Bo’s A Perfect Fit

On Sunday December 3, 2007 Tom Osborne and the Nebraska Cornhuskers announced Bo Pelini as the new head coach of their football team; the same day it was announced that the LSU Tigers would be playing in the BCS Championship game. Pelini, who is the defensive coordinator at LSU, is the best man for the job at Nebraska and I couldn’t agree more with Tom Osborne and his choice. The Blackshirts, who were once known as having a stingy defense, had lost their character in recent years under previous head coach Bill Callahan and the program took a turn for the worst this 2007 season when the Huskers had some of their worst games and losses in school history. The Nebraska Cornhuskers were one the dominant college football teams throughout the 90’s under Tom Osborne and also had a dominant defensive team under Frank Solich, with Pelini as the defensive coordinator. Many Nebraskans had hoped that when Solich was fired in 2003 that Pelini would get the head coaching job, instead they got Callahan and the rest is history.
After watching the press conference this past Sunday, it really made me feel good about the Husker football program and I’m not even a fan. Like Pelini said, “One of the unique aspects of this job…is everything it means to the state.” I don’t think Callahan had this same state of mind when coming to the program, and as a result, it brought the Huskers down. Pelini is totally defense minded and with that, he coached the LSU Tigers to three straight years of being ranked in the top 3 in overall defense in the nation and when he coached her at Nebraska, he had the defense lead the nation in turnovers and pass efficiency and second in takeaways and scoring defense, very impressive. On top of that, which really makes me a fan of Pelini, is that fact that he used to coach in the NFL along side Pete Carroll and under George Seifert with the San Francisco 49ers back in the 90’s when the 49ers were one of the NFL’s most dominant teams. I am a huge USC and 49er fan and knowing that Pelini has ties to these teams and coaches really makes me a fan and a believer that Bo Pelini will turn the Husker’s back in to one of College Football’s most dominant programs. Pelini being the coach and Osborne being the Athletic Director is going to have a great positive spiral affect. More players around the nation again are going to want to come to Nebraska to play football and hearing past players under Pelini, players want to win for their coach. Pelini is known for inspiring his players and Osborne took that into account when he hired him. You can tell that the Huskers had lost their desire to win this year after they played USC and that all attributes to the coaches. The coaches can’t let their season go just after one game, because it’s now how you start, but how you finish. Nebraska could have ended the season on a high note if the coaches knew how to inspire their players, but obviously they didn’t. Pelini has that x-factor that players need from a coach to succeed and I believe that the Nebraska Huskers will completely turn around their football program in 2008 and will have a winning record and strong defense. I am happy for Husker fans and players because Tom Osborne made the best choice with who should “restore the order” here in Nebraska by hiring Bo Pelini, but what else would you expect from Tom? Only the best right? ---CJ Prutch