[Husker] A Word In Edgewise, If You Please...

[Pat Gaule]

Steve Stone wrote:

> Some HuskerListers seem dismayed or outraged that these coaches can''t 
> do in four years what Tom Osborne took more than 20 years to do.
>
> If that's tortured reasoning, then I plead guilty.

While it did take Osborne 20 years to win a national title, it did not 
take him 20 years to maintain Nebraska's image as a national 
powerhouse.  Osborne finished in the top ten of at least one poll in 
every one of his first 17 seasons.  Under Callahan, Nebraska has 
finished in the top 25 exactly *once*, and that was a 24th-place finish 
in 2005. Osborne certainly inherited a program in better shape than 
Callahan, but at some point, a great coach is going to overcome the 
weaknesses of the team he inherited, just as a weak coach is going to be 
exposed when the previous staff's players graduate.  Like it or not, we 
are getting to the point where Callahan needs to be judged by results, 
not by what the future may hold.

Putting aside the fact that Osborne's first 20 years were far from 
mediocre or disappointing, I do not agree with the notion that it takes 
20 years of mediocre 3 or 4 loss seasons to become a dominant 
powerhouse.  If you compare Callahan to succesful coaches that were 
hired to lead troubled powerhouses back to glory, then he does not 
compare favorably.

Bob Stoops inherited an OU program in 1999 that was in far worse shape 
than Nebraska.  This was a program that was simply awful for almost an 
entire decade.  He won a national title in his 2nd season and OU has 
been among the elite ever since.

Pete Carroll inherited a USC team that was coming off a string of 
seasons where they finished around .500.  Within 2 years, he had an 11-2 
record and a Pac-10 title.  Within 3 years, he had a national title.

Nick Saban inherited an LSU team that went 7-15 in the two seasons prior 
to his arrival.  Within 2 years, he won an SEC championship.  Within 4 
years, he won a national title.

Jim Tressel at Ohio State came into a situation that is somewhat 
comparable to the situation Callahan came into.  The previous coach 
(John Cooper) had a respectable .715 winning percentage, a few 
conference co-championships, and a handful of bowl wins.  The problem 
was that he couldn't get OSU over the hump (namely he couldn't beat 
Michigan). His team went 6-6 in 1999 and 8-4 in 2000, which is not all 
that far off from Solich's staff going 7-7 in 2002 and 10-3 in 2003.  
After a rough first year for Jim Tressel, he won a national championship 
in his 2nd season, and finished in the top 5 for 3 of the next 4 seasons.

At Texas, Mack Brown inherited a 4-7 squad from John Mavkovic.  It did 
take him 4 years to put a top ten team on the field, but they've been a 
pretty elite program since 2001 (never finishing lower than 13th).

At this point in time, Callahan does not have so much as a marquee win, 
let alone a conference championship or a BCS bowl berth.  My honest 
opinion is that if this experiment was going to be a success, there 
would have been some indication thereof by his 4th season.  I do not 
believe that Callahan will ever be as successful as the aforementioned 
coaches, and any comparisons to Tom Osborne are going to look absolutely 
foolish 20 years from now. 

Do I think we should fire him?  Not at this point in time, but the 
honeymoon is long since over.  If he was hired to lead Nebraska back to 
an elite level, then he needs to show that he can get there.  He has not 
done that to this point.