Cornhusker Fans in here!

[DBroncos4life]

Originally Posted by Bronco LB 52

I hope Monte Kiffin gets it. He's the best guy for the job. He's the guy who can restore the legacy of the Blackshirts and knows what it means to be one. It seems like the only thing people can knock the guy on is his age, like he can control that.

whatever I stopped getting older after 21

[Kid A]

a lot of interesting names on that list. I think right now I would want someone with a defensive expertise. I can live with a crappy offense, at least for a little while. I don't think I can take another season of this sort of defense.

[Evenrude]

Originally Posted by Kid A

a lot of interesting names on that list. I think right now I would want someone with a defensive expertise. I can live with a crappy offense, at least for a little while. I don't think I can take another season of this sort of defense.

I agree.... I just don't know how TO will think. He is/was an offensive guy.

I like Monte Kiffin, I just don't know if he would want to take on that kind of responsibility at his age... we might as well have TO take over as coach.

[Kid A]

another name I heard on another board was Will Muschamp, DC for Auburn. Not sure if he is head coach material yet, but he has done a really impressive job there, and (this could be a pro or con) he is really ****ing crazy.





Probably not what TO is looking for, but hey, he would bring some much needed intensity.

[Master___Pain]

Originally Posted by Hawk's Boys

Nebraska has to be one of the Top 10 coaching jobs regardless what they are doing this year.....too much tradition to say otherwise.

You really think this a top 10 coaching gig? The last hiring process was a cluster**** and the corn got their 5th choice for HC. I think that NU is so unique and the fans expectations are so high that the pool of coaching willing to go to Lincoln is fairly small, hence the reason why I suspect it'll be a NU guy that gets the job. A Nu family guy knows about Lincoln and will know what to expect from the boosters, donors, fans and the AD. They went outside the corn family and look what that got them.

[Jens1893]

Originally Posted by Kid A

Probably not what TO is looking for, but hey, he would bring some much needed intensity.

Broncos thought that when they hired Bates.

[Kid A]

Get them while they last!

[ColoradoBuff]

Originally Posted by Master___Pain

You really think this a top 10 coaching gig? The last hiring process was a cluster**** and the corn got their 5th choice for HC. I think that NU is so unique and the fans expectations are so high that the pool of coaching willing to go to Lincoln is fairly small, hence the reason why I suspect it'll be a NU guy that gets the job. A Nu family guy knows about Lincoln and will know what to expect from the boosters, donors, fans and the AD. They went outside the corn family and look what that got them.

True....their expectations are high, but there has to be some coaches that are not gonna be scared off by the expections of coaching at KNU and say HE and his coaching staff are the staff that can get it done. If a coach can't think that...they are in the wrong business. Look at CU.....very attractive coaching job for many reasons....but there were some that wouldn't want it due to the turmoil, ie administration, etc. But Hawkins, the helluva coach he is, saw it as a challenge and knew that he and his staff could give us back our RTD!

[Kid A]

I thought this was good article from the Journal Star on the two names getting thrown around the most.


Speculation abounds that Gill or Pelini in line
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Nov 08, 2007 - 09:48:36 am CST

The season drags on, the speculation picks up.

As Husker coach Bill Callahan fights to end a five-game losing streak, conversations about Nebraska football continually include the names of two coaches many miles from Lincoln’s favorite soap opera.

Bo Pelini, 980 miles away in Baton Rouge, La.

Turner Gill, 1,040 miles away in Buffalo, N.Y.

Pelini: Defensive guru, keeper of many Husker hearts for the way players ran through walls for him in his one-year stop in Lincoln four seasons ago.

Gill: Husker hero, longtime NU assistant who was on the staff during the program’s glorious run to three championships in the mid-1990s.

When the topic shifts to who might be the next Nebraska coach, there are many names tossed about, but almost always these two.

Granted, this is conversation about a job that is not even open, not yet at least.

Though the season has turned overcast at 4-6 and seemingly has Callahan on the hot seat, he remains the coach until told otherwise. Tom Osborne, interim athletic director, has said he won’t make a decision about the coach until season’s end.

Of course, that nugget of information doesn’t stop the chatter. Bo and Turner. Turner and Bo.

So while waiting for the next rumor about Pelini being spotted at Duncan Aviation, here’s a closer look at the two guys Nebraska fans can’t stop talking about:

Five questions about Gill:

1) Why would Nebraska even think about hiring a guy coaching at the University of Buffalo?



Because it’s Turner Gill, that’s why. He’s part of the family, the guy you cried with on Jan. 2, 1984.

Here’s another reason. Timing is everything. Gill just happens to be doing a heckuva job coaching this season.

His work at Buffalo is being praised nationwide.

Talk about a fixer-upper. There weren’t many coaches who relished the situation Gill walked into when he took the Buffalo job in 2006.

The Bulls went 10-69 in their first seven seasons in major college football. They had won just five games in the four years before Gill arrived.

The 45-year-old Gill has almost matched that win total this year alone. His Buffalo team is 4-6 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference.

The four nonconference losses were to Penn State, Rutgers, Baylor and Syracuse.

“I talked about it last week, about being able to handle prosperity,” Gill recently told reporters. “I’m excited that this is happening. I was certain that it was going to happen. But we’ve still got some ways to go here.”

Gill is 6-16 as head coach of the Bulls. In most situations, that’d put a guy on the hot seat. In this one, people are stumbling over one another to praise the coach.

That Buffalo is not a joke in college football anymore is worthy of applause.

2) Who would be on Turner’s coaching staff?

Look at his current staff in Buffalo. You’d expect Gill would take some of those guys with him if he came back to Lincoln.

You see several names with Nebraska ties on the Bulls’ staff, most notably the Williams brothers.

Jimmy Williams, former Husker great, is Gill’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. His brother, Toby, who also played at Nebraska, coaches the defensive tackles.

Also on the staff is Aaron Stamm, a grad assistant at Nebraska from 2004-05. He coaches the tight ends and special teams.

Then there’s Brian Mohnsen, the defensive ends coach. He’s a former Husker who spent 12 years at Nebraska (1992-2003) as director of the video scouting department.

As for Gill, he started calling his own plays this season. The Bulls run a multiple offense that showcases a bit of everything: West Coast offense, option, I-formation.

As the Buffalo News described it: “Gill will use schemes that involve four wide receivers, one tailback and no tight end, then come back the next series with a fullback and two tight ends.

“Against Temple, the Bulls threw the Owls off-guard by opening in a four-wide set. ... Against Penn State, the Bulls ran a halfback option. ... Against Ohio it was power-I football.”

3) What’s he done lately?

Before Buffalo, Gill spent 2005 serving as player development director and an offensive assistant with the Green Bay Packers.

While some smirked when Gill took the job at Buffalo, a doormat since it joined the fraternity of major college football in 1999, the former Husker quarterback said he saw a major opportunity.

“In a worldly standpoint, people look at this as the worst job ever,” Gill recently told ESPN.com. “But I didn’t look at it that way. I had a purpose here. I’d been blessed to be at Nebraska, where they’d already established a program, but I was excited to have an opportunity to build one.”

This season, Buffalo beat Ohio, the team coached by Gill’s former boss, Frank Solich. The Bulls won that game 31-10, also claiming its first MAC wins against Toledo and Akron.

Gill says he’s focused on his job at Buffalo, despite the constant mention of his name with the Nebraska job.

If he were Nebraska’s guy, he’d get quite a pay hike.

According to the Buffalo News, Gill’s contract with the Bulls runs through 2011 at an annual salary of $180,000, plus bonuses. Bill Callahan makes $1.75 million a year.

4) What’d he do when he was at Nebraska and how would he be received by fans if hired?

He was a hero to Nebraskans as a player and highly respected as a coach.

His place in Husker lore is forever secured. Being the quarterback of an offense nicknamed “The Scoring Explosion” will do that to you. His record as a starter at Nebraska was 28-2.

He came back to his alma mater to be an assistant from 1992-2004, tutoring guys such as Tommie Frazier, Brook Berringer, Scott Frost and Eric Crouch.

In 2002, he was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in the country. He even stayed on in 2004 to coach the receivers for a season when Callahan arrived.

So, certainly, there’d be a buzz about Gill coming back to the Plains to try to save the day. He’d look good with a headset, no doubt. The guy still looks like he could turn the corner on the option and move the chains.

Sure, there might be some who would question the decision to hire a guy currently coaching at Buffalo. But you figure his name and saying a few right words at the opening press conference would make this an optimistic offseason in Nebraska.

5) Would he be ready to handle the attention and scrutiny that comes with being the head man at Nebraska?

No one could possibly have a better understanding of what they’d be getting into than Gill.

Some have characterized Callahan as being an outsider, a guy who didn’t understand the traditions of the program and just exactly how much football means to the state.

Gill would need no pamphlet to learn those things. He was right in the middle of the heartache in that 1984 Orange Bowl. He was there for the glory run in the mid-’90s, too.

He knows what the walk-on program means and would certainly have no problem getting along with Tom Osborne, who was a groomsman in Gill’s wedding.

Five questions about Pelini:

1) What’s kept him from getting a head coaching job?

Pelini’s been a hot name in college coaching since he captivated Nebraska fans in 2003.

He’s coached plenty of big games at Oklahoma, and now at Louisiana State, where as defensive coordinator, his team is in serious pursuit of a national championship.

His name pops up consistently as a potential candidate for head coaching positions, yet he’s remained a coordinator. Syracuse and Pittsburgh were among the schools that took close looks at Pelini, only to pass.

With Texas A&M also seemingly in the running for a new head coach, Kirk Bohls of the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman recently passed on this advice for the Aggies’ search: “LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini’s emotional, but doesn’t like recruiting and isn’t very media-friendly. Let Nebraska make that mistake.”

It’s true some have wondered if Pelini’s temperament is suitable for a head coach. They often cite the day Pelini raced across the field after a 38-9 Husker loss and unleashed a verbal barrage on former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.

Then there was the time Pelini was called for a 15-yard penalty for yelling at officials about a questionable call in the 2003 Alamo Bowl, in which he served as Nebraska’s interim head coach.

Of course, that fire seemed to only endear him more to Husker fans. They chanted his name as he left the field that night in San Antonio.

Wherever he’s gone, fans have loved him. Just look to Cajun country.

There have recently been rumors about LSU head coach Les Miles perhaps going to his alma mater, Michigan, if Lloyd Carr retires or is forced out at season’s end.

CBSsportsline.com’s Dennis Dodd asked famed political consultant James Carville, an LSU grad, what he thought of Miles potentially leaving.

Answered Carville: “If that’s what you want to do, we’ll have a nice banquet for you, say, ‘Thank you very much. Hello, Bo Pelini.’”

2) Who would be on Bo’s coaching staff?

It’s safe to say at least four coaches with Nebraska ties would be on board if Pelini returned to Lincoln.

It’s likely that Marvin Sanders, whom Pelini connected well with in 2003 when Sanders coached NU’s defensive backs, would be on the staff in some capacity.

It’s very possible Pelini would coach the defense, yet still name a defensive coordinator. As for his offense, he’s known to favor the spread option, something similar to what’s currently featured at West Virginia.

3) What’s he done lately?

Time to let the numbers talk. They speak well of Pelini. His LSU defensive unit currently ranks second in the country in total defense, fourth in rushing defense, sixth in passing defense and 10th in scoring defense.

“When I take the field, I feel like I’m out there with an army and he’s our leader,” LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey told Yahoo! Sports. “He’s always wired up, always intense. He’s not a big cusser or anything, but he knows how to get you fired up.”

After spending a season as co-defensive coordinator with Brent Venables at Oklahoma, Pelini is in his third year at LSU.

The Tigers ranked third nationally in total defense in 2005 and 11th in 2006.

Since coming to the college game in 2003, his teams have won 10 or more games every season.

As a defensive coordinator, he has a record of 51-9.

4) What’d he do when he was at Nebraska and how would he be received by fans if hired?

Here’s how popular Pelini is with Nebraskans: They liked him even when he was coaching at Oklahoma.

They won’t soon forget what he did in 2003, when he transformed a previously mediocre Nebraska defense into the 11th-ranked unit in the country.

In the year before Pelini was here, Nebraska was 55th nationally in the total defense. The year after he left, the defense ranked 56th.

Pelini’s 2003 Blackshirts also had a knack for stealing the football. Nebraska had 47 takeaways that year, second-most in the country. For perspective, the current NU defense has caused 11 turnovers this season.

In his one game as interim head coach, the Huskers held Michigan State to three points.

It is important to note that the 2003 schedule set up favorably for the Huskers. When Nebraska did meet good competition that year, Pelini’s defense got torched pretty good. In the three losses, Nebraska gave up 41 points (Missouri), 38 (Kansas State) and 31 (Texas).

Still, his fire is what Nebraskans remember most. Former Husker Barrett Ruud has said that players would do about anything for Pelini.

The idea of rekindling that passion has many Husker fans wishing for his return.

5) Would he be ready to handle the attention and scrutiny that comes with being the head man at Nebraska?

Pelini was just 36 when he left Nebraska, the same age Osborne was in his first season as NU’s head coach.

Since leaving, Pelini has had the advantage of spending the last four years being around experienced head coaches such as Bob Stoops and Miles. And quite frankly, he’s also been in more big games at LSU this season than Nebraska has been in about the past five years combined.

Prior to 2003, he was an assistant in the NFL at San Francisco, New England and Green Bay. He learned about coaching from guys such as George Seifert, Pete Carroll, Ray Rhodes and Mike Shanahan.

Given that, Pelini would tell you he was ready to be a head coach even four years ago, when Nebraska passed on him in favor of Callahan.

“Oh, yeah, I was ready,” Pelini recently told Yahoo! Sports. “But I’m even more ready now.”

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/...c153977962.txt

[Northman]

Guess the Huskers wanted to get 70 of their own this week. lol

[Kid A]

That was a case of letting our frustration out on an opponent that did not look ready to play. I thought we might gun for 80, considering Cally probably doesn't have to worry about pissing other coaches off.

Considering how the offense has played the last couple weeks, I see no reason we can't put up some points in Boulder next game and come away with a win. Of course if colorado runs a spread offense, our defense will have no answer..

[Northman]

Originally Posted by Kid A

That was a case of letting our frustration out on an opponent that did not look ready to play. I thought we might gun for 80, considering Cally probably doesn't have to worry about pissing other coaches off.

Considering how the offense has played the last couple weeks, I see no reason we can't put up some points in Boulder next game and come away with a win. Of course if colorado runs a spread offense, our defense will have no answer..

Did you guys use the same Qb today? It looked like someone different on the gamecast but i didnt look at it closely.

[Kid A]

Yeah. Joe Ganz, who was actually pretty good in his first start (400+ yds and 4 tds) last week aside from 4 picks (mostly late in the game). Today he played out of his mind. 30-40, about 500+ yds and 7 touchdowns.

And for the record, if there is a team I would want to see us hang 80 on it would be the Power Towel Prince, Josh Freeman and Co. This season has sucked, but that was a very enjoyable 3 hours.

[Crushaholic]

Yikes...not a good start to my football weekend.

Congrats to Huskers fans, though. Maybe this will wake US up next week like the Huskers woke up today. I haven't seen that poor of a defense, since...well...last Sunday...

[DBroncos4life]

So Ganz lost to Keller in a close QB race this offseason. Not to take anything away from Keller, cause I think he played great but man does Ganz look like he belongs in this system. He has been in it for 4 years though. Should be good next year as a senior.

[Florida_Bronco]

Anyone surprised that Saul hasn't shown his face here?

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by Florida_Bronco

Anyone surprised that Saul hasn't shown his face here?

Perhaps the biggest frontrunner in the history of the mane. Oh wait, I remember, he's "too busy" to post. Though he usually finds his way here after an NU loss. Surprised we didn't see him post-KU.

Cruchaholic, glad to see you are taking this well, you shouldn't feel too bad about your team. K-State just seems to be a team that when they are fired up can play really well (Texas, Colorado) but if they aren't on their game can lose in surprising fashion (ISU, Nebraska). Plus this is only the second time you've given up 40+ this year. We've done it 5 times!

[BMF Bronco]

HOly ****! just saw the highlights on ESPN. Where has Ganz been all year?!

[DBroncos4life]

What are the odds that Lucky comes back this year?

[Kid A]

I don't know about lucky. I could see him leaving, as he has had some big performances these last couple weeks. I think it might benefit him to stay and build off those games, but who could blame him if the scouts tell him he'll get drafted early.

I think Castille and Helu Jr. are going to be a pretty good duo, so although I would love to have Lucky back, I think we have some good depth at RB.

As for Ganz, everyone wants to second guess not starting him sooner. Oh well, what can you do. At least now we know we've got our QB for next year. Fear the Ganz. He seems flexible enough in his skill set that he could run another type of offense, like a spread option, if we change coaching staffs.

[ColoradoBuff]

So with Carr now retiring and the potential domino's falling in place with Miles going to Michigan and Pelini moving up to Head Coach......who do you all want? Turner Gill?

[Kid A]

Turner Gill is not very high on my list, honestly. He has very little head coaching experience as this point, and is only at MAC level right now. Maybe down the road a ways, but right now I think someone with a little more big time experience at coordinating an offense or defense would be a better pick.

Right now my pick would be Brian Kelly, of Cincinnati. He has an incredible record at every school he has gone to, and has turned around an awful Cincy team in ONE year into a contender. Don't know if he would leave that school after just one season, but I guarantee other schools (Michigan) will be giving him a look as well.

[ColoradoBuff]

Originally Posted by Kid A

Turner Gill is not very high on my list, honestly. He has very little head coaching experience as this point, and is only at MAC level right now. Maybe down the road a ways, but right now I think someone with a little more big time experience at coordinating an offense or defense would be a better pick.

Right now my pick would be Brian Kelly, of Cincinnati. He has an incredible record at every school he has gone to, and has turned around an awful Cincy team in ONE year into a contender. Don't know if he would leave that school after just one season, but I guarantee other schools (Michigan) will be giving him a look as well.

Kelly is a helluva coach with a great offense!!

[BMF Bronco]

Bump

[Kid A]

He's gone. Hugs and high fives all around.