Big Red Roundtable - All About Bo Edition
It's time for another Big Red Roundtable. Jump into the comments and add your two cents.
The 2007 season finished with a disappointing 5-7 record. Very few people expected this. What went wrong?
Darren Carlson: I contend that this was Callahan's most talented team. Yes, they had areas where they were not particularly deep (especially the DL). But, the total talent makeup was there. The problem is...potential never bought the groceries.
It showed early. A Callahan-coached team never looked as dominant as they did against Nevada.
The blood letting against USC took the bloom off the rose. And, for a group of kids whose coaches and ADs sold them on the idea of "national championship" it was tough not to become disengaged. And, once things started to unravel in conference play (against Missouri, especially), the players really checked out...leading to the catastrophes against KU and OSU. It was "Weekend at Bernie's", with dead souls inside of red uniforms.
"In the Deed, The Glory" isn't just a nice turn of a phrase. It's a grounding philosophy. It's something Pederson and Callahan went away from. From day 1 it was about championships...not about playing great football and seeing where that gets you. Under Pelini, we'll likely see a return to just be committed to "the deed". Work in practice. Get better. Play hard. Good things will come.
Long story short, the downfall of the 2007 season was an emotional let down. That let down was rooted in going away from a core philosophy.
Steve Hanway: The drop off on the defensive line from a year ago was enormous. It also didn't help that people like Ty Steinkuhler were injured really right from the start of the season and without much depth behind. The USC game seemed to crush the confidence of the defense and they never really got it back. They were easily blocked on running plays and got no pressure on passing downs.
Bo Pelini takes over as head coach. Good move or bad?
Steve: A great move. Nebraska has a screaming need to improve the defense so they grab about the best defensive mind on the market. And he's had success at Nebraska before.
Darren: Great move. Everything I've seen says guy has the goods. When it comes to doing the job he was assigned to do - coordinate the defense - I think you have a hard time finding another candidate with the track record of success he has. Or at least somebody with a sterling track record who would come to NU. He was going to be a head coach somewhere, might as well be here. And...he WANTS to be at Nebraska. He's sincere when he says it is a special place and a "dream job", that may make all the difference.
Nebraska fans were divided after the last coaching change. Do you see fans finally uniting?
Darren: The had better unite, or things won't improve as dramatically as we like. Only Nebraska can kill Nebraska, and we've been doing a pretty dang good job of it lately. Everyone needs to cheer for the team, for the players, for the state.
Steve: Only because I see Pelini having success. Whenever the Huskers lose their will be griping about the coaches. But everyone will back a champion.
How would you like to see Bo Pelini fill out his coaching staff? Anybody or anything in particular you are looking to see?
Steve: I like that they seem ready to keep Shawn Watson. He deserves a lot of credit for the Huskers finishing #11 in total offense. I hope he gets some big time recruiters. I'd hate to see the Huskers go back to getting a bunch of two-star kids.
Darren: I'm excited to see Marvin Sanders return. Our defensive backs were lights out under his tutelage in 2003. I'm also encouraged that Shawn Watson is retained. I think he is a quality football coach who knows a lot about offense. I guess he and Osborne have a positive relationship. And, it creates some continuity for our players.
What do you think the expectations are for Bo Pelini? Do you think he needs to win x amount or do x by a certain date?
Darren: Year 1 - get to a bowl. The idea of not playing a bowl game makes Husker fans want to puke. It hurts the team and the state economy. Seriously. Every year after that - win the North...over and over and over. In the age of 12-team conferences and conference title games, everything starts by winning your division. Regardless of record, if you put yourself on the title game field, you are one game away from a BCS bowl game birth.
Steve: It's hard to imagine any coach being fired after only one year, so he doesn't have to do much early. By year 2 though there has to be 7 or 8 wins or people will turn pretty vocally against him.
Read More Responses: Hi Plains Drifter, Big Red Analysis, Husker Mike, Double Extra Point, Corn Nation, Midwest Coast Bias, Husker Faithful
12/5/2007
What about coach Busch? He is a tremendous recruiter, is he going to be around? Personaly I feel it would be the biggest misstake out of all possible missstakes if we let coach Busch go. What does BRN think about this?
12/5/2007
Andrew,
Yes, Busch track record as a recruiter is great (i.e. Alex Smith at Utah). But, I think Pelini has his eye on the special team coordinator from LSU.
That means Busch is out of luck. And, based on results, our special teams haven’t exactly been great under Busch, except for a few moments in 2007.
12/5/2007
It doesn’t appear this will happen, but I have my hopes set on Jimmy Williams. That has nothing to do with “old guard” or “NE Ties”. It has everything to do with the quality of coaching he brings. Every player that has played under him has improved dramatically. Ask any former Husker or current UB player and they will tell you…he has the goods. Very demanding and intense, and he produces results. Having 12 years NFL experience doesn’t hurt as a coach or recruiter.
12/5/2007
Nebraska fans were divided after the last coaching change. Do you see fans finally uniting?
What is there to be divided about? After 30 years in Lincoln, I now live 6 hours away, and read as much Big Red as I can in the time that I have. I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would have been against the departure of Callahan. Did he have that many true supporters? I figured that I-180 would have a police escort after the CU game. He isn’t a bad guy, I just dont think that he ever got “it”. We’ll always have small differences, and preferences (I was pulling for TGill) but this looks like a crew that is going to do the right things, and those right actions will take NU to where we all hope they will be soon.
Best of luck to Bo and the gang, and as always…........
Go Big Red!
12/5/2007
The final chapter of bad news started with the USC game in 2006 and non one will convince me otherwise. When you are coached “to not lose badly”, what does that tell the players? You could see it get worse and worse during the game and they never has “the spark” after that game. Would you if in essence you were thought of as not good enough to win against a good team?
I think Callahan and Steve P wanted to create a USC in the Midwest and a big name for themselves but forgot the human aspects part of their jobs. Kind of like employers thinking of their employees as numbers only. Go back to CA and PA and good luck to ya.
12/5/2007
I just don’t want NU to end up like KU, schedule Sunbelt teams beat there but, then when you do end up playing somebody with a pulse, get you’re butt kicked. I know KU is 11-1 but what would happen if they played USC, would it be worse then when NU played them?
I also don’t want to get into recruiting battles with KU/KSU/ISU, for lower tier players. If lower tier players want to walk on great, fantastic! But remember we only have 85 scholarships; shouldn’t we give them to the 85 best? I mean is NU in the affirmative action game? Give all the scholarships to NE players before giving them to out of state players based on them being from NE?
12/5/2007
I give alot of credit to the university for making the necessary changes in an expediant way.
Just a month or so ago, things were pretty dismal around here and if Calli had returned we’d be looking at another year of disunity and strife within Husker Nation, not to mention the horrible ‘tone’ had Pedey not been fired.
Now there is great optimism and we have alot to be thankful for in having OZ and BO on our side! I mean, with those two guys on the recruiting trail, it’s a helluva one-two punch!
With the return of more Nebraska guys as asst.s—all of whom seem very good—it’s just starting to feel like Nebraska again.
Agree we should get Jimmy Williams—hear he’s exceptional!
I’m thrilled with BOP!
12/5/2007
I agree that Nebraska wasn’t the same after the USC game. They weren’t the same after the USC game last year. The game plans for those games were awful. Run, Run, Pass, Punt. It was terrible. I think Callahan’s game planning was as poor as his use of Lucky. I think Lucky is going to have to step up big next year. We are losing good talent at wide receiver and in today’s game, players are making it big as “multi-purpose” players. Lucky needs to be utilized more than just up the middle. He can play outside in the slot or wide out position. Throw him some screens, run reverses, be creative with him. Stop playing to lose. Use the talent you’ve got to kick the crap out of your opponent. Hopefully Pelini will have the same thinking and be able to utilize Lucky more.
12/5/2007
Andrew - Your comment about not giving scholarships to Nebraska players is classic Callahan. He gave 2 scholarships last year to in-state recruits because he believed exactly what you believe.
Talent matters but not as much as pride, heart, and desire. Nebraska players are a special part of our team, because they are going to play with pride. If a Nebraska kid has the skills to play D1 ball in a major conference, he should be playing for us not KU/KSU/ISU.
Basically I think TO is 100% right to say that we should recruit the top 8-10 kids out of Nebraska each year. I agree that those in-state recruits that are marginal D1 players should be encouraged to walk-on. We still want to give them a chance to contribute. I think it is great that the walk-on program is going to be revamped and expanded.
All that said, we also need to recruit nationally and go for the top tier talent.
12/5/2007
What are the chances that we go 10-2 next year?
I say 60-40!
12/6/2007
Dave,
I am just saying I don’t want to waste scholly’s on players we can get to walk on. Marginal players as you call them. I am not sure that the state of NE puts out 8-10 FBS players a year.