End of Pellini in Neb?

Submitted by superstringer on

Anyone thinking that today is the nail in the coffin, and Pellini gets canned at the end of the season?

They have a gaudy record, but, they aren't the program they want to be.  Nebraska can't seem to win the toughest games on their schedule -- and, frankly, they get drubbed when they try.  The Badgers utterly pwns them right now, the last couple of head to heads have been embarrassing.  Getting run over like that... Nebraska fans must be seething.  I'd say something like "seeing red" but well you know.

Hitting home more, is Nebraska a competitor of ours for coaches?  Like if Stoops were to leave OU (obviously a "big if"), would Nebraska be more attractive than UM?  Think of the delicious irony there.  Obviously Harbaugh(s) and Mullen aren't really more like to go to Nebraska than UM, but maybe some of our other candidates might see the two equally.  For instance Tom Herman -- why not go to Lincoln, get out of Urban's shadow (different division)?

MonkeyMan

November 15th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^

Or maybe Bo faced a great coach on Wisky's sideline? Man they are getting good. That RB broke a zillion records- how do they do it year in and out while we argue over "youth" , getting 4 years to get all your players, Borges sandbagged us, etc. etc. 

Good coaches GET IT DONE!!!!

Mr. Yost

November 15th, 2014 at 7:40 PM ^

...but I hope not. Nebraska is a formidable opponent for coaching vacancies. Obviously not someone like Harbaugh with clear ties to Michigan. But say it came to someone like Mark Stoops (not that anyone wants him anymore...but for example), Nebraska presents a formidable challenge to Michigan and Florida.

LSAClassOf2000

November 15th, 2014 at 7:45 PM ^

Complain as some Huskers fans will about Pelini, a pretty spectacular name would have to emerge from some corner of FBS football to make removing him anything other than a kneejerk nonsensical thing. At the moment, Nebraska is still doing quite well overall despite today and I don't think that Nebraska is quite ready to go all Frank Solich on Bo Pelini. 

UMxWolverines

November 15th, 2014 at 7:56 PM ^

For now no. They are 8-2 but he has lost 4 games every year and thry still have a chance to do that. It's really not that he lost, it's how. And they never beat anyone that is very good. I don't know what their mentality is though. For me it doesn't make sense to keep a guy where you know what your ceiling is after 7 years. A progaram like Nebraska should at least be playing for comference championships and occasionally winning one but they have not won a conference title since 1999.

Steve in PA

November 15th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^

He ended their wandering through the desert that commenced when Osbourne left.  I cannot imagine they would risk it but they probably have a minority of fans that think Gruden, Cowher, etc would come there if the job opened.

It is one of the few big-time schools that I could see Mike Leach coaching though.

samsoccer7

November 15th, 2014 at 8:43 PM ^

You know, in the past I used to look at pelini when he's yelling at his guys coming to the sideline after a turnover and think "that's one angry mean dude." And he might be. But man if a guy misses a block and the rb gets hit in the backfield and fumbles, I want that lineman getting yelled at and scared to ever miss a block again. We don't have that. Our guys are soft. On to the next one.

Jevablue

November 16th, 2014 at 12:20 AM ^

Without actually doing the digging, I would guess that Pellini has not under coached his recruiting anywhere near the level our regime has.  Seems like his results are not that far removed from the talent.  My guess is he is OK over there.  But that is easy for me to say after watching M  the last few years..

UMxWolverines

November 16th, 2014 at 1:22 AM ^

Pelini is 9-16 against top 25 teams. I'm actually surprised it isn't worse. 

A Nebraska fan has compiled some of his worst losses. Some pretty inexcusable margins of defeat in there for someone who was once a defensive coordinator. I'm pretty sure if this was happening here we would have run him out of town already...at least I would hope.

1. 2012 Big 10 Championship Game against Wisconsin: 70-31, gives up 539 yards rushing 
2. 2014 Wisconsin: Nebraska loses 59-24, gives up 408 yards rushing to one guy (NCAA record) 
3. 2012 Ohio State: 63-38, total disaster 5 years into the job 
4. 2012 UCLA: 36-30. gave up 653 yards. 
5. 2011 Wisconsin: 48-17, Wisconsin scored five unanswered TDs heading into the fourth quarter 
6. 2003 KSU: 38-7 at home, at the time our worst loss at home since 1958 
7. 2008 Oklahoma: 62-28, this game was over in the first quarter 
8. 2011 Michigan: 45-17, Nebraska had no answer in the second half 
9. 2013 Citrus Bowl against Georgia: 45-31, Their QB sets bowl record with 427 yards passing 
10. 2013 UCLA: 41-21 at home, included 31 unanswered points

SECcashnassadvantage

November 16th, 2014 at 6:38 AM ^

People here would never fire Hoke for 3 losses, regardless of how bad the team looks. Our team has looked atrocious even in his first year. Is little Nebraska a better program with their small university. They have had great football runs, but that stadium and campus aren't all of that.

M-Dog

November 16th, 2014 at 1:58 PM ^

Plain and simple, Nebraska made a mistake coming to the Big Ten.  They lost their long-established recruiting ground in TX and have nothing to replace it with.

They can't help but be thinking how much better their life would be right now if they were in the Big 12. 

They must have reeealy hated Texas to throw everything away just to get away from them.  That, and their admin sold them out for more $$.  So now what?

Cold War

November 16th, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^

This is no longer Tom Osborne's Nebraska and likely never will be again. In the new reality and where they fit in the current landscape, they'd do well to retain him and enjoy the good, not great seasons.

FrankMurphy

November 16th, 2014 at 4:29 PM ^

Nebraska is no longer a blueblood program, and that departure might be permanent. Their success was mostly the product of two truly legendary coaches (Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne), the latter of whom might be one of the two or three best coaches in college football history. Nebraska is not a fertile recruiting ground and Lincoln has never been an easy place to recruit players to, but the constant acceleration of recruiting timelines has hurt Nebraska more than other programs because Lincoln also isn't the easiest place to get to. Most elite prospects aren't going to delay their recruiting timelines just so they can plan a trip to Lincoln.

Having said that, Nebraska could probably do better than Pelini. But they would need to be very careful in going after candidates they have a shot at landing. If there's no one out there better than Pelini who they think they could lure to Lincoln, they would be wise to hold on to Bo.