Free at Last!

As the Bill Callahan era drew to a close, I likened the feeling to the end of a sentence or punishment. It’s as if the football gods had decided: OK, you’ve learned your lesson, lets get back to what this game is all about. Did Bill Callahan know what Nebraska football was about? I doubt it. But you know what? Bo Pelini knows. Pelini knows that Nebraska football is about TRADITION. What does that mean for our program?

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To peer into the future, we have to look at the recent past. Who would have thought that hiring a “Nebraska guy” in Steve Pederson would have caused such a tumultuous stretch? From the foolish way in which Frank Solich was dumped to the NFL-ization of the Husker Nation through Bill Callahan’s rule, we’ve seen the low point of modern era Nebraska football. Regardless of any coaching change, if Dr. Tom Osborne had not been brought in, we would have seen a downward spiral of athletics at UNL.

In every way that Steve Pederson was despised by so many boosters and alumni, Dr. Tom Osborne was revered. The best thing to come out of the Pederson era is probably the increased number of seats and nice new big screen at Memorial Stadium. His brash, glitzy marketing approach to the athletic department would probably work at a school on one of the coasts, but not in the Heartland of America. Dr. Osborne is so far removed from that type of mindset that it could only mean a down to earth approach to building back the program. Dr. Osborne’s coaching search was a throwback to the Callahan search, but it’s outcome is probably the result that should have happened years ago.

In every way that Osborne is the opposite of Pederson, Pelini is the counterpart to Callahan. Straightforward in every way that Callahan danced around questions. Passionate in every way that Callahan was mechanical. Pelini called the Nebraska head coaching job his “dream job.” Callahan probably refers to it as his nightmare. It is evident how much Pelini cares for his players by hearing him talk about the personal turmoil he has about whether to coach his LSU players in the National Championship game or start strong in his new job.

What I see unfolding is the start of a very positive time for Nebraska football. Bo should bring back glory days of blackshirts and respect. In just a few short years, teams will fear the day they have to enter the field of play against our Huskers. Opponents will feel the pain of playing against us for many weeks after the 60 minutes are up. Players will come to Nebraska because they love it, not because they plan to use it as a resume for their NFL careers. This is the week to celebrate that Nebraska football is on it’s way back. When the Pelini honeymoon is over, hopefully we’ll have a coach that we will stick with until we’ve got another National Championship Trophy in our display case.