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[johnhoie]

...that Bo knows defense. Then I would look at 2012 and 2013 and think, in a puzzled sort of way, that the guy has just lost his way somehow.

This business of hiring new coaches is pretty tricky. You look around and try to find someone with a proven track record of success who would consider moving for the right job. Or you look for that "can't miss" coordinator who is ready to move up. DeRuyter is enjoying success now in his current gig. If he keeps it up, someone will give him a shot at the next level up. If he is interested in moving, he'll move up quickly. I'd certainly be interested in looking more closely at him.

Look at the top 25 and try to sort out which coaches on that list of teams might be available and interested:

Saban......no
Helfrich.....no
Fisher.......no
Meyer......no
Shaw.......no
Briles.......not likely to leave the state of Texas. May get Longhorns job.
Golden.....okay, maybe. You'd want to check his interest level
Dabo Swinney......Unlikely. Would you want him?
Pinkel.......seriously?
Stoops.....nope
Malzahn.....no way, in his dream job currently.
Sumlin.......No. ATM has more money, better access to recruits and plays in a better conference.
Miles........no
Spurrier......needs year round golf access
Kingsbury.....alma mater/dream job
DeRuyter........highest ranked team whose coach could reasonably be expected to be interested.
Carey.........doing well, but just became head coach last December. Would be interested, though....
Gundy........no, in dream job currently
Strong.....interesting possibility. Most think he's looking for SEC job
Mora......not going to trade LA for Lincoln
Hoke.......no
Dantonio.....Bo with heart disease
George O'Leary........no
Anderson......just moved
Mike Kelly......no

In looking for a current head coach at the FBS level who is enjoying success but might want to move, DeRuyter seemed to me to be as good a candidate as anyone.

Oddly enough, I'm not even sure any of the bolded choices are any better than Bo Pelini. That's why firing a coach can be tricky business. You might think you are getting an upgrade, then find out that you didn't. Who do you like?

My first choice would be for Bo to somehow figure this thing out, get to 8-10 wins and somehow figure out how to get better. I hate coaching changes.

I know zero about Carey (who does he coach?), but I like your analysis. Golden would be as very attractive hire, but DeRuyter is intriguing.
And I agree with the hope for Bo to right the ship. It's just getting hard to believe he can.

 

[Big "D"zasker]

Let me cause a spin out and say I'd take Paul Johnson long before I took Coach DeRuyter.

:wave: Hey, up here! Keep digging that hole you're so diligently working on.

 

[Brew City Husker]

Well, despite the top 25 criteria I'd certainly list them as guys with recent success. Did Hawkins and Koetter have a 90% winning percentage like Petersen? What was Bo's head coaching record before NU?

Funny how everybody cuts Bo all sorts of slack when he changes conferences; a conference where his talent should be able to compete right away, but Patterson is all of a sudden on a downward trajectory when jumping way up in class with his conference change and in his second year? And with one of the toughest schedules in the country this year? I know Bo's facing a gauntlet and meat grinder this season, but Patterson's schedule is way tougher. He can coach circles around Bo and knows how to be a CEO.

I'm not cutting Bo any slack. As I've stated, he'll reach whatever level he is capable of.....this year, most likely. What I'm trying to point out, though is that coaching changes are not simple matters. ADs are hired and fired (mostly fired) over how they do with this one decision.

I like Peterson and Patterson as well; Peterson more than Patterson. They are both good coaches. Their prior success, however does not automatically translate to success at Nebraska.

Here's how it works if you are the AD: You make a decision about your current coach. Can he achieve the level of success that is required, or not? He'll let you know, based on the product on the field. He'll let you know, based on his behavior off the field, his intangibles, if you will. All the while, you keep a list, just in case. We are at the list checking phase, currently. Eichorst seems to be a thorough and highly professional and principled individual. He won't take any of these decisions lightly. For now, though, the head football coach at Nebraska is Bo Pelini. Since I want success for the University of Nebraska, I'm rooting for him to (against all odds and perhaps in spite of himself) work this thing out so that Eichorst's list never sees the light of day. If he can't work it out, then I'll be rooting for Shawn Eichorst to find the best possible replacement.

 

[johnhoie]

Interesting you left out Petersen and Patterson. Despite all the "true fans" who feel NU is such a sucky job that no one would want it, I think both of those are way more attainable than everyone thinks. And, they would be huge upgrades over Bo.

He was listing the coaches of the Top 25. Boise and TCU are not currently in the Top 25.

 

[Brew City Husker]

I know zero about Carey (who does he coach?), but I like your analysis. Golden would be as very attractive hire, but DeRuyter is intriguing.
And I agree with the hope for Bo to right the ship. It's just getting hard to believe he can.

Check post #306 re Carey.

 

[johnhoie]

Ditka

Lombardi.

 

[Big "D"zasker]

I'm not cutting Bo any slack. As I've stated, he'll reach whatever level he is capable of.....this year, most likely. What I'm trying to point out, though is that coaching changes are not simple matters. ADs are hired and fired (mostly fired) over how they do with this one decision.

I like Peterson and Patterson as well; Peterson more than Patterson. They are both good coaches. Their prior success, however does not automatically translate to success at Nebraska.

Here's how it works if you are the AD: You make a decision about your current coach. Can he achieve the level of success that is required, or not? He'll let you know, based on the product on the field. He'll let you know, based on his behavior off the field, his intangibles, if you will. All the while, you keep a list, just in case. We are at the list checking phase, currently. Eichorst seems to be a thorough and highly professional and principled individual. He won't take any of these decisions lightly. For now, though, the head football coach at Nebraska is Bo Pelini. Since I want success for the University of Nebraska, I'm rooting for him to (against all odds and perhaps in spite of himself) work this thing out so that Eichorst's list never sees the light of day. If he can't work it out, then I'll be rooting for Shawn Eichorst to find the best possible replacement.

Good post!

 

[Big "D"zasker]

He was listing the coaches of the Top 25. Boise and TCU are not currently in the Top 25.

I understand that, thanks. I just figured if you're going to list that many coaches you might as well add two that are basically on everyone's list.

 

[Pops]

Lord I'm just gonna make it easy
I'll go with the new catch phrase

ABBB

 

[johnhoie]

Wasn't offense Frank's specialty? Are dynamic personality and great recruiter words you would use to describe Frank? Besides, most of the good talent on that defense were upperclassmen who were recruited when Frank was riding the Osborne aura and recruit wave.

Unless you know a bunch of guys on that team were 6th year seniors, there wasn't a player in 2003 who had been recruited by Osborne. You're saying TO's "aura" was recruiting? Does the NCAA allow auras to recruit?
I think the dirty little secret about Frank is that he was a better recruiter than Callahan or Pelini. If he hadn't struck out in quarterback recruiting, he might still be at NU.

 

[The Impaler]

I'm not cutting Bo any slack. As I've stated, he'll reach whatever level he is capable of.....this year, most likely. What I'm trying to point out, though is that coaching changes are not simple matters. ADs are hired and fired (mostly fired) over how they do with this one decision.

I like Peterson and Patterson as well; Peterson more than Patterson. They are both good coaches. Their prior success, however does not automatically translate to success at Nebraska.

Here's how it works if you are the AD: You make a decision about your current coach. Can he achieve the level of success that is required, or not? He'll let you know, based on the product on the field. He'll let you know, based on his behavior off the field, his intangibles, if you will. All the while, you keep a list, just in case. We are at the list checking phase, currently. Eichorst seems to be a thorough and highly professional and principled individual. He won't take any of these decisions lightly. For now, though, the head football coach at Nebraska is Bo Pelini. Since I want success for the University of Nebraska, I'm rooting for him to (against all odds and perhaps in spite of himself) work this thing out so that Eichorst's list never sees the light of day. If he can't work it out, then I'll be rooting for Shawn Eichorst to find the best possible replacement.

Fair enough post here. I think we all want Bo to succeed with few exceptions. The faith is eroding quickly. I just wanna bring up tape gate again though, if Eichorst is on the fence with what direction to lean this year, I think that will likely play into pushing him over it.

 

[Big "D"zasker]

Unless you know a bunch of guys on that team were 6th year seniors, there wasn't a player in 2003 who had been recruited by Osborne. You're saying TO's "aura" was recruiting? Does the NCAA allow auras to recruit?
I think the dirty little secret about Frank is that he was a better recruiter than Callahan or Pelini. If he hadn't struck out in quarterback recruiting, he might still be at NU.

No, I'm saying he was still riding Osborne's coattails when those guys were recruited. Once it was all on his plate we saw what the real deal was, and not unlike Bo, Frank didn't have "it."

 

[Trojan Husker]

Fair enough post here. I think we all want Bo to succeed with few exceptions. The faith is eroding quickly. I just wanna bring up tape gate again though, if Eichorst is on the fence with what direction to lean this year, I think that will likely play into pushing him over it.

I agree. I hate to say it, but that will give Eichorst the excuse he needs if Bo is sitting with something like an 8-4 record at the end of the season. That tape really angered a lot of people, myself included. I know the leaker was a coward etc. etc., but Bo's comments were a PR nightmare and put him on a short leash. Whenever I start to feel bad for Bo, I just remember those comments and realize he doesn't even really want to be here anyway.

 

[Bearkat Husker]

Fair enough post here. I think we all want Bo to succeed with few exceptions. The faith is eroding quickly. I just wanna bring up tape gate again though, if Eichorst is on the fence with what direction to lean this year, I think that will likely play into pushing him over it.

I agree. I hate to say it, but that will give Eichorst the excuse he needs if Bo is sitting with something like an 8-4 record at the end of the season. That tape really angered a lot of people, myself included. I know the leaker was a coward etc. etc., but Bo's comments were a PR nightmare and put him on a short leash. Whenever I start to feel bad for Bo, I just remember those comments and realize he doesn't even really want to be here anyway.

Excellent point. You took the words right off my keyboard

 

[Big "D"zasker]

Fair enough post here. I think we all want Bo to succeed with few exceptions. The faith is eroding quickly. I just wanna bring up tape gate again though, if Eichorst is on the fence with what direction to lean this year, I think that will likely play into pushing him over it.

I agree. I hate to say it, but that will give Eichorst the excuse he needs if Bo is sitting with something like an 8-4 record at the end of the season. That tape really angered a lot of people, myself included. I know the leaker was a coward etc. etc., but Bo's comments were a PR nightmare and put him on a short leash. Whenever I start to feel bad for Bo, I just remember those comments and realize he doesn't even really want to be here anyway.

Yep. Bo made those comments and said what he really thought back when he and his agent still believed he was a hot commodity (they were wrong). Now that the big hand of life has slapped him across the head and he realizes that he'll never get a $3MM a year job again he wants to play nice. I'm not buying it. It would be easier to buy if there was any glimmer of hope that he'll be an elite head coach some day, but Magic 8-Ball says "No Dice."