Fire Bill Callahan?

by Jon Johnston on Sep 16, 2007 6:12 PM CDT in Nebraska Husker Football

That was the argument I had with Mrs. Corn Nation this afternoon - had I jumped on the "Fire Bill Callahan" bandwagon? She was a little upset with my comments last night during the game and wanted to know if I'd changed my answer. The answer (and I had to think about it) was "No". I'm not ready to make that jump yet.

We're four years into the Callahan experiment and last night showed us that we're still not very close to getting back to the elite of college football. You have to wonder whether or not we'll ever get there with Callahan at the helm. After watching USC cut through our Blackshirts like melted butter, you have to wonder whether or not Kevin Cosgrove should be back for another season.

After watching last night's game, you have to ask yourself - are the guys we have playing defense that bad compared to the nation's elite?

Saying "No" to that question leads to you to the conclusion that the coaching must be bad if the athletes aren't. And if we're in the fourth year of this regime, then why aren't the athletes better? And if they are, why isn't the coaching better?

If Mrs Corn Nation asked "Should we fire Steve Pederson?" - well, that's a different question. Stevey P has done a decent job with the athletic department, really meaning that he hasn't torched it into the ground yet. Steve Pederson is average. He's a three. He hasn't done anything so bad it warrants getting rid of him (a "one) , while at the same time he hasn't done anything that makes you want to keep him either (a "five"). It's a nice place to be if you're Steve. He can stay there for a very long time - most average people working at public institutions get rewarded with very long careers. It's why government at all levels suck - because everyone is happy with average.

Mrs Corn Nation didn't ask that question. She's very focused and she's not stupid. "Fire Bill Callahan" doesn't have much meaning as long as Steve Pederson is at the helm. It may have been listed as an over-reaction, but I'm not going to back down from the comment that Steve needs to be gone before anything else happens.

It's no wonder that Bill Callahan's agent got his contract extended before USC came to town. Given what you know now, you wouldn't have extended his contract either, would you? That's what agents are for - dangling at the right time, and getting guys like Steve Pederson to bite: hook, line, and sucker.

It's no wonder that Steve Pederson's contract got extended the same way. These guys aren't dumb. Full of themselves maybe, but not dumb.

The unfortunate thing for Bill, Kevin, Steve, and even Harvey is that the scoreboard isn't so forgiving.

42-10, then 49-17, then we scored against reserves.

Bottom line - we sucked against the nation's best. If that's where we are now, how long will it take to make that score even?

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i don't think you can really get too down it

USC is on another planet.

by Freneau on Sep 16, 2007 8:11 PM CDT reply actions

well

we want to be on that planet.

and i think we were sold on the idea that we would be. and that's the problem.

Go Big Red!

by Jon Johnston on Sep 16, 2007 8:39 PM CDT up reply actions

The problem...

is that we are not any closer to that planet then we were 4,5,6 years ago. We keep hearing that this staff is bringing in 4-5 star players who should make a difference and they aren't. Five loses is five loses no matter if the players on the field have one star or 5 stars behind their names. If we are bringing in such great players then the ONLY reason we are not any closer has to be coaching and that is the bandwagon I am on. I think we have good players and we are not 45 points behind USC but when you let a team run the same play over and over and over and it gets HUGE gains and you make no adjustment to stop it then it is COACHING. And when you run the same play over and over and dont change when the defense starts to stop it then it is COACHING. Calling that pass that got intercepted and returned for a td when the d had been all over it the previous 4 times was dumb. When the d adjust and starts to stop a play its time to call something different. That is COACHING. But then I guess we wouldn't know about making adjustments to stop a play because we dont do it.

by taflorom on Sep 17, 2007 7:43 AM CDT reply actions

the expectations game

I'm gonna go ahead and re-post something I already said over at Husker Mike's.

The worst thing Steve Pederson ever did was tell us our expectations were reasonable.

I often wonder if we had been given some non-football explanation for Frank Solich's firing (like he's a drunk or he impregnated a cheerleader or something) whether Nebraska fans would be more patient with the new regime. It seems to me Steve P's big mistake wasn't in firing Frank but while doing so saying our standards weren't being met. I had no problem with Frank Solich winning 9 games. I'll have no problem with BC winning 9 games this year, should that happen. The big error Steve made was reinforcing the view shared by some fans that 9 wins and conference championships aren't enough. Some fans want it to be 1995 every year. Steve made the error of telling them that this was possible if they would just give the new coach time.

It's not gonna happen. Not this year. Not next year. Not with Bill Callahan as coach. Not with his successor. Probably never in my lifetime nor in my children's lifetimes will that level of football be played at Nebraska (or possibly anywhere). Osborne's last four teams (1994-97) were the most successful in the history of college football. As great as the current USC dynasty is, they are still, according to the numbers, inferior to Dr. Tom's last class. Setting that level of performance as the standard by which to judge is to guarantee failure. No one is now and no one may ever again achieve that level of greatness. Failing to realize this is the fundamental flaw in how Steve and many Nebraska fans think.

Tom Osborne was one of the greatest coaches in college football history long before the 1994 season. He built his Hall of Fame resume by never winning fewer than nine games and always having his teams in the conference title hunt. As long as BC continues on that trajectory, he should be allowed to continue as Nebraska's coach, no matter what standard his boss claims to have established.

Can you hear this, Denver, or shall I turn it up for you?

by Ignignokt on Sep 17, 2007 8:31 PM CDT reply actions

National Champs!

The real issue now is what the team is going to yell in their group hug at the end of practice. Up until Sat. night it was,"national champs." But hey, that could still work, just insert, "women's volletball," in between.

'za blang thang

by Ze Robertinho on Sep 18, 2007 12:14 PM CDT reply actions