[Husker] World Herald Commentary

[Dan Draney]

It doesn't seem to be on the web site, but Tom Shatel had a quote in his
column today that cracked me up. He described the reactions of Husker Nation
to Pederson's departure, comparing them to Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz
dancing around after Perlman dropped a house on Pederson. He also noted the
irony of Pederson finally succeeding in his goal to unify the fans.

Michael Kelley's column today had an interesting take, also apparently not
online. As Sue Smith suggested here, Kelley believes that Osborne's
determination to have Solich succeed him is one cause of the current
turmoil/problems. Through his power to force his choice on Bill Byrne,
Osborne prevented Byrne from selecting his own candidate for the "most
important hire" in the Athletic Dept.

There seems to be at least some truth in that proposition. I'm still fond of
Frank Solich, but I have to admit he did seem to be in over his head as head
coach of Nebraska. Taking things a little farther back yet, Tom persuading
Frank to stay on as an assistant for all those years may have done Frank
something of a disservice, too. Had Solich left then for a head coaching job
at another school, he might have been well-positioned to come back to
Nebraska with experience that would have helped him succeed here.


Dan