Nebraska fired Pelini?

[UCFBfan]

I know it's all about the fame and money but I just don't get why some guys make these moves. He could have stayed at OSU, P5 conference, out of the spotlight, and enjoyed his coaching career. Now he jumps into what seems like an impossible job to coach. You gotta follow a coach who, while he's an @$$, won 9 games and got canned. Tough gig to take.

 

[Jax Husky]

That was shocking. It seems like their only criteria is that the new coach has to be a nice guy. He isn't young...runs a pro style offense and has had just okay success at OSU. Seems like a bit of a risk, but hopefully just getting a coach who isn't a complete tool will help the team focus.

What he's done at OSU is a lot more than "ok" They were the Rutgers of the West before him. Prior to Riley, they were 5-4 in 100+ years of football in Bowls. He is 6-2 in 12 years and has finished the season ranked 5 times.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

What he's done at OSU is a lot more than "ok" They were the Rutgers of the West before him. Prior to Riley, they were 5-4 in 100+ years of football in Bowls. He is 6-2 in 12 years and has finished the season ranked 5 times.

WHile that is true...he was also 5-7 this year and 7-6 last year.

 

[Dooley]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...65887/nebraska-hires-oregon-states-mike-riley

Judging by the comments, the fan reaction is less than positive.

 

[huskymedic]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...65887/nebraska-hires-oregon-states-mike-riley

Judging by the comments, the fan reaction is less than positive.

I didn't realize that some on the BY are also Nebraska fans...

 

[whaler11]

Anytime you can hire a 61 year old with a losing record in conference you have to do it.

 

[whaler11]

https://twitter.com/fauxpelini/status/540563879383031808

 

[huskysupporter]

A head scratcher. And I like Mike Riley.

 

[noeynox]

Mike Riley is a good coach. Is he better than nine wins a year? I think he only won nine games once. Heard a stat on the radio today. Since 1971, Oregon State has 11 winning seasons, and Mike Riley has 8 of them. When you factor in that Craig Ericson had at least one or two of those teams as well, it really speaks volumes to the futility of that program.

That said why fire a guy who wins nine games every year for a guy who won nine games once. I Nebraska and OSU are not equal but still.

 

[Dooley]

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd fire Pelini to hire Riley. I don't see Nebraska getting anywhere closer to a National Championship trading Pelini for Riley. I'm not saying Pelini would have delivered a NC, but he was fired, in part, because of Nebraska's (perhaps misguided) expectations that they should be competing at that level year after year. I understand there were some other things that have happened there with Pelini that rubbed some administrators the wrong way, but this coaching change seems odd.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Patiently waiting for Drew's perspective. It sounds like Nebraska fans are lukewarm on this change.

 

[Drew]

Interesting hire to say the least. Riley seems to have a personality that will fit with the culture of the state/fanbase/university much better than Pelini's did. He's commonly mentioned as one of the more "underrated" coaches in the country, someone who does less with more and is good at identifying "under the radar" talent. Seems like a good fit honestly and while it isn't the "Name" (i.e. Tressel, Frost, etc) that people might have been hoping for, he seems to be a really good fit culturally and might just be a good enough coach to bring the fan base and team back together.

I will say he needs to bring in Ed Oregeron in some capacity. He has expressed interest in working for Riley's staff in Lincoln and is one of the best recruiters if not the best in the country. With Riley's coaching ability and the resources of Nebraska this could end up being something pretty special.

 

[whaler11]

Interesting hire to say the least. Riley seems to have a personality that will fit with the culture of the state/fanbase/university much better than Pelini's did. He's commonly mentioned as one of the more "underrated" coaches in the country, someone who does less with more and is good at identifying "under the radar" talent. Seems like a good fit honestly and while it isn't the "Name" (i.e. Tressel, Frost, etc) that people might have been hoping for, he seems to be a really good fit culturally and might just be a good enough coach to bring the fan base and team back together.

I will say he needs to bring in Ed Oregeron in some capacity. He has expressed interest in working for Riley's staff in Lincoln and is one of the best recruiters if not the best in the country. With Riley's coaching ability and the resources of Nebraska this could end up being something pretty special.

In a perfect world there would be 127 Ed Orgerons and every team would have their own.

To your last line.. hahahahaha.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Interesting hire to say the least. Riley seems to have a personality that will fit with the culture of the state/fanbase/university much better than Pelini's did. He's commonly mentioned as one of the more "underrated" coaches in the country, someone who does less with more and is good at identifying "under the radar" talent. Seems like a good fit honestly and while it isn't the "Name" (i.e. Tressel, Frost, etc) that people might have been hoping for, he seems to be a really good fit culturally and might just be a good enough coach to bring the fan base and team back together.

I will say he needs to bring in Ed Oregeron in some capacity. He has expressed interest in working for Riley's staff in Lincoln and is one of the best recruiters if not the best in the country. With Riley's coaching ability and the resources of Nebraska this could end up being something pretty special.

It sounds like Riley's rep is similar to Edsall. It should be interesting to see if he can continue to do more with less when he has more than he had in the past.

Orgeron is an interesting idea...last I had heard he wanted another HC gig....but maybe being with a program like Nebraska can get him there.

 

[noeynox]

It sounds like Riley's rep is similar to Edsall. It should be interesting to see if he can continue to do more with less when he has more than he had in the past.

Orgeron is an interesting idea...last I had heard he wanted another HC gig....but maybe being with a program like Nebraska can get him there.

It does, and how much further has Edsall pushed Maryland vs where Fridge had them? That is the thing if you're going to fire a consistent winner, why replace him with a clone of the guy you just fired. Nebraska also replaced Solich with Pelini after the former had just won nine games as well.

 

[Drew]

Not just making the Orgeron stuff up, was first reported by Tom Lemming: https://twitter.com/LemmingReport/status/540620363903008768


The reason Pelini was fired had nothing to do with winning 9 games every year. It had to do with him not having an appropriate relationship with the Nebraska fan base and respecting the traditions that have been in place there. He wasn't a good cultural fit, and it showed towards the end of the 2013 season and the 2014 season. It was time for the two to part ways. I have a lot of respect for Bo. I think he's a great coach. But with the way things were going between him and the AD it would have ended a whole lot worse had we continued to keep him employed.


@whaler11 I'm curious as to why my last line is so funny? Everything that has been written about Riley is about how he has recruiting ties to California and Texas, and is known as one of the best player development (especially quarterbacks) guys in the country. Someone with those traits is EXACTLY what a place like Nebraska needs. If you want to talk about just how different the resources are from Lincoln to Corvallis, Riley used to take commercial flights at Oregon State, see here: http://journalstar.com/sports/huske...cle_6b5ca2f0-d76b-5d7c-a05e-820a1993317d.html


The man should be able to at least replicate what Pelini has done, only he will fit the mold of someone that Nebraskans can rally around as a head coach rather than be divided on. I believe pairing Riley with the right assistants who can recruit big name guys will lead to Nebraska winning Big Ten championships with the occasional national run.

 

[Bonehead]

Not just making the Orgeron stuff up, was first reported by Tom Lemming: https://twitter.com/LemmingReport/status/540620363903008768


The reason Pelini was fired had nothing to do with winning 9 games every year. It had to do with him not having an appropriate relationship with the Nebraska fan base and respecting the traditions that have been in place there. He wasn't a good cultural fit, and it showed towards the end of the 2013 season and the 2014 season. It was time for the two to part ways. I have a lot of respect for Bo. I think he's a great coach. But with the way things were going between him and the AD it would have ended a whole lot worse had we continued to keep him employed.


@whaler11 I'm curious as to why my last line is so funny? Everything that has been written about Riley is about how he has recruiting ties to California and Texas, and is known as one of the best player development (especially quarterbacks) guys in the country. Someone with those traits is EXACTLY what a place like Nebraska needs. If you want to talk about just how different the resources are from Lincoln to Corvallis, Riley used to take commercial flights at Oregon State, see here: http://journalstar.com/sports/huske...cle_6b5ca2f0-d76b-5d7c-a05e-820a1993317d.html


The man should be able to at least replicate what Pelini has done, only he will fit the mold of someone that Nebraskans can rally around as a head coach rather than be divided on. I believe pairing Riley with the right assistants who can recruit big name guys will lead to Nebraska winning Big Ten championships with the occasional national run.

ALOT of people said PP should be able to at least replicate what Edsall did and was a better recruiter - how did that turn out?
They also said the local fan base and CT HS FB coaches would rally behind him - they did, how did that turn out?

I dont see Riley having an occasional national run - I just dont. To me he is a great teacher but that doesnt always mean wins - I say he ends up doing no better than Pellini, record wise, after all said and done.

 

[HuskyHawk]

ALOT of people said PP should be able to at least replicate what Edsall did and was a better recruiter - how did that turn out?
They also said the local fan base and CT HS FB coaches would rally behind him - they did, how did that turn out?

I dont see Riley having an occasional national run - I just dont. To me he is a great teacher but that doesnt always mean wins - I say he ends up doing no better than Pellini, record wise, after all said and done.

The fans will be happier. I doubt that his overall record over time is better than Pelini's, but I do think he has a better chance to have Nebraska win that one big game against Wisconsin, Ohio State or Michigan State that allows them to win the B1G, maybe make a playoff. As someone who has been a Nebraska fan since the 70's, my complaint with Pelini is that you can count on his teams to always lose any critical big game they need to win.

 

[Northbound]

Bo had a couple of issues (a friend of mine was a black shirt when Bo was the DC or maybe Bo was his position coach, I can't remember).

1) Can't tell the fans to go Ef themselves and not win titles

2) Can't be perceived as never being able to win the important games and his record against quality teams was not good so in his case perception was reality

3) Nebraska and most nebraska fans know they aren't going back to the deveaney and Osborne eras, but they do expect to be competitive

4) Cant have games where the vaunted black shirt defense gets hammered by opponents and appears to just say the hell with it, let's just get on the bus.

Nebraska is in a lot better place because of Bo though, when Callahan was there it was a train wreck on the field and he alienated all football alumni by getting rid of a ton of traditions that no reinstated.