CC: BERT turned down Nebraska

Submitted by JeepinBen on

Adam Jacobi (noted Iowa writer and fan-of-horses) has been retweeting other folks that would be in the know. Nebraska offered the job to Bielema last night, was turned down, and thus the Mike Riley hire. Interesting stuff. I wonder if Bert sees more long-term success at Arkansas? Or just didn't want to jump around?

EDIT: original tweet was from NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt

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AnthonyThomas

December 4th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^

Arkansas are definitely getting better. If Bielema wants to wait a couple years, assuming he has success at Arkansas, he could get a much better job than Nebraska. 

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Tuebor

December 4th, 2014 at 2:19 PM ^

Of course he turned them down.  I'm pretty sure he left Wisconsin to get away from Barry Alvarez. Why would he jump ship to Wisconsin's biggest divisional rival (freedom trophy and all)?  If Bielema ends up in the B1G it will be with Iowa.

Joined: 03/14/2011

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brewandbluesaturdays

December 4th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^

I have a good friend who is a Nebraska alum, and is extremely connected within the program. I asked him about this and there are a bunch of things about Pelini that never made it in the public eye according to him. The things he told me range from players sexually assaulting girls and it being covered up by Pelini, illegal use of university planes, letting his starters know in advance when they would be drug tested and a few other thigns I had a hard time wrapping my head around.

Take it FWIW but this guy called Pelini being fired 2 weeks before the Iowa game no matter what the outcome was going to be. Nine win seasons or not, people at Nebraska were fed up with this guy. He created an us vs. the world mentality with the players pitted against the fans and alumni in Lincoln. 

 

Joined: 01/23/2009

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steve sharik

December 4th, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^

They're 5th in all-time wins (Yale is 4th) and they're ahead of Ohio State.  It was clear Pelini wasn't going to deliver championships--he had 7 years.

Now, Osborne didn't start winning national titles until he looked the other way on thugs like Lawrence Phillips and Grant Wistrom, but they still won a lot of Big 8 titles and were a legit powerhouse.  

While it's easy for us to objectively sit here and say they'll never be that again, Nebraska people say (and I don't blame them) "Why not?"

Fans here can say they'd be satisfied with 9 wins per, but if we never won a B1G title in 7 years while winning those games (most of them against the dogs on the schedule, and not including Sparty or Ohio on a regular basis), would we still want the guy?  Hell, no.  I mean, even before the Excalibur Incident, a lot of fans complained about Moeller, even though he led the program to 3 straight B1G titles (and Bo of course never won a national title).

Joined: 08/08/2009

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Blue Since B.C.

December 4th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

Nebraska fans' unhappiness with a 9-3 year remind me of our unhappiness with those types of seasons during the Moeller/Carr years.  And now look at us.

Be careful what you wish for.

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Hannibal.

December 4th, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^

I think that Nebraska could do better, but they should have waited until the options out there were more attractive.  It's not just the 3 losses per year, but how Godawful so many of them have been, and the complete lack of signature wins.  Pelini's biggest "win" at Nebraska is probably still his close loss in the 2009 Big 12 championship game.  He subsisted off of that game as a "defensive guru" four about three years.  If I had been Nebraska's AD, I would have fired him after the 2012 B1G championship game. 

Joined: 09/09/2008

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mgoblue0970

December 4th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^

Not even an apt comparison. 

Moeller didn't get a chance. 

Carr got a chance, had an undefeated season, and then lazily rode that undefeated season's coat tails into mediocrity and a loss to App State.  I was at the Rose Bowl in ’07 and saw 60 minutes of Mike Hart into the left side of the line, TE screen, punt.  It was pathetic. 

Carr got less with more than just like Hoke.  The difference is everyone loved Carr as a Michigan Man and delivering a split national championship.

Since then, he’s been nothing but a grumpy old man meddling in coaching searches.

Eff Carr.

If Moeller had a chance, big things would have happened with Michigan.

 

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Drowning Man

December 4th, 2014 at 4:39 PM ^

His last two years he went 8-4, and his teams played poorly in the losses. He was on the hot seat when he secured his own firing in that restaurant in Southfield.

There is no evidence--none--that Moeller would have done "big things." He was a lousy HC at Illinois, and by his fourth year at Michigan (with "his" players) we saw the quality of performance at UM go way downhill.

There's been an odd thing happening in recent years with Moeller...a growing belief that he was a great coach, that he was the great Michigan coach who was dumped too soon, that he was a brilliant mind. 

Well, I was there for Moeller's coaching career, and I didn't see it. If you want to talk about individual performances that were especially pathetic, I can certainly refer you to the 1990 Iowa game, the 1993 Illinois or Wisconsin games, and the 1994 Wisconsin and Ohio State games. The record probably speaks for itself, though: Moeller's WPCT is worse than Carr's. He just wasn't that good. 

Don't know why we cannot accept that and move on.

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UMxWolverines

December 4th, 2014 at 10:44 PM ^

That depends if you consider a tie a loss. If you eliminate his 3 ties in 1992 his percentage is 77% compared to Lloyd's 75%. 

And you want to talk about bad losses? I'll give Lloyd a pass for the first two years but:

1998: Had no answer for Syracuse (running QB), Notre Dame

1999: Flip flopped with Henson and Brady in the MSU game, blew 20 point lead to Illinois

2000: Lost to unranked Purdue and Northwestern

2001: Allowed the vest to come in to Michigan Stadium and take 20 point lead by halftime, Tennessee destroyed us

2002: Iowa gives us worst home loss in years

2003: Lost to Iowa and Oregon both because of blocked punts

2004: Unranked OSU destroys us

2005: Ranked #3 in the nation and lose to Notre Dame at home, blew lead in Minnesota game, blew lead against OSU, blew lead in bowl game

2006: Ulta conservative in the Rose Bowl

2007: The horror and worse home loss than Iowa in 2002

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Eye of the Tiger

December 4th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

I suspect (and please keep in mind this is 100% speculative), that BERT would only leave Arkansas this year for a really big job--bigger than Nebraska.

And, as it happens, I'm convinced he's become a serious candidate for us--not A-list, as far as our search goes, but somewhere on the list. I have a feeling the company hired to assist with the search is putting out feelers beyond the "big 3 obvious name" targets (Jim H, John H, Les Miles). 

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OccaM

December 4th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^

Riley really isn't THAT bad of a hire. He develops solid QBs through the years, something Braska could use. OSU had what like 2 wins in the prior 4 years before he came along? 

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Gentleman Squirrels

December 4th, 2014 at 2:31 PM ^

He would have the same problems in recruiting that he had at Wisconsin. Nebraska may be a better program, but its tough to convince anyone to live there for 4 years when there are much better options on the board. 

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