Pelini Defends Solich Again

by Husker Mike on May 9, 2008 10:57 PM CDT in Nebraska Husker Football

Over the last four years, the "Should Frank Solich have been fired?" argument has been run into the ground so many times, that dead horse isn't even recognizable underneath all of the tire tracks. I'm guilty of it myself; I thought Solich shouldn't have been fired in 2003, and have defended Solich ever since.

But as time went on, it became clear that the debate was over regarding Solich. Not that firing him was right or wrong, but rather... nobody's opinion is changing. Instead, it was just an endless argument that never persuaded anybody to change their mind. It was divisive, something we simply had to simply drop since it wasn't going anywhere. Here's what I wrote just 54 weeks ago:

2003 is over... Solich, Bo Pelini, Barney Cotton, and Marvin Sanders are not coming back. Rehashing this old decision is like picking an old scab; it may feel good at the time but it's not allowing things to heel.

Well...guess what happened. 41-6, 38-0, 76-39. 5-7.

And suddenly, look who's back in town: Pelini, Cotton, and Sanders.

Still, why bring up Frank Solich again? He's at Ohio. Can't we move on, please?

I debated about raising this topic again; it's not like I'm going to change anybody's mind on this. So why do it?

Well... Mostly because Bo Pelini brought it up again. Not once, but twice. Once last week in Columbus, and again last night in Omaha.

I'm not trying to defend Solich here. But I am curious if people's thoughts about Frank Solich have really changed.

Today, KOZN (1620 AM) radio in Omaha interviewed Solich (podcast), and they talked about Ohio football. He likes where the Bobcats are going, and they talked a little bit about JuCo transfer quarterback Boo Jackson, who got a little national attention from ESPN for his 16-for-20 performance in the Bobcat spring game.

But then the topic turned towards Nebraska, and as Steve Sipple of the Journal-Star noted, Solich got a little emotional:

"It was extremely tough early on. I found it difficult to even look at the scores at the bottom (of the TV screen) when they'd come across. Then it got to the point where I could take some glimpses of a Nebraska game. And then I'd watch a quarter . . .
"Obviously my heart is there in a lot of ways. A big part of my life was spent there in the state of Nebraska."

Is it time to bring Solich back to be honored for his time at Nebraska? Would that be a good thing? Would that help heal the wounds with Husker fans...or does that just reopen an old tired debate? It could happen this season on October 25th against Baylor; the Bobcats play a couple of Tuesday games back to back. (Temple on the 21st, then Buffalo and Turner Gill on the 28th.)

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