Fwd: Re: [Husker] Character

[Bob Beach]

On 2/26/2005 at 4:14 PM Andrew Smith <arossman at earthlink.net> wrote:

>>I would not expect a coach to last 25 years based on character alone 
>>either and I have seen no postings to the list claiming so.



    I never said you said it or anyone else said it before.  I said I had asked the question before.



>>I said it was "quite likely" that TO would have been ousted.  I'm not 
>>certain that it would have occurred, but there were periods when a large 
>>number of people felt that TO did not have the ability to win the big 
>>games and never would.


     I agree with you here.  This was happening.  But, there was never a time where TO was in danger of losing his job.  This "large number of people" you suggest were fans basically and a few boosters.  There was never a time Bob Devaney considered firing Osborne and it wasn't character that kept him there.  Devaney knew he had a winner.  I for one had always made the statement NU will always have a great program under TO but will never win the National Championship.  I am glad I was wrong.  But even though I felt that way I didn't want him fired.



>>TO clearly felt this dissatisfaction to the 
>>point that he seriously considered coaching elsewhere.  



     That is true but that was TO fed up with the "BS" if you will.  That would have been his choice.  He wasn't about to be ousted.


>>I'm glad you hear you say it.  Some of your previous comments such 
>>"steroids were used while TO was the coach. Either he honestly didn't 
>>know or he let it go on. It has to be one or the other" seemed to me to 
>>suggest otherwise.



     There is a difference between character and perfection.  I believe TO was/is a man of character.  I don't believe he was/is perfect.  I am not suggesting you said he was perfect.  I am just saying he is as capable of error as anyone else.   Even though a person has character they are still capable of mistakes, failures, and errors in judgement on occasion.  TO would be no exception.  So to suggest maybe something knowingly slipped through the cracks doesn't change my respect for him.  It is just food for discussion.


Bob Beach
The more one knows the more one realizes how much there is one doesn't know.