[Husker] Bandwagon???

[Mike Jaixen]

Or, let's put it another way.  Before we can even
begin to consider replacing Coach Callahan, we need to
first replace the individual responsible for the
original circus that led to the hiring of Coach
Callahan.  Remember, the first circus came as the
result of firing a 9 win coach.  Firing another coach
after just 2 years will scare away the best
candidates.  Especially when the person who is hiring
you is already on extremely shaky ground.

Barring any more embarassing gaffes, Bill Callahan
should survive to at least year 3. However, a new
athletic director is the first step towards reunifying
the fan base, getting donations back on track, and
puts an impartial evaluator in place to evaluate Coach
Callahan after next season.

--- Steve Reichenbach <reich at inetnebr.com> wrote:

> There are really two issues here:  first, our
> confidence in the current
> coaches, and second, our actions based on those
> feelings.  On the first
> point, I think everyone, even the most
> died-in-the-red-wool supporters
> of the Pederson firing and hiring, must feel some
> falling confidence.
> Let's take such doubts about Callahan and his staff
> as a given at this
> point.  Second, what do we do now?
> 
> I'm in the camp of thinking the firing of Solich was
> a stupid, risky
> decision driven by the AD's egotism and arrrogance. 
> Still, just as
> everyone now must have doubts about the current
> coaches, I think most
> everyone (me included) wondered, at the end of the
> 2002 season, if
> Solich and his staff would be able to maintain NU at
> a high level (let
> alone at the impossible standard of the mid-90s). 
> Then, the best
> course of action was to give Solich reasonable time
> to learn from
> shortcomings and make corrections.  Solich made some
> changes --- to
> improve coaching he let go Bohl on defense and
> brought in Cotton on
> offense, to improve recruiting he pushed out some
> long-time assistants
> and brought in younger energetic coaches, and he
> made some changes in
> the strength and conditioning program.  The Huskers
> improved greatly
> the next year and had a 10-3 record with a road win
> over CU and a
> bowl victory to close the season.  Granted, it
> wasn't enough to erase
> doubts about the future of Husker football with
> Solich at the helm,
> but it was encouraging.  It was too soon to give up
> on Solich at the
> end of 2002 (which ended with a bowl loss to finish
> 7-7) and even more
> so at the end of 2003.  Everyone has shortcomings,
> the key is how quickly
> one can make improvements that make a difference.
> 
> I think that Callahan and his staff can learn from
> what is going wrong
> and make improvements.  How quickly?  How much?  I
> don't know.  But,
> until I'm convinced that they can't do it faster
> than bringing in a
> totally new staff --- which likely means another
> couple of years, at
> least --- I will support the current staff, just as
> I thought Solich
> deserved support in 2002 and 2003.  Now, I think a
> great staff could
> do what it takes to be successful (maybe not top-5,
> but ranked) in 2-3
> years (at least in a place with as much support as
> at NU).  So far,
> Callahan's staff hasn't met that standard, but I'm
> still hoping for
> 1 (or 2) more wins this year, a bowl berth, and
> another touted
> recruiting class this year.  As long as we can get
> that and improvement
> next year, I think we are on the best course of
> action that we can
> take at this time.
> 
> As for SP, I think the time has come for him to go
> (maybe after the
> signing period) and for a less controversial AD to
> be hired.  This will
> help close the wounds of the Solich controversy and
> salve the struggles
> that Callahan's teams have had.  Even those who
> supported SP's actions
> must see that he is a detriment to support for the
> program and now is a
> necessary sacrifice for the current unhappinenss. 
> And, those of us who
> lost faith in his judgment two years ago, will get
> an AD in whom they
> will have more confidence if and when it is time to
> replace Callahan.


Mike Jaixen
Blog: http://huskermike.blogspot.com


		
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