ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, and SB Nation are all reporting tonight that Carl Pelini has agreed to become Flordia Atlantic's next head coach. The official announcement won't take place until Monday, as FAU will play Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday in Howard Schnellenberger's final game as head coach.
Among the other candidates for the FAU job was former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops, who apparently is being courted now by Ohio State to be the new defensive coordinator. That probably means that Stoops may not be a candidate to replace Carl at Nebraska.
So who will replace Carl Pelini at Nebraska? My instinct suggests that perhaps John Papuchis could be promoted up, or perhaps Mike Ekeler could return for the Nebraska coordinator position. Deep down, I would love to see Marvin Sanders back on the staff, but I think the issues that led to his departure last winter will prevent that.Pelini has quite a rebuilding project awaiting him in south Florida. Florida Atlantic is 1-10 on the season, and the Owls have been below .500 the previous two years. ESPN's Joe Schad reports that Florida Atlantic is looking for discipline, recruiting, and organization out of Pelini. He also reports that Tom Osborne recommended Pelini to Florida Atlantic.
And thus ends the era of "Carlfense" at Nebraska. No word as to whether Pelini will arrive in South Florida via helicopter...or if Schnellenberger will depart in the same fashion.