, he faces the consequences as Bo sees fit. Basically he is trying to fix the problem before it starts rather than giving someone a chance from a problem that could have been fixed before it started.
One thing is for certain, Bo will not tolerate problems on the team and isn't afraid to give the heave ho to a person no matter their spot on the depth chart. I personally admire that and hope that the discipline becomes the learning tool for the young man.
Glenn Baker Nov 12 08
Being a field grade officer in the military I can attest to having to set the standard from the begining. You have to come in hard and later as time goes on you can softend your stance but you can never go from soft to hard and maintain discipline. Cody is one of my favorite players but he obviously did something major to have been suspended. I like the way Bo is handling the team discipline. Every player knows where he stands with him and the program. I am really glad we have a coach like Bo running our program. I can not stress the importance of integrity.
Bill in Iowa Nov 12 08
Better to have team rules and standards and enforce this type of discipline for violation of team rules, rather than have a situation where they are getting arrested and kicked off the team entirely (maybe thrown in prison) for breaking national and state laws.
bnahusker Nov 12 08
Glenn Baker & all who wore a uniform for Freedom......
Happy belated Veteran's Day and thanks for your sevice.
Parent of Former Marine,
Bob
JBLING22 Nov 12 08
I second that , Happy Belated Veteran Day!!
And I believe it is actually in Cody's best interest that Bo did this.. He obviously did something wrong, and therefore needs to learn from it... Keep in mind like it was said above that he was suspended not kicked off.. Im sure he will have an opportunity to get back on the field, if he does everything asked of him , and more importantly gains the trust of his team and coaches back...
Slyde3 Nov 12 08
bnahusker, there is no such thing a "former" Marine!
I am also a parent of a United States Marine, and as I have learned though his experience, once a Marine, always a Marine!
Thank God for the USMC and everyone else in every branch that is serving and has served our country, you are all heroes!!!
I think Coach Pelini would have made a good Marine. I certainly am glad we have him in Nebraska. I do wish the speculation regarding Glenn would go away, but unfortunately, we know it won't.
GO HUSKERS
bnahusker Nov 13 08
Slyde3
Point noted.
Semper Fi
GBR!