(ex-Raider)Callahan to be introduced today(Nebraska finally hires a coach)

espn ^ | 1/09/04 | John Clayton

[Diddle E. Squat]

Former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan accepted the head coaching position at Nebraska Thursday after a crazy week in which the Cornhuskers tried to hire Mike Zimmer, the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

Callahan will be introduced as Nebraska coach at an afternoon news conference.

Once he heard through his agent, Gary O'Hagan of IMG, that Zimmer pulled himself out of the running for the job, Callahan pushed for it. A former offensive line coach at Wisconsin, Callahan has always desired to be a head coach in college, and there had been some thought he would be considered at Notre Dame if the job there ever opened.

Callahan met the past two days with Nebraska officials and was offered the job Thursday afternoon. Terms of his agreement were not available.

Callahan became Oakland's coach after Jon Gruden left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. In his first year in charge, Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Bucs.

Despite severe cap problems, the Raiders kept the bulk of their roster together for a second run at the Super Bowl this season, but everything fell apart. Oakland finished 4-12 amid considerable locker room sniping about Callahan.

As a former offensive line coach, Callahan could bring an aggressive running offense to Nebraska along with the option of using forms of the West Coast offense.

At least three NFL teams were considering Callahan for offensive coordinator positions.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Didn't his players in Oakland despise him so much that several nearly came to blows with him?

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[Diddle E. Squat]

Maybe he was hired for his motivational skills?

Callahan calls Raiders 'dumbest team in America' after 22-8 loss

[Wright is right!]

Yes, they were disappointed. They thought he was Beau Bridges.

Michael

[Michael.SF.]

some thought he would be considered at Notre Dame if the job there ever opened.

That may happen if Willingham does not show some improvement soon.

[Therapist]

Callahan is not held in high regards by the Raiders' star players ie. Charles Woodson, Charlie Garner, Tim Brown etc.
He took the Raiders from first to worst. Any more questions?

[Paradox]

Callahan is not held in high regards by the Raiders' star players ie. Charles Woodson, Charlie Garner, Tim Brown etc. He took the Raiders from first to worst. Any more questions?

He might make a good college coach. That will remain to be seen. Personally, for a program as big as Nebraska's, I'd have gone for a "bigger name"..

[jmcclain19]

question remains, if Nebraska was such a big program, why couldn't they get any "bigger" names to go there.

I still can't believe they'd fire someone who just won 9 games.

[Belisaurius]

Trev Alberts is sporting a raging boner over this news.

[Therapist]

Bad times in Bugaha.

[Uncle Hal]

I agree. Callahan completely lost control of the Raiders this season. I find this to be a very strange hire. I will give him two years at most.

[cweese]

...trev alberts is a useless p.o.s....

[jmcclain19]

ESPN couldn't get a worse Big 12 Homer for its commentator.

I thought he was going to blow a gasket a few times after the LSU/Oklahoma game when Mark May suggested the Big 12 was weak.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Trev Alberts is sporting a raging boner over this news

Now there's an mental image I could have gone without...

[GLDNGUN]

I have 2 football "loves". My Washington Redskins and my Nebraska Cornhuskers. I felt like I had just won the lottery when Joe Gibbs returned to coach the 'Skins. As happy as I was at that news, I'm equally as depressed about the 'Huskers hiring Callahan. Callahan inherited a Super Bowl team from Jon Gruden and drove it into the ground. I live fairly close to the Bay area (unfortunately) and have heard several Raiders' players take on what happened with the team. Tim Brown is one of the classiest men in the league. He rarely has anything negative to say about anyone or anything. During the season he watched what he had to say very carefully; however, once the season was over, and even before Callahan was told by Al Davis not to come back next year, Brown went public on a sports radio talk show that I heard. Basically, here's what happened. Callahan wanted to jettison many veteran players and start rebuilding, but since the vets were willing to re-do contracts and do whatever it took to stay together for one more run the front office told Callahan "NO". Callahan then became embittered toward the front office and his veteran players, so he decided to "teach them all a lesson". He sabotaged the team by abandoning the offensive system that had made them the #1 ranked offense in the league the previous season. Instead of continuing with the quick, short passing game, he installed a completey new system which called for the receivers to run much longer routes and for the QB to hold the ball longer, waiting for the receivers to run their routes and get open. This was a disaster in the making for 2 reasons. With Tim Brown and Jerry Rice the Raiders have great possession receivers but NOT speed. They simply couldn't get open running longer routes against faster, quicker DBs. This made Rich Gannon have to hold the ball even longer, which made him susceptible to the pass rush. Gannon has his strengths, but he is NOT a scrambler. He is not elusive. He is a drop-back passer, and a sitting duck when he's in the pocket. This plan was simple suicide for Gannon. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did, before getting knocked out for the season against KC in a Monday Night loss. It was obvious that Callahan's offense wasn't working in the pre-season, as the team floundered badly, but Callahan refused to go back to what had worked so well the previous year. Call it pride, stupidity, spite, or maybe all of those and more but if the Raiders were "the dumbest team in America", they no doubt had the "dumbest coach in America". This is why Charles Woodson went public during the season and said that Callahan had an ego problem and wouldnt' listen to his veteran players. Now we know that Woodson was right on the money, and we knoow why Callahan wasn't listening to his veteran players. He despised them and didnt' want them there. He set them up for failure, and then belitted them in public and private for trying to implement his gameplans. The players said that Callahan has a very negative, sarcastic approach to coaching, but in the previous year had directed the negativity toward other teams, telling the Raiders how they should be able to beat their next opponent because they were fat, bad, or whatever. This year, he turned the negativity toward his own team, telling them they were fat, bad, dumb, etc. His public comments late in the season about being "the dumbest team in America" was only the tip of the iceberg compared to how he was berating his team in private. This is why Tim Brown said he was very concerned about one of the players taking a swing at Callahan.

Usually in these types of coach/player conflicts I tend to side with the coach, as some players are bad seeds who don't want to learn or be told what to do; however, in this case I have to fault the coach. I don't see Callahan's coaching style working in college in general and especially not in Nebraska. If they thought 9-3 was bad in 'Husker land, wait until they have a couple of years of Callahan. My only hope is that Tom Osbourne will come back to save the team, ala Joe Gibbs and the Redskins.

[Michael.SF.]

Any more questions?

Just one: What are you talking about?

You directed this at me, as if I was defending Callahan, I was making a comment on Willingham at Notre Dame and the possibility of Callahan accepting that position. Personally, if Callahan is as bad of a coach, as the last season with the Raiders indicates he might be, I would love to see him go to Notre Dame.

[Michael.SF.]

He might make a good college coach

The transition from College to Pro or vice versa is quandry, since success in one does not always lead to success in the other. Two cases in point:

Dennis Erikson in college vs. a mediocre season with the Niners. Pete Carol, not a stellar NFL head coach, but he takes USC to national Champions in three years.

There are numerous examples of other success/failures with no discernable pattern, or so it seems.

[Michael.SF.]

Callahan wanted to jettison many veteran players and start rebuilding

In the long run, I think this may have been a better plan to set the Raiders up for long term success. No team can stay on top forever (witness the 49'ers), so at some point a team must decide when to keep someone for one more try and when to get rid of them to rebuild. On this point, I agree with Callahan, time to rebuild.

However, having lost the argument to Al Davis, his approach was totally assinine and unprofessional. Actually, I am surprised he found a job so quickly. I figured he would have to take a step down and be a Off. or def. Co-ordinator someplace.

[Husker24]

I still can't believe they'd fire someone who just won 9 games.

From rumors what ive been hearing lately, that wasnt the reason he was fired.

[Therapist]

I didn't mean to direct this at you. Callahan has already lost three recruits. Not good in Bugaha.