Bo-liever or Bo-leaver?

By T.J. Birkel

To this day, the firing of Bo Pelini probably divides the Husker fan base more than any other decision of the post-Osborne era. It’s not a stretch to argue Pelini’s tenure was a success: he never won fewer than 9 games in a season; his teams played in three conference championship games; and, he infused the program with a passion and energy that had been missing during the Callahan years. He was smart; he could be funny, charismatic, and engaging. 

There was so much more under the surface though, wasn’t there? We launched Episode 3 of The Reckoning series this week: Bo-liever or Bo-leaver? As we talked to Omaha World Herald sports editor Sam McKewon and long time Nebraska sports writer Brandon Vogel about the Pelini era, the same themes kept popping up. Volatility. Dysfunction. A staff on edge. As Sam told us, “It was evident pretty quickly that his temper was fierce.” 

Bo’s teams seemed to mirror his personality. They would win games they weren’t supposed to, playing with a chip on their shoulder and always seeming to prefer having their backs against the wall. People rarely questioned their toughness or willingness to fight. At the same time, they would also melt down in the worst way. An early indication was the 2010 Big 12 Championship game, when the Huskers blew a 17 point lead, were shut out in the 2nd half, and lost a chance to leave the Big 12 forever as conference champions. There would be plenty more. Losing 41-21 to UCLA at home – after running out to a 21-3 lead – is another one that comes to mind. 

But perhaps there’s no better example than the 2014 Wisconsin game. Nebraska, 8-1 at the time, went into Camp Randall with a chance to take control of the Big 10 West, and even enter the periphery of the national championship conversation. They took a 17-3 lead on a snowy night in Madison. Everything seemed to be rolling in the right direction. Then, after what would turn out to be one of many long Melvin Gordon runs, Pelini unloaded on Nebraska defensive back Daniel Davie on the sideline. Mind you, Nebraska was still in the lead at this point. But things completely unraveled from there; the team seemed to follow suit after the Pelini meltdown. Gordon ran for a country mile that night, and the Huskers would go on to lose 59-24, a movie Husker fans had seen all too often. 

Restoring the House of Osborne

Sam referred to the hiring of Pelini to be Nebraska’s head coach in 2007 as “restoring the House of Osborne.” To my recollection, Husker fans loved the hire. Bill Callahan was a bad fit for Nebraska. The fiery Pelini – Nebraska’s former defensive coordinator who had had an immediate impact in 2003 – would repair Nebraska’s broken defense and instill pride back into the program. With Tom Osborne in the role of Athletic Director and one of Frank Solich’s top lieutenants now leading the program, all was right with the world again. The Bill Callahan experiment was a blip on the radar; we were on the way back. 

And, in Bo’s first three years, it looked like we might be coming all the way back. After an 8-4 transition season in 2008 (and a bowl game victory to finish 9-4), the Huskers played in back-to-back Big 12 championship games, losing the infamous “1 second” game to Texas in 2009 and giving up the big lead against Oklahoma in 2010. Even with the losses, the overall trajectory of the program felt like it was moving in the right direction. 

As Pelini’s tenure went on, Husker fans would see some thrilling (and sometimes unexpected) wins, but also some head scratching losses. It felt like there were two types of losses: an unexpected blowout in a big game we thought the Huskers had a chance to win (or even expected them to win), or a close loss against the Northwesterns or Minnesotas of the world, where we let a lead slip away and were left wondering what happened. 

According to Sam, "House money was the thing that Bo couldn't play with. He had to have his back against the wall." In other words, he was better off having a team that was doubted versus having a team that was expected to win. Sam went on to say, "His teams could not handle big game situations." 

Times They Are A-Changin'

Any fair assessment of the Pelini era also needs to consider that he had to deal with two sizeable changes right in the middle of his time as head coach: Nebraska’s move to the Big 10 in 2011, and Tom Osborne’s retirement in 2012, which led to the hiring of Shawn Eichrost as Nebraska’s new athletic director. 

The move to the Big 10 has largely been a positive for Nebraska. In the ever-changing world of college athletics, the stability of the conference should not be underestimated. Not to mention the fat annual paycheck that all conference members enjoy. But how disruptive must it have been for Pelini and his staff? Pelini didn’t make excuses, but joining a new conference with an entirely different style of play in year four of your coaching tenure could not have been easy. One could argue it took Nebraska more than a decade to adjust to the Big 10. 

As for Eichorst…could there be a bigger mismatch than Bo Pelini and Shawn Eichorst? As Brandon Vogel described it, Bo was like the jock in the 80s movie: aggressive, confrontational, sometimes erratic. Eichorst, on the other hand, is a guy who probably does well on standardized tests. They could not have been a more different pairing. And as Husker fans have witnessed and experienced, if there is not alignment between the athletic director and head football coach, that’s usually a recipe for disaster. Eichorst was detached; Bo didn’t feel supported. Could things have gone differently for Bo if someone other than Eichorst had been brought in as AD?

Bo-liever or Bo-leaver? 

I remember being really torn when Nebraska fired Pelini. Like a lot of fans, I was frustrated by the meltdown losses and seeming inability to get over the hump in big games. But I always liked Bo, loved his passion, and wasn’t sure the instability of yet another coaching change was good for the program. Once again, a Nebraska athletic director fires a 9-3 coach. Once again, the broader college football universe wonders what’s going on at Nebraska. 

Furthermore, it’s hard to have this conversation without considering who Nebraska hired next. Mike Riley is a good man, and he coached some dang good teams at other stops in his career. But he was not the best fit for Nebraska. Husker fans were left wondering why we fired a high level coach who had produced results if we weren’t going to go and get a proven winner, someone who had won championships at the college level.  

In talking through the Pelini era with Sam and Brandon, it was like getting on the roller coaster all over again. By the end of the episode, I was surprised to find myself less torn than I was when Nebraska fired Bo nearly a decade ago. Ultimately, it feels like the string had run out for a lot of different reasons. Pelini and Eichorst could not have been more different; many fans were exhausted; Bo himself seemed exhausted; and a regression seemed more likely than getting over the hump and winning the conference. Additionally, as Sam and Brandon told us, Bo may have been interested in moving on to a new job. 

There are so many “what-ifs” in this discussion, and Bo certainly does not own all of the blame for the things that happened during his tenure. Where do you come down, fellow Common Fan? We’d love to hear your contribution to this discussion. Send us an email at [email protected], comment on YouTube, or message us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. 

Stay tuned for Episode 4 of The Reckoning: Was Mike Riley the Biggest Miss of the Post-Osborne Era?

And in the meantime, as always, GBR for life. 

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NOTE: Thanks so much to special guest Brandon Vogel from the Counter Read, who joined us for all of The Reckoning episodes. For each episode, we also had a featured guest: someone from the Nebraska sports media who covered the era being examined. Episodes will be released every Monday for six weeks, starting June 17.