My thoughts on the state of the program

[JR]

I write this, not in the heat of emotion after another embarrassing loss on national TV, but after letting it settle for a day, to really think about where the Nebraska football program is after 4 years of Coach Pelini.  To be blunt, I expect a lot more from this football team, and I don't mean simply in terms of wins and losses (though I would be lying if I said I didn't expect more in that regard as well).

I expect more from the head coach.  Coach Pelini often seems combative with the media, antagonistic and unappreciative towards fans, and flat out obnoxious on the sidelines.  I've watched and listened to enough press conferences to know that when Coach is in a foul mood, heaven help the reporters trying to do their jobs.  I understand that dealing with the media may not always be fun (and I certainly wouldn't enjoy it), but it is part of his job (for which he gets paid a nice salary to do).  Additionally, I believe Coach's attitude towards fans is fairly reprehensible.  I've read the tweets and comments from players after a bad game where they say "coach says it is us against the world".  When 85,000 fans file into Memorial Stadium, and pay good money to cheer you on, it is not "us against the world".  I know the scrutiny at Nebraska can be intense, but that is what you sign on for as the coach of a major college football program.  If he thinks it would be better at Ohio State, LSU, or Penn State, he has another thing coming.

It is also embarrassing, as an alum of the University of Nebraska, to watch him represent our school on national TV, acting like a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum.  What makes this worse, is that it all occurs as his team is melting down on the field.  Instead of being a steadying hand at the helm of the ship, Coach Pelini is going berserk, screaming at the officials in front of the national TV cameras and his players.  I certainly understand that there are bad calls, and sometimes you need to get after an official, but the frequency of his tantrums and the way he takes after them is embarrassing.  I have lived out of state for the last 10 years (in Illinois and Michigan), and I have to listen to a lot of non-Nebraska fans talk about how horribly Coach Pelini behaves himself.  I'm proud of being born and raised in Nebraska, and I'm proud of being an UNL alum.  I want to be able to remain proud of that fact, without having to worry about how a football coach carries himself on the sidelines of the game.

The other issue is on the field performance.  The second half meltdowns that seem to occur 3 or 4 times a season (usually while Coach is throwing a fit about a perceived injustice), is another thing that is embarrassing.  His team's composure in the face of adversity is almost non-existent, and I believe it is a direct result of Coach Pelini's lack of composure on the sidelines.  Athletes look to their coach for direction, and when they see him screaming at officials, blaming others for their own problems...  it just perpetuates itself.  The drive yesterday with 4 penalties in 6 plays was eerily reminiscent of a drive at Virginia Tech in 2009.  The dropped passes, the false starts, Alfonzo Dennard throwing punches (another embarrassment)...  the team under coach Pelini has lacked focus and discipline, on the field, since day one.

The word leadership gets thrown around a lot in athletics.  But I think a good definition of a leader is someone who takes the blame when things go wrong and passes on the congratulations to others when they go well.  Rather than this, Coach Pelini says (quoting from a Lincoln Journal Star article) "Our guys didn't do what they were coached to do. Period. End of story."  And this dandy of a quote, as well: "Execute. You can't do it for them."  Basically the coach's philosophy is - it's not my fault, it's his.  Don't blame me, blame someone else.  Another exceptionally poor example set for his players.

I know Coach Pelini runs a clean program off the field and the players do well academically.  This is a great thing, and it engenders a lot of support from me, as I believe strongly in the importance of academics.  However, this quickly gets erased when I see Coach berating an official every 5 minutes on TV.  They don't talk about the academics on television, they talk about how angry Coach is with the officials.  The good he does quickly gets lost with an angry tirade.

I started going to Nebraska games with my grandfather when I was 7 years old.  I've seen good and bad seasons, obviously mostly good.  But this season is one of the worst, simply because of the lack of progress from 2009 to now, the frustrating way the team seems to quit in the face of adversity, the way coach carries himself on and off the field, and the way his names keep coming up in rumors about other schools.

I think Coach Pelini and the entire football program would be well served if Coach Osborne had a talk with him about grace, humility, and sideline demeanor.  Until Bo reigns in his own meltdowns, I'm fairly certain we can expect more of the same from the team.

[OhioHusker43065]

I write this, not in the heat of emotion after another embarrassing loss on national TV, but after letting it settle for a day, to really think about where the Nebraska football program is after 4 years of Coach Pelini.  To be blunt, I expect a lot more from this football team, and I don't mean simply in terms of wins and losses (though I would be lying if I said I didn't expect more in that regard as well).

I expect more from the head coach.  Coach Pelini often seems combative with the media, antagonistic and unappreciative towards fans, and flat out obnoxious on the sidelines.  I've watched and listened to enough press conferences to know that when Coach is in a foul mood, heaven help the reporters trying to do their jobs.  I understand that dealing with the media may not always be fun (and I certainly wouldn't enjoy it), but it is part of his job (for which he gets paid a nice salary to do).  Additionally, I believe Coach's attitude towards fans is fairly reprehensible.  I've read the tweets and comments from players after a bad game where they say "coach says it is us against the world".  When 85,000 fans file into Memorial Stadium, and pay good money to cheer you on, it is not "us against the world".  I know the scrutiny at Nebraska can be intense, but that is what you sign on for as the coach of a major college football program.  If he thinks it would be better at Ohio State, LSU, or Penn State, he has another thing coming.

It is also embarrassing, as an alum of the University of Nebraska, to watch him represent our school on national TV, acting like a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum.  What makes this worse, is that it all occurs as his team is melting down on the field.  Instead of being a steadying hand at the helm of the ship, Coach Pelini is going berserk, screaming at the officials in front of the national TV cameras and his players.  I certainly understand that there are bad calls, and sometimes you need to get after an official, but the frequency of his tantrums and the way he takes after them is embarrassing.  I have lived out of state for the last 10 years (in Illinois and Michigan), and I have to listen to a lot of non-Nebraska fans talk about how horribly Coach Pelini behaves himself.  I'm proud of being born and raised in Nebraska, and I'm proud of being an UNL alum.  I want to be able to remain proud of that fact, without having to worry about how a football coach carries himself on the sidelines of the game.

The other issue is on the field performance.  The second half meltdowns that seem to occur 3 or 4 times a season (usually while Coach is throwing a fit about a perceived injustice), is another thing that is embarrassing.  His team's composure in the face of adversity is almost non-existent, and I believe it is a direct result of Coach Pelini's lack of composure on the sidelines.  Athletes look to their coach for direction, and when they see him screaming at officials, blaming others for their own problems...  it just perpetuates itself.  The drive yesterday with 4 penalties in 6 plays was eerily reminiscent of a drive at Virginia Tech in 2009.  The dropped passes, the false starts, Alfonzo Dennard throwing punches (another embarrassment)...  the team under coach Pelini has lacked focus and discipline, on the field, since day one.

The word leadership gets thrown around a lot in athletics.  But I think a good definition of a leader is someone who takes the blame when things go wrong and passes on the congratulations to others when they go well.  Rather than this, Coach Pelini says (quoting from a Lincoln Journal Star article) "Our guys didn't do what they were coached to do. Period. End of story."  And this dandy of a quote, as well: "Execute. You can't do it for them."  Basically the coach's philosophy is - it's not my fault, it's his.  Don't blame me, blame someone else.  Another exceptionally poor example set for his players.

I know Coach Pelini runs a clean program off the field and the players do well academically.  This is a great thing, and it engenders a lot of support from me, as I believe strongly in the importance of academics.  However, this quickly gets erased when I see Coach berating an official every 5 minutes on TV.  They don't talk about the academics on television, they talk about how angry Coach is with the officials.  The good he does quickly gets lost with an angry tirade.

I started going to Nebraska games with my grandfather when I was 7 years old.  I've seen good and bad seasons, obviously mostly good.  But this season is one of the worst, simply because of the lack of progress from 2009 to now, the frustrating way the team seems to quit in the face of adversity, the way coach carries himself on and off the field, and the way his names keep coming up in rumors about other schools.

I think Coach Pelini and the entire football program would be well served if Coach Osborne had a talk with him about grace, humility, and sideline demeanor.  Until Bo reigns in his own meltdowns, I'm fairly certain we can expect more of the same from the team.

Sadly, I believe your analysis is 1,000,000% dead on.  The question for me is can TO help Pelini through the issues you've raised, or is he set in his ways and what we see now is what we're going to get in the future?

[Bummerbry]

 

[OhioHusker43065]

Off topic completely, but I'm going to see the Huskers play OSU in basketball tonight.  Do they have game, or is this going to be a one sided affair?

[JR]

Feel free to disagree, that's what message boards are all about...

[skrzfan]

Off topic completely, but I'm going to see the Huskers play OSU in basketball tonight.  Do they have game, or is this going to be a one sided affair?

LOL it will be a bloodbath.  Osu is a final 4 team and nebraska will struggle to make the nit again...

[skrzfan]

Feel free to disagree, that's what message boards are all about...

Not this one anymore apparently. And you are spot on jr, good to see you posting again.

[LarstheRed]

I write this, not in the heat of emotion after another embarrassing loss on national TV, but after letting it settle for a day, to really think about where the Nebraska football program is after 4 years of Coach Pelini.  To be blunt, I expect a lot more from this football team, and I don't mean simply in terms of wins and losses (though I would be lying if I said I didn't expect more in that regard as well).

I expect more from the head coach.  Coach Pelini often seems combative with the media, antagonistic and unappreciative towards fans, and flat out obnoxious on the sidelines.  I've watched and listened to enough press conferences to know that when Coach is in a foul mood, heaven help the reporters trying to do their jobs.  I understand that dealing with the media may not always be fun (and I certainly wouldn't enjoy it), but it is part of his job (for which he gets paid a nice salary to do).  Additionally, I believe Coach's attitude towards fans is fairly reprehensible.  I've read the tweets and comments from players after a bad game where they say "coach says it is us against the world".  When 85,000 fans file into Memorial Stadium, and pay good money to cheer you on, it is not "us against the world".  I know the scrutiny at Nebraska can be intense, but that is what you sign on for as the coach of a major college football program.  If he thinks it would be better at Ohio State, LSU, or Penn State, he has another thing coming.

It is also embarrassing, as an alum of the University of Nebraska, to watch him represent our school on national TV, acting like a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum.  What makes this worse, is that it all occurs as his team is melting down on the field.  Instead of being a steadying hand at the helm of the ship, Coach Pelini is going berserk, screaming at the officials in front of the national TV cameras and his players.  I certainly understand that there are bad calls, and sometimes you need to get after an official, but the frequency of his tantrums and the way he takes after them is embarrassing.  I have lived out of state for the last 10 years (in Illinois and Michigan), and I have to listen to a lot of non-Nebraska fans talk about how horribly Coach Pelini behaves himself.  I'm proud of being born and raised in Nebraska, and I'm proud of being an UNL alum.  I want to be able to remain proud of that fact, without having to worry about how a football coach carries himself on the sidelines of the game.

The other issue is on the field performance.  The second half meltdowns that seem to occur 3 or 4 times a season (usually while Coach is throwing a fit about a perceived injustice), is another thing that is embarrassing.  His team's composure in the face of adversity is almost non-existent, and I believe it is a direct result of Coach Pelini's lack of composure on the sidelines.  Athletes look to their coach for direction, and when they see him screaming at officials, blaming others for their own problems...  it just perpetuates itself.  The drive yesterday with 4 penalties in 6 plays was eerily reminiscent of a drive at Virginia Tech in 2009.  The dropped passes, the false starts, Alfonzo Dennard throwing punches (another embarrassment)...  the team under coach Pelini has lacked focus and discipline, on the field, since day one.

The word leadership gets thrown around a lot in athletics.  But I think a good definition of a leader is someone who takes the blame when things go wrong and passes on the congratulations to others when they go well.  Rather than this, Coach Pelini says (quoting from a Lincoln Journal Star article) "Our guys didn't do what they were coached to do. Period. End of story."  And this dandy of a quote, as well: "Execute. You can't do it for them."  Basically the coach's philosophy is - it's not my fault, it's his.  Don't blame me, blame someone else.  Another exceptionally poor example set for his players.

I know Coach Pelini runs a clean program off the field and the players do well academically.  This is a great thing, and it engenders a lot of support from me, as I believe strongly in the importance of academics.  However, this quickly gets erased when I see Coach berating an official every 5 minutes on TV.  They don't talk about the academics on television, they talk about how angry Coach is with the officials.  The good he does quickly gets lost with an angry tirade.

I started going to Nebraska games with my grandfather when I was 7 years old.  I've seen good and bad seasons, obviously mostly good.  But this season is one of the worst, simply because of the lack of progress from 2009 to now, the frustrating way the team seems to quit in the face of adversity, the way coach carries himself on and off the field, and the way his names keep coming up in rumors about other schools.

I think Coach Pelini and the entire football program would be well served if Coach Osborne had a talk with him about grace, humility, and sideline demeanor.  Until Bo reigns in his own meltdowns, I'm fairly certain we can expect more of the same from the team.

Funny, we as a fan base love to play the 'TO Card' when ever we want to compare a coach. Tom was a freak of nature. The closest thing I can compare him to is Bud Grant at MN or maybe Tom Landry at Dallas, but even Landry would lose it occasionally. Nick Saban has had his share of meltdowns on the sidelines, just as Brian Kelly has and about every other coach around. The slight difference being, ESPN doesn't find enormous humor in sticking cameras right in their faces and broadcasting their every tirade. Could Bo cool it down a bit? Sure, but so could most coaches. Does it distract from the players focusing on the play? I don't know, I had coaches who would get on a rant or T'd up and I don't think we really paid attention. Maybe football is different.

I would like to offer up another point to consider in all of this; has a team ever had to deal with as much BS as this one has, purely from a political standpoint the last 3 years? First we have the ongoing Big 12 nightmare, capped off by the Conference Championship game debacle against Texas. Then, even though we know it's coming, we get the season long kick in the balls on the way out the door last season, all while Beebe is giggling weekly at our misfortune. Now we get the 'Big 10 Greeting', with a brutal schedule and some perceived 'home cookin' as the season wore on. This isn't just big time football stress. The last 3 years have been way above and beyond the norm, in ways we don't always react well. Preparing for an entirely new conference all while breaking in a new OC plus 3 position coaches, recruiting to a different style of ball and against teams in a different geographical area. High expectations, high drama. This wasn't just coaching a football team, this was writing and directing the last episode of the last season of 24! So many moving parts, so many pieces. We also don't really know what it was like dealing with the staff changes, or dramas that went on behind the scenes with Carl.

This isn't the normal season, or one that I would use as a measuring stick in evaluating the longterm viability of a coach. This was a circus, and I'm just glad we got out of it with only a few bumps and bruises, all of which will heal by spring. On to recruiting and filling some needs. I want to impress those young men we are trying to get to be a part of this program with a strong fanbase that supports a coach who is focused on creating a strong team in a fantastic environment.  

[Jarhead Husker]

A lot of valid points, JR. I am hoping, like you said, that TO has a visit with Bo about his behavior. I know Bo can correct it if he wants to.  I agree completely with your point about Bo losing his composure. It is not a good example for the kids. He can be firey without coming unglued. And, would someone please tell me if his tirades have ever fired his team up or caused them to rally? If it has I don't remember it. I do remember that the team has had a meltdown concurrently with Bo several times. I want Bo to succeed. Badly. But I want him to do it the right way without embarrassing himself and NU.

[HuskerVotary]

I think you each make very valid points, JR and Lars.  The past three seasons have been really unusual.  That's not an excuse, just the fact of the matter.  That said, I don't think there's a poster on the board who wouldn't like to see some notable changes in specific aspects of the program and the team.  

I still trust both our coach and our AD to address those issues, and believe we'll see progress going forward.  Maybe not on every front, or to the degree everyone would wish, but it'll be there.  IMHO, of course.    

[HuskerFan2002]

Good piece, JR. You're definitely not the only one feeling this way 24 hours later. I like Bo, but it's time to end the "Bo's a young head coach and he's learning." He completed his 4th year as head coach. I think he should know by now what it takes to be a coach. He's not really a rookie coach anymore.

Off topic completely, but I'm going to see the Huskers play OSU in basketball tonight.  Do they have game, or is this going to be a one sided affair?

It's not going to be pretty. Do they sell beer at the game? If so, drink up.

[OhioHusker43065]

Good piece, JR. You're definitely not the only one feeling this way 24 hours later. I like Bo, but it's time to end the "Bo's a young head coach and he's learning." He completed his 4th year as head coach. I think he should know by now what it takes to be a coach. He's not really a rookie coach anymore.

Off topic completely, but I'm going to see the Huskers play OSU in basketball tonight.  Do they have game, or is this going to be a one sided affair?

It's not going to be pretty. Do they sell beer at the game? If so, drink up.

In the stands they do not but I have the luck to be sitting in a luxury box tonight and there will be drinking going on. 

[Roscoe Pound]

Feel free to disagree, that's what message boards are all about...

Not this one anymore apparently. And you are spot on jr, good to see you posting again.

I think the issue that people continue to struggle with here is form over substance . The "opinion of a message board" is used as a shield for excusing poor, rude, boorish form.   It ends up in reality being less about hashing the program, but rather a surfacing of individual personality flaws. There seems to be a lack of comprehension in reading posts and appropriate filters to manage impulse. It creates problems here locally and has nothing to to with the NU football program.  

[JR]

Funny, we as a fan base love to play the 'TO Card' when ever we want to compare a coach. Tom was a freak of nature. The closest thing I can compare him to is Bud Grant at MN or maybe Tom Landry at Dallas, but even Landry would lose it occasionally. Nick Saban has had his share of meltdowns on the sidelines, just as Brian Kelly has and about every other coach around. The slight difference being, ESPN doesn't find enormous humor in sticking cameras right in their faces and broadcasting their every tirade. Could Bo cool it down a bit? Sure, but so could most coaches. Does it distract from the players focusing on the play? I don't know, I had coaches who would get on a rant or T'd up and I don't think we really paid attention. Maybe football is different.

I would like to offer up another point to consider in all of this; has a team ever had to deal with as much BS as this one has, purely from a political standpoint the last 3 years? First we have the ongoing Big 12 nightmare, capped off by the Conference Championship game debacle against Texas. Then, even though we know it's coming, we get the season long kick in the balls on the way out the door last season, all while Beebe is giggling weekly at our misfortune. Now we get the 'Big 10 Greeting', with a brutal schedule and some perceived 'home cookin' as the season wore on. This isn't just big time football stress. The last 3 years have been way above and beyond the norm, in ways we don't always react well. Preparing for an entirely new conference all while breaking in a new OC plus 3 position coaches, recruiting to a different style of ball and against teams in a different geographical area. High expectations, high drama. This wasn't just coaching a football team, this was writing and directing the last episode of the last season of 24! So many moving parts, so many pieces. We also don't really know what it was like dealing with the staff changes, or dramas that went on behind the scenes with Carl.

This isn't the normal season, or one that I would use as a measuring stick in evaluating the longterm viability of a coach. This was a circus, and I'm just glad we got out of it with only a few bumps and bruises, all of which will heal by spring. On to recruiting and filling some needs. I want to impress those young men we are trying to get to be a part of this program with a strong fanbase that supports a coach who is focused on creating a strong team in a fantastic environment.  

Lars, I certainly didn't intend to come off as playing the TO card.... if I did that is my mistake.  I certainly don't believe that a coach has to be as stoic as Coach Osborne was, sometimes that was maddening as well.  What I mean was, Coach Osborne is the Athletic Director and someone with ample coaching experience at Nebraska.  I think it would be good for the two to talk about Bo's sideline demeanor from both a "mentor/student" perspective, and a "employer/employee" perspective. 

Secondly, yes, the last two years have indeed been abnormal.  However, I don't think that this had anything to do with yesterday's meltdown, or really the ones at Michigan and Wisconsin, either.  We got our share of lousy calls this year, but I don't believe it was any more than any other team.

[Nevada Husker]

I think you each make very valid points, JR and Lars.  The past three seasons have been really unusual.  That's not an excuse, just the fact of the matter.  That said, I don't think there's a poster on the board who wouldn't like to see some notable changes in specific aspects of the program and the team.  

I still trust both our coach and our AD to address those issues, and believe we'll see progress going forward.  Maybe not on every front, or to the degree everyone would wish, but it'll be there.  IMHO, of course.    

From what I've seen over the years is that the most effective coaches yell and argue with the refs in a very strategic manner.  They pick their spots and then move on.  The coaches that lose it completely (like Pelini) hold onto that grudge the entire game and can't seem to think straight from that point on.  It's an anger that is completely counterproductive and prevents them from coaching, motivating, and working on in-game strategy with the rest of their coaching staff.