Head Coach for Nebraska.
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by Stull85
I am a diehard Nebraska fan always have been since I lived there for seven years of my life.It has been a depressing couple of years and I really thought that this was going to be the year that we contend for a BCS championship.The best news this entire season as a Nebraska fan was when Dr. Tom Osborne was hired as the interm athletic director.Ever since then there has been the constant talk about if Callahan will continue as the head coach.I will admit when they first hired him after Bo Pellini was fired I was excited thinking that maybe this will continue a new championship tradition.Since the hiring of Osborne I have been searching the web looking for what might be the feeling in Lincoln and what might happen out there.Today I found an article by John Bishop a radio host for "Lincoln's full-time news and talk station" KLIN news talk 1400 am.The following is what he feels are the odds of the future head coach position.Take a look.....
Frank Solich: 100-1 Why even mention him? In fairness, you have to. In the eyes of some, he was wrongly fired in 2003. One of those who thought that way was the guy who is making the ultimate decision. With that said, Nebraska may end up going old school, but not that old school. Frank will be back in Memorial Stadium one day, but for an appreciation day, not as head coach.
Will Muschamp (Auburn DC): 90-1 He's young, talented, fiery and will be a head coach someday. But not at Nebraska. If Tom Osborne is going to hire a defensive coordinator, he will look somewhere else in the SEC and probably find someone who is familiar with a Runza.
Brian Kelly (Cincinnati): 75-1 Yes, he's a head coach, that helps. He runs a spread option. That helps, too. He has built a national champion at D-II Grand Valley State and led Central Michigan to the MAC title. He even was press secretary for the Gary Hart presidential campaign. What does all of that mean? Nice resume. Not Nebraska material.
Jim Grobe (Wake Forest): 60-1 He's led Wake to the ACC title last season. His assistants are exceedingly loyal to him. But he's 55 years old and just signed a 10 year extension. That and his only connection to the Cornhusker state is that he has played their football team twice in the last three years.
Jim Leavitt (South Florida): 50-1 A coach who has built a formidable program from scratch, but having access to players from the nation's second or third best recruiting ground sure makes it easier. Those Florida connections will be very attractive to any suitor wanting Leavitt's services. But if you are Leavitt, would you leave? The Bulls have a chance to be the next Florida, Florida State and Miami. All three of those programs rose from obscurity to become national powers. With all the players in Florida, there's no reason why South Florida can't join that group and why Leavitt would want to leave.
Joe Glenn: 50-1 The historic irony is there. Go back to Wyoming to find the next savior of Husker football. But Glenn also is a Lincoln guy and even though he is not a Husker, he appreciates the hard work ethic that Osborne is looking for. Glenn's Nebraska's ties make him a candidate, but that's about the only thing that makes him a candidate. He has had success in Laramie, two bowl appearances, a top half finish in the Mountain West. But this isn't the time for Joe Glenn to return home.
Gary Patterson (TCU): 50-1 Dennis Franchione put TCU on the modern day map. Patterson has kept it there. He's been in five bowls in the past six years and knows how to beat Big 12 teams (he's done it five of six times). This season, the Frogs are a disappointing 4-3, which might hurt the old stock. Oh, and there's another thing that hurts Patterson's chances to be Nebraska's next football coach. He doesn't have Husker blood. See a pattern developing here?
Bill Callahan: 40-1 I only include the current head coach because as long as he is employed, he has a chance. But it's Callahan's insistence on doing things "an NFL way" and not a "Nebraska way" that will be his undoing. Lack of physical practices. Reduction in walkons. Lack of developing players. Callahan has tried it at the college level. He's just not wired for it in my opinion. He likes the pro game and he'll likely return to the pro game where he can deal with football and football only. No more worries about riding herd on college kids or players cutting class. If one guy doesn't cut it, you can always go to the practice squad or the waiver wire.
Greg Schiano (Rutgers): 35-1 Probably the most attractive of the current major college head coaches that are being linked to this job. He did the impossible, made Rutgers football relevant. Though this season has been a disappointment, Schiano is still a rising star and just 41 years old. He knows how to generate interest in a program. He got New Jersey interested in the Scarlet Knights. Imagine what he could do if all he needed to do was coach and not market? But last year, Schiano turned down the Miami job. He likes the east coast and there is an aging coaching icon at another northeast school that is going to retire eventually. I like Schiano's odds of outliving Joe Paterno more than his odds of uprooting and moving west.
Paul Johnson (Navy): 25-1 This is the obligatory "he's-had-success-at-a-place-that-it's-difficult-to-have-success- therefore-he-is-a-candidate" candidate. Johnson's record at Navy is impressive. He's won nearly 70% of his games at a school that was 1-20 in the previous two years and he does two things Tom Osborne likes. He runs the ball and he graduates players. Then again, don't you have to answer to a much higher power if you don't graduate men from the Naval Academy? The weaknesses here are two fold. Recruiting -- where you really aren't competing with the big dogs like you will at Nebraska. In many cases, you play with what you got. That one can be overcome. But the second reason Johnson is a long shot is…..he's not a Nebraska guy.
Bo Pelini: 5-1 The people's choice. Of our first four days of entries into our KLIN.com contest, over 65% of the respondents want to bring back the popular defensive coordinator. No one else is even close. I think he would be an excellent choice. If there is one thing you will get from a Pelini coached team it's intensity. There will not be a shortage of effort and passion from the players. If you believe the message boards, Pelini has already been to Lincoln three times in the last two weeks interviewing and planning to move back here. There are those who feel Pelini's personality and Osborne's will not work together. I don't think that's the case. Osborne wants a tough team. He'll get that with Pelini. Also, do you want to have to face him if he's not yours? Eventually this guy is going to get his own team and you don't want it to be in the Big 12. But here is why I think Pelini is not the favorite. He's not…..
Turner Gill: 1-1 I think one of the things that upset Osborne the most over the firing of Solich was that it ruined his line of succession. I firmly believe Gill was being groomed as the next head coach of the Huskers after Frank hung up the whistle. Gill has everything Osborne wants as a Nebraska head coach, an intimate knowledge, understanding and belief of the "Nebraska way." He's a former player under Osborne, a former coach under Osborne and he's a strong man of faith. Under Gill, you know he will bring in other former Huskers to help with the rebuilding process. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvin Sanders returns along with Ron Brown as well as other former Huskers who are starting their coaching careers. Guys like Scott Frost, Mike Minter, Tom Rathman. Though he is not Pelini, the hiring of Gill will be strongly supported in the Cornhusker state, even by strong Pelini supporters. Gill is one of us and a beloved figure in Nebraska football. What other assistant coach gets special report treatment when he leaves a school? Gill did. And don't underestimate the impact of hiring an African-American head coach and possibly three or four assistants of color. That will score huge points in recruiting and put Nebraska at the forefront of hiring minorities in major college coaching.
Remember, these are only predictions. I have been wrong many times. But the discussion is already underway. These are my two cents.
I personally am pulling for Bo Pellini bring back that Blackshirt Defense and some respect from the rest of the Nation.
-Stull85
