[Husker] Coaching Staff, Recruiting, SOS, Etc...

[Robert Christensen]

Jeff Volk wrote:
> On The New Coaching Staff:
>
> ================================
>
> I am generally pleased with the Bo Pelini hire, and I came out publicly
> at one time that he was my candidate. In the end I was hoping that the
> hire would have been Jim Grobe. I just feel that Grobe is a guy that has
> won, as a HEAD COACH, at every place he has ever coached. That aside, I
> think Pelini should be just fine. I must admit however that I am a
> little disappointed in some of the assistant coach hires - it really
> does just feel like 2003 all over again. We will have to wait and see
> how the rest of the staff comes out, and how they actually perform, but
> as of right now I would give it a B, maybe a B-minus. 
>   
Jeff, let me guess, you were on the Pederson/Callahan bandwagon as he 
took the great Husker Traditions into the dirt weren't you?  I would 
take the way things were in 2003 over this over-rated experiment any 
day.  Your focus on Grobe seems to forget that the credential that we 
were being sold with Callahan was "He coached in the Superbowl."  He 
also had a losing record the next year.  He seems to have a think about 
taking a winning program to the depths of bad in a short time.  I will 
take Bo over any of the "known winners".

>
> On Recruiting:
>
> ================================
>
> Since people hate star systems and we all realize they are totally
> subjective and in many cases arbitrary, let me explain this in a
> different way. When it comes to the athletes we are recruiting, it gives
> me a tremendous amount of pause when we start offering scholarships to
> players that no other schools are offering or that schools that are not
> typically competitive are offering. While every team is a little
> different and they all recruit athletes to fit their systems - I feel
> far more comfortable when we are recruiting athletes that at least upper
> division Big 12 schools are also recruiting. I know there are exceptions
> to the rule and that player development is speculative at best, but I
> feel a whole lot better bringing in a kid that Oklahoma and Missouri
> might also have recruited rather than a kid that Chadron and Wayne State
> recruited. I know that many of us have this love affair with the whole
> idea of every kid off of every farm in Nebraska getting a chance to play
> at Nebraska, but that just isn't realistic. We need better athletes -
> not 3 or 4 or 5 star athletes, but athletes that other schools - schools
> who are watching the same game films as we are, are also interested in.
> Period.  
>   
When you have coaches that can coach, the talent will be there.  I would 
much prefer someone that is actually evaluating the films and deciding 
the players they want to recruit over someone that decides their 
recruiting targets based on some "recruiting service" or "rating 
service".  I don't doubt that a lot of the 3, 4 and 5 star recruits are 
pretty good.  I also think alot of the players that never touch the 
radar screen are pretty good.  I also think without good coaching and a 
plan to develop the talent, all of the recruits will come up well short 
of their potential.  I'm sure that Coach Pelini and his staff will get 
their share of the recruits that Oklahoma and Missouri want.  But they 
will also have a good mix of Nebraska kids that will bring a stronger 
work ethic to the team.


> On Fan Expectations:
>
> ================================
>
> I think the expectations for next season, at least for me, is 7-5 or
> 8-4. The schedule, which does feature 4 of the current Top 8 BCS teams,
> isn't that overwhelming and we do have the talent to compete. WR, LB and
> DB are my biggest concerns. Off the field the focus will continue to be
> healing the Husker Nation and letting people hold on to this warm,
> fuzzy, Huskers days gone by type feeling they are all experiencing right
> now. 
>
>  
>
> But instead of feeling like I am watching Groundhog Day, let's watch
> another movie, Back to the Future. Let's say it is now 2011. We are 4
> seasons in under Pelini, the walk on program is 200 strong and the
> roster is filled with kids from the farms of Nebraska. We have averaged
> 9-4 or 8-5 and have no Big 12 titles and 2 bowl wins. Is Pelini on the
> hot seat? 
>   
Lets hope the firing of a 9-3 coach at Nebraska went to Pitt.  I think 
Coach Pelini realizes that there are high expectations at Nebraska.  
However, if Steve Pederson would have been AD at Nebraska when Osborne 
went for 2 points in the Orange Bowl, he would never have been at 
Nebraska long enough to coach the National Championship teams of the 
'90's.  Of course there will be some fan discontent if we aren't in the 
MNC game each year.  I think the expectations should be high.  But I 
also think there needs to be some reality brought into the equation.  It 
seems that many people are still on the :"hate Solich" kick.  But I 
would ask, were we better in 2007 by dumping Solich in 2003?  I 
certainly don't think so.


Bob