Posted on 11/30/2014 8:47:34 AM PST by FlJoePa
The Bo Pelini chapter at Nebraska has come to its last page. The Husker head coach of seven years was fired on Sunday morning in a scenario reminding of 11 years ago, when Frank Solich was let go after a 9-3 season.
“Earlier this morning, I informed Coach Bo Pelini of our decision to move forward in a new direction," Husker athletic director Shawn Eichorst said in a statement. "Coach Pelini served our University admirably for seven years and led our football program’s transition to the Big Ten Conference. We wish Coach Pelini and his wonderful family all the best and thank him for his dedicated service to the University.”
A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m.
A member of Pelini's staff said an associate athletic director called assistants around 9 and informed them of a meeting at 11 a.m.
"It went bang-bang," the staff member said.
Efforts to reach Pelini were not immediately successful.
Players were clearly in shock by the announcement.
"Unreal. Bo believed in me and I 100% believed in him. Can't believe this..." tweeted sophomore wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp.
"Bo was the best coach I have ever had the pleasure to play under. Highest character, loyal, I could make a freakin list....." tweeted senior offensive guard Mike Moudy.
"Speechless..." tweeted former Husker Rex Burkhead.
Per Pelini's last contract, NU is on the hook to pay him $7.65 million, owing him $150,000 monthly for the next 51 months, though that total would lessen if he takes another job. All assistants coaches, and football strength coach James Dobson, were on contract until January 2016. They would be owed a total of just over $3.1 million combined. Including Dobson's salary, NU will owe its coaches more than $11 million total.
Pelini will exit the program with a 67-27 record, having won at least nine games every year, and 10 games three years, but without claiming a conference championship so craved by a hungry fan base.
While Pelini’s number of losses stacks up favorably to most of his peers, detractors would point to the way those games were lost, with Nebraska losing seven games in the last four years by at least 20 points, including a 59-24 meltdown at Wisconsin in November.
Pelini was 9-16 against ranked teams, with this year’s Wisconsin game joining a 2013 loss to UCLA (41-21), a 2012 loss to Ohio State (63-38), and 2011 losses to Wisconsin (48-17) and Michigan (45-17) as recent losses to Top 25 teams in which the game got out of hand. The 2012 Big Ten Championship Game still registers as damning as any game, when the Huskers were routed 70-31 by a 7-5 Badger team, denying NU a trip to the Rose Bowl.
That game was one of three conference championship game opportunities Nebraska had under Pelini, but the Huskers also fell short in Big 12 title games against Texas in 2009 (last-second 13-12 loss) and Oklahoma in 2010 (23-20 loss after NU raced to a 17-0 lead).
“I fully support Shawn’s decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program, and wish Bo and his family all of the best," UNL chancellor Harvey Perlman said. "I am confident that Shawn will find the best coach, teacher and fit for this University and for our football program.”
I watched your Huskers vs. PSU women’s volleyball last night. Good tuneup for the ncaa’s. PSU seems loaded and ready to go (haven’t lost a set in 13 matches). UNL seems down a bit.
I think I heard them say Missouri last night.
It was a joke. IU beat Mizzou @ Mizzou earlier in the year. One of those “head scratcher” games.
I've read that the Alabama football program pays for all the other sports at the University Of Alabama and still contributes $43 million to the University's 'cash-box.'
Some things that go on with college football coaches are real strange. I don't know all the details, but Iowa lost in OT to Nebraska the other day. Yet it's the guy whose team won in a big comeback who gets fired two days later and the guy who lost who, it seems, has a safe job.
Your guy Ferenz was considered about the best young head coach in the country not that long ago, so keep things in perspective. At least his teams are competitive and you're going to a bowl, which is lot more than you could say about Iowa for a long time back in the 60s and 70s.
I’ve read that the Alabama football program pays for all the other sports at the University Of Alabama and still contributes $43 million to the University’s ‘cash-box.’
The critical mistake Iowa made was elevating Forest Evashevski to AD where he second guessed every call these coaches made.
I remember WHO Radio's sports guy, Jim Zable had an evening radio show with Evy calling in from his home in Michigan after he retired. Evy criticized every play and drove the athletic department nuts. Finally, the administration threatened the station with being banned from covering the games if “Ask Evy” continued on the air. WHO Radio got the message and Evashevski finally shut up and retired.
Really STUPID move, Nebraska. Ugh. Not a Husker, but know my football, and this firing is just plain STUPID.
Bet Pelini ends up at U of M - and pumels Nebraska for a decade or two - or Florida.
RE: 10
Couldn’t agree more!
I was at the Iowa/Nebraska game Friday. Witnessed the usual Hawkeye choke job...
While listening to post-game call-in show on WHO, I have never heard Hawk fans so disgusted!!!
Rightly so......
And U of I is retaining Beckman? Srsly? Good news for the rest of the conference anyway.
LOL. Nice shot!
Crazy, isn’t it?
BTW a Buckeye here. Loving our Urban (Meyer) Renewal!
When the Big 10 grew to 14 teams, madness ensued...
The regular season ended at a good time for Franklin. Hack is getting killed. They can’t run the ball. Hopefully the X’s and O’s will catch up to the salesmanship and recruiting.
PSU still played tOSU w/ 46 scholarship athletes and (despite being spotted -10 points by the Referines) still took you the distance. I’ll bet the tOSU players say the PSU defense is the best they’ve played all year.
I’m ok with the future for now. But they need some depth. There are 7 O-Linemen (recruited as such) on campus right now.
Or Ole Miss against Indiana.
A jerk who told Husker fans to eff off. Also its not the wins and losses, its how we have won and how we have lost. I was a Bo backer until Wisconsin. There was no adjustments to stop Gordon. That was the sad reality, every year he would have a beat down, he would lose a game he shouldnt and simply were werent competitive when it mattered.
Wrong. We recognize that. Callahan showed you can get top classes at Nebraska. We have the money, the facilities,the history all we need is the right staff.
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