[Husker] Staying Put

[Jeff Volk]

Jon wrote:

>The insinuation here is that we missed hiring a potentially great
>coach for Nebraska.

>I am happy right now with where we are with Pelini. If Gill some day
>becomes greater than Bryant, more power to him. He'll always be a
>Husker.

>By last year, he hadn't proven anything yet. Now he has.


I would like to put this whole Turner Gill thing in a little bit of perspective. I want to start by saying that I am a big Turner Gill fan and in turn he has made me a Buffalo fan. I actually saw all or parts of four Buffalo games this season including the MAC Championship. There is no doubt that Turner has done a great job.

But before we anoint Turner the greatest coach ever, turn his actual accomplishments into even more hyperbole on this list than already has been done or suggest he would have been a better fit for the Huskers than Pelini, let's take a look at the facts.

Turner's Buffalo team went 8-5...and 5-3 in conference...in the MAC CONFERENCE! The Bulls lost to the only two schools they faced from a BCS conference and lost at home to a Western Michigan team that the Huskers beat handily. In fact, Buffalo did not beat a team outside of Ball State that even had a winning record. Including Ball State, Bull's opponents in wins had a 42-55 combined season record and if you remove Ball State from that mix that record moves to a shameful 30-54. Contrast that to the teams that they lost to, who had had a combined 39-22 record. If you take Kent State out of the mix, who upset the Bulls at home the final game of the regular season to finish 4-8, that record goes to 35-14.

The Bulls also benefited greatly from being in the much weaker Eastern Division of the MAC, where they were the only 1 of 7 teams to finish above .500 in conference play (as opposed to the Western Division, where 4 of 6 teams finished above .500). If the Bulls played in the Western Division of the MAC they would have finished in a tie for 4th place - not 1st.

The bottom line is that Turner's Buffalo teams lost to all of the teams that were better than them and beat all of the teams with the exception of Kent State who they were supposed to. And the teams that they beat were REALLY, REALLY bad teams! All of that of course was before their biggest win of the season, a nice upset over a previously undefeated Ball State in the MAC Championship Game.

Now again, has Turner taken a team that was the doormat of the MAC and turned them into the MAC Champion in 3 seasons? Yes. Is what he has done at Buffalo very impressive? Yes. Does that mean he is ready to coach a big time program, or would have even been well advised to take one of those jobs? HECK NO!

Why even take over at an Auburn or even Nebraska, where the competition within the conference, not to mention the expectations, are far greater. How many instances over time can one point to where a successful coach from a smaller program was an epic failure when he got his shot at the big time? Or a successful college coach who was an epic failure in the NFL? Or in recent Nebraska history an NFL coach who was an epic failure in college?

My point is simple - TURNER GILL DID THE SMART THING BY STAYING RIGHT WHERE HE WAS AT BUFFALO!! He gets a nice raise, an increased commitment from the AD to the program and the luxury of waiting to take a job that is better suited to him. Auburn, for all the money, is a HORRIBLE job. Syracuse was the best fit of the jobs he was in the running for, but if you are going to turn around a doormat program from New York why not continue the turnaround where you are already at. Iowa State is not a great job either - they are now the clear doormat of the Big 12. And let's face it, if Turner keeps winning and producing at Buffalo for the next season or two he can write his own ticket for any coaching opening in America. On the flip side, if by chance the Bulls take a step or two back over the next couple of seasons he can continue to operate without the pressure of high expectations that would come at Auburn, Syracuse or even Iowa State.

Congrats Turner. Congrats on a great season. Congrats on being pursued as a candidate to take over some big time programs and more than anything congrats on being smart enough to stay right where you are at. In the end you have more money, less pressure and better knowledge on how the process works for the next time you are a candidate for a higher profile job.

And for those of you who might think I am somehow anti-Turner, save it. Like I said - I saw four Buffalo games this season and have a Buffalo 2008 MAC Champions hat sitting on the credenza in my home office that I am looking at as I type this. How many of you so called "Turner Gill supporters" can say either?

Go Big Red!!!!

Jeff


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