[Husker] Pelini Bashing

[Mike Jaixen]

I know what we SAW on TV last night.  But I'm not sure we know what Pelini was actually saying.  Here are some of Pelini's own words on this very topic:

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/12/27/huskerextra/football/doc477034029c398783593932.txt

Here's the part that contradicts the perception from last night:

“I take this philosophy: There hasn’t been a player ever that has tried to make a mistake out on the field,” Pelini says. “If he made a mistake, he made it for a reason. Well, as a coach, you need to search for that reason — search for a way to get through to that kid. Ultimately, when you coach that way, the players are going to believe in you. And at the end of the day, they’re going to want to run through a wall for you.”

Pelini tells a story from 2003 when he served as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator. A defender made a mistake in practice, and one of the Husker assistant coaches castigated the player. The assistant ranted and raved and even ran from the sideline into the defensive huddle to get in the player’s face.

"I called the assistant coach over to me and said, ‘All that stuff you just did: Was that for you or for the player? Because I heard you yelling at that kid and not one time did you tell him what he did wrong,’” Pelini says. "I told the coach, ‘So, the next time, it’s on you.’"

The key, Pelini says, is "getting kids to understand what they’re doing so they can do it fast."

"If I get after a kid, (later) I’ll walk up and put my arm around him and say, ‘You’re better than that, right? You know you’re better than that, right?’"



Mike Jaixen
http://huskermike.blogspot.com
http://www.cornnation.com


--- On Sun, 11/2/08, Don Rietsch <drr at livgenmi.com> wrote:

> Now the part of the game that bothers me the most: I read
> that Bo benched
> Moore after a penalty because he couldn't control his
> temper.  Imagine, the
> coach, who spent much of the game cursing and screaming
> into his headset at
> his assistants, telling a player to be more disciplined. 
> Talk about
> chutzpah.  This guy scares the hell out of me.  Do you all
> think that a
> "boss" can scream/curse at his
> "workers" during the game, apologize after,
> claim "we are a family", and all is forgiven??? 
> Life doesn't work that way:
> I learned that growing up.  Blo (no typo...think volcano)
> will have to
> change the way he treats people during his tirades or
> he'll lose them(and
> the players).  The Woody Hays ways are over; people
> won't nor should they
> have to put up with that BS any more.