Big 10 Countdown 40: Colorado Head Coach Tom Osborne?

by Andy Ketterson on May 22, 2011 3:34 AM CDT in Nebraska Husker Football

It almost happened.

Despite a 55-15-2 record in his first six years as head coach, there was more than a little grumbling from a fan base that was impatient for another national title since it had already been a whopping seven years since the second of Devaney's back-to-back championships.

It was 1978 and the now 40-year-old Osborne was growing weary of fans unsatisfied with 9 win seasons and a support system for the program that he thought didn't match up to that of the Sooners. Then the Buffaloes came calling and a discreet visit to Boulder yielded a job offer and a potential change for the better.

The Colorado offer presented advantages for Osborne on several levels. The salary and term were reportedly a substantial increase on his Nebraska deal. The many scenic streams in and around Boulder were very enticing to Osborne the fisherman. And perhaps most importantly, football in Boulder was more low key and not nearly the religious movement that the game had become in Lincoln.

Osborne admitted that he came very close to taking the job.

In the end, the decision to stay hinged on several factors. As would become apparent in the ensuing years, Osborne was not a man who made decisions based on money. He also realized that if he did establish sustained success in Boulder, their fans expectations would rise accordingly and the pressure to win would quickly become similar to that in Lincoln. As for the fishing, he figured if it was that great, he'd probably do too much of it and his job performance would slip accordingly.

Probably the greatest reason though was that he couldn't picture himself being able to tell kids he recruited that he would be coaching against them. He had been at NU for 16 years and didn't feel he could turn his back on all the time and energy he had invested in Lincoln.

In my Big Ten Countdown 69 piece, I pointed out that there are seminal moments in dynasties that can make or break them. Sometimes, these moments are the ones that never happen,

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I had never heard this before

interesting stuff

Granted, in 1978, Colorado was in the middle of the 26 season spell of total mediocrity that lasted from 1962 to 1987, and Nebraska was only 7 years removed from one of college football’s all-time great teams, and almost certainly the greatest to date at that time. That probably had something to do with it too.

is there anyway i can redeem myself, i was not sure if i should say "we" at that moment
by Skins4ever on Feb 2, 2010 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

by ckmneon on May 22, 2011 6:15 AM CDT reply actions

Actually..

while Colorado wasn’t at the NU/OU level, they actually were a fairly successful program for much of the 70’s. They had winning records 6 of the 8 seasons thru 1978 (finishing 5-6 in 73 & 74) and finished the season ranked 4 times, twice in the top 10. They were 7-3-1 in 77 & 6-5 in 78, but were ranked for a portion of both seasons. Their interest in Osborne was probably piqued by a 1-5 finish in the latter.

What probably did have something else to do with it was a bare cupcoard talent-wise that TO might have spotted. The Buffs would win only 14 games over the next 6 seasons.

by Andy Ketterson on May 22, 2011 1:39 PM CDT reply actions

Impossible

It’s impossible to imagine Colorado’s fan base mixing with TO’s personality. They probably would have ended up slashing his tires, throwing bottles of piss at him or beating up his grandparents. CU and class mix about like a turd in a punchbowl.

by Chad Pfitzer on May 23, 2011 1:39 PM CDT reply actions

My grandfather was one of the grumblers

And would have been glad to see TO go all through the 70s and 80s. Thankfully, he was in the minority. Until the mid-90s championships every time someone praised Osborne grandpa felt the need to point out he was “no Bob Devaney”. When Solich took over I always liked to tease grandpa any time Solich was mentioned by announcing he was no Tom Osborne, who in turn was no Bob Devaney.

by SeanH on May 23, 2011 8:21 PM CDT reply actions

Reminds me...

…of a story I read about Jim Valvano. When he came to NC State, he replaced Norm Sloan who had gone 27-0 one year while on probation & won the national title the next taking down Maryland & UCLA powerhouses in the process. However, when he pointed out Sloan’s accomplishments to others in N. Carolina, they would just shake their head and talk about that was all well & good, but, my goodness, what a great job Dean Smith was doing the kids in Chapel Hill. (Smith wouldn’t win his 1st title for seevral more years)

Valvano said he started to have doubts about having taken a job where he was expected to improve on undefeated seasons & national titles.

by Andy Ketterson on May 24, 2011 1:05 PM CDT up reply actions