Big Red Roundtable, Bo's Back Edition

1. The 2007 season finished with a disappointing 5-7
record. Very few people expected this. What went
wrong?

In a season that many expected to be a return to the halcyon days of Nebraska football, it is quicker to talk about what went right than what went wrong. When looking at the season, it's easy to shrug it off as a defensive collapse or a laundry list of other woes. But when one looks harder, the turning point came when Southern Cal came to town with a #1 ranking and made us look like the Poles fighting Germany in WWII. The Trojans completely demoralized the Husker defense, opening holes so wide, I can't think of a comparison without being completely inappropriate. While the coaches denied it, it was evident that the psyche of the "Blackshirt" defense was completely destroyed, and in the following weeks, it snowballed until it was apparent that there was no turnaround coming.

In addition to the collapse of the defense, there were other problems:

-An inconsistent running game that apparently had all of four plays. The inability to run the ball between the tackles haunted the Husker offense all season and put Sam Keller in an unfair position of having to do all of it himself.

-Drops by receivers in key situations cost us in some key drives early in the season, although this improved by the end of the year.

-Poor pass protection, coupled with Keller's habit of holding on to the ball waaaaay too long, made for a harrowing situation that was repeated far too often: Keller pumping the ball repeatedly before dumping it to a 3-yard out route while being pile-drived into the turf.

-The coaching staff's continued refusal to make halftime adjustments. Nebraska was, by far, the worst 3rd-quarter team in football. I don't care what statistics you might come up with to say it was someone else, you watch every Nebraska 3rd quarter and try to convince me otherwise. Even when we were kicking ass at halftime (Colorado comes to mind), somehow the Huskers managed to come out and play to the other extreme, as if the staff had made changes to make sure that we sucked in the 3rd stanza. I always pictured this exchange:

Callahan: "Well Kev, we're playing great. What can we do to make sure we live up to our reputation and nose dive in the 2nd half?"

Cosgrove: "Yea, did you see us actually tackling people? We were holding them to 6 yard gains instead of 16! I'll go make some adjustments to make sure our linebackers are completely out of position. Wait, better yet, I'll just move our linebackers out of the box completely and put them over some slot receivers. That oughta do it."

Callahan: "Sounds good buddy. Once the game is safely out of hand, I'll get the O to tack on a couple meaningless deficit-cutting touchdowns to make the final look more respectable and to promote my image as an offensive genius. Let's get 'er done!"


-It became apparent during the Okie State game and those following it, that despite their comments to the contrary, that this Husker team had completely quit on it's coaching staff. How else do you explain the seemingly complete lack of effort? Obviously, these guys were still trying hard, but even if the effort may have been there, the passion was not. Guy busts 20 yard carry after 20 yard carry? Who cares, we knew when we showed up we were going to get our ass kicked. That may not have been what they were thinking, but it's the body language the fans were seeing.

2. Bo Pelini takes over as head coach. Good move or
bad?

If you have read my blog at all, you know my opinion on this one. I am a huge Bo Pelini fan, and have been since his first stint here back in 2003. His temperament and passion is something that college kids easily identify with. He's a coach that gets in your face and demands you're best, and when your challenged like that, you want to do everything in your power not to let him down and to earn his praise. Callahan, who I do believe has a great football mind, is better suited for a coordinator's position in the pro game.

Pelini, on the other hand, is suited perfectly for college football, and his Midwestern roots and respect for the Husker tradition is something that Husker fans have been longing for the past 4 years. Thus far, he has said all the right things and made all the right moves in mending the wounds that have taken place since Solich's ouster after the 2003 season. This is someone who I could see (if he wins obviously), being here for the duration of his career. In an era where coaches seemingly are content to spend 5 to 10 years at a school and move to greener pastures, Pelini might be our guy for the next 25, and that is the kind of stability that Husker Nation craves.

And the last thing that is causing me to love this hire is Pelini's credentials. He's coached under some of the brightest minds in football, and his defensive emphasis is obviously exactly what this Husker team needs right now.

3. Nebraska fans were divided after the last coaching
change. Do you see fans finally uniting?

Yes, I really do. While some wanted Gill, I think everyone was in favor of Anybody But Callahan, and getting a guy who embraces the past and has the approval of Tom Osborne goes a long ways. Said Osborne of Pelini:

“We need a head coach with strong defensive credentials and great leadership,” Osborne said. “We were also looking for someone who can inspire confidence and get players to play with great effort. And, of course, we also wanted our new head coach to understand our traditions, including the importance of our walk-on program and the importance of football in this state.”

In addition to this, Pelini made sure to properly credit Solich for his contribution to Husker football, something Pedersen & Callahan never properly did. This might not seem like a huge issue, but when a native son and Osborne's hand-picked successor was forced out, it caused a much bigger divide than Pedersen expected, and he never properly addressed the situation nor thanked Solich for the good years he did have. And it didn't help that the tradition of Husker football was seemingly swept under the rug (taking down the All-American pictures, the cold shoulder that former Huskers apparently got, etc;).

Pelini, in his introductory press conference, said exactly what we wanted to hear:

"I look forward to going out and recruiting the best in the state of Nebraska and getting this program back on track," Pelini said on Sunday. "It's like one big family, and that's the way I want it to be. I look back at all the great players and programs -- I want to bring all those people back into the fold. I might be the head coach now, but they're all part of the family. We want to draw on the tradition to move forward."

'Nuff said.

4. How would you like to see Bo Pelini fill out his
coaching staff? Anybody or anything in particular you
are looking to see?

As of right now, (and I'm publishing this one kind of late compared to my peers), Pelini had either hired or was expected to hire the following coaches for his new staff:

Ron Brown
Barney Cotton
Marvin Sanders
Carl Pelini
John Papuchis

OC Shawn Watson and Receivers coach Ted Gilmore were expected to be retained by Pelini.

Looking at the staff, I love the defensive staff that Pelini is bringing in. Obviously, after watching an overmatched and inept staff the past four years, I'd be excited about any change at all, but even with factoring that it, these guys are legitimate coaches who have good backgrounds.

Carl Pelini has done an excellent job coaching the defensive line at Ohio, which you can read about here at the Bobcat's home page. This would be a great hire for the Huskers in light of the struggles the defensive line had this year. Yes, obviously we lost some great players to the NFL last year, but that doesn't excuse the complete lack of a pass rush and continued problems with basic containment responsibilities.

We all know about Sanders, who was an assistant here during Pelini's first stint in Lincoln. He had overseen a steady improvement of North Carolina's defense during his 3 seasons in Chapel Hill, and him being a former Husker certainly doesn't hurt his status around here. His defensive backs were known for their ball-hawking nature and penchant for turnovers, which would be refreshing after watching our atrocious secondary play the past couple years.

We all know about Ron Brown and Barney Cotton, both of them former Husker assistants. The deal only got sweeter when Cotton's stud prep son switched his commitment to Nebraska after his old man's hiring.

Papuchis is an up-and-coming assistant who worked under both Nick Saban and Pelini at LSU. While he isn't officially on staff yet, he has been seen in the North Stadium complex and is expected to be added at some point. A former KU grad assistant before his tenure in Baton Rouge, he too is a defensive specialist.

Two or three more hires are expected (if all the aforementioned people do indeed sign contracts at UNL), so it'll be interesting to see how Pelini fills out the rest of the staff.

5. 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?

I think expectations will be moderately high in his first year, just because people believe that there is talent in place and he simply has to mold it. Is this fair? Probably not. But that's Nebraska. Obviously, people don't expect a Big XII title right away, but I do think that people are hoping for 7 wins and a bowl berth, and for our losses to be by much smaller margins than those we experienced this year. He'll have a lot of leeway after all we've been through this year, and I think the honeymoon period will be a good one. The mere fact that he is embracing the past and is Osborne's pick will go a long ways by itself, if he gets 7 or 8 wins, that's really all we can ask for.

Be sure to check out all the other Husker Bloggers' responses to the Roundtable:

Husker Faithful

Midwest Coast Bias

Corn Nation

Double Extra Point

Husker Mike

Big Red Analysis

Big Red Network

Hi-Plains Drifter