What if... Bo Pelini Was a Media Darling?

And maybe a little bit less easy for opposing fans to make fun of. I think he’d get more of the benefit of the doubt overall.

But in the grand scheme of things, I think it’s pretty minor compared with how well he actually coaches. Just win, don’t break the rules, and everything else will take care of itself.

Don’t need a media darling. I think Callahan tried that for a brief while and we all now how that turned out. I don’t care if Bo doesn’t talk about injuries. I didn’t care that he was virtually AWOL during the coaching search. Hell, I don’t even care if he locks out the media for a couple practices. That’s his right as the head coach.

All I care about is that he’s professional. Don’t pout and growl when things don’t go your way (numerous occasions) and don’t outright lie to the media (e.g. – Martinez skipping practice, NU coaches online application to name a few).

Osborne didn’t like the media either but he knew they had a job to do. Be professional, throw in a “no comment” here and there and we’ll get along just fine. Whether he likes it or not, dealing with the media is part of the gig.

I will now await the Bo defenders.

It would be nice to hear more from him and when he does talk less “coach-speak” …but think about some of the great coaches out there right now. Bill Belichick. Nick Saban. Mike Tomlin. I wouldn’t really consider any of them “media darlings” But the thing is- they get the job done. Their priority is winning first, because they know that at the end of the season fans aren’t going to like you if you can smooth talk at the podium, they’ll like you if you’ve won a lot of games.

What if… Bo Pelini was a media darling?

I read that and literally laughed out loud. Trying to imagine that is like trying to imagine Kirk Ferentz getting a Twitter account… It is beyond comprehension.

http://twitter.com/wahooslim/statuses/45871936076644354

He’d own the state, have top ten recruiting classes annually and be mentioned for every high profile job. Not rocket science.

Pelini talked to Mitch Sherman (then still with the World-Herald) a couple of hours after the Taylor Martinez rumors broke, and discredited the story.

While I agree that it would be nice if Bo talked to the media a little more often, I rarely have an issue with what he says when he does talk. Pelini takes a little too much criticism at times for his media protocol. He needs to talk more often, true. But some people want him to talk constantly, which not only isn’t appropriate, but isn’t going to happen either with Bo. Bo is who he is, and nobody is changing that. At best, he’s going to evolve.

Between being taciturn and belligerently unexpressive. I would appreciate Bo as the head coach of a leading football program that was a little more aware of how his self indulgent silence reflects on the program.

Also, his coach speak is so thin it seems contemptuous – by now any of us can script his interviews. He doesn’t deem anyone worthy of the courtesy of a real answer to the extent that it’s really not worth listening to them anymore.

This is nit picking in the face of the good work Bo has done and I expect him to continue to do for the program, though.