Blank Slate - What parts of NU would you keep -OR- throw out as we start the next era?

[huskerj12]

(Apologies to anybody seeing this here and on IN but thought it could generate some good/funny discussion)

I'm not sure how exactly to phrase this so bear with me, but the end of the Frost era really, finally, feels like the end of the NU Football Program as it was defined from the 1970s-90s. Throughout all our failures of the last 20 years, it was always about "How do we get it back? How do we recapture being NEBRASKA? Who is going to make this place feel how it felt under Devaney/Osborne?"

Each coach was judged by what he did, but he was also judged by how well he fit into the IDEA of 70s-90s Nebraska football. Callahan didn't get it and didn't care to get it, Bo got bits and pieces of it but ended up perplexed and enraged by it, Riley's head was in the clouds so he was immune to it, but then Frost was the one who CAME FROM IT. He was the ace in the hole all those years, and his program's unfathomable faceplant pretty much shut the door on anybody out there linking modern NU football back to the glory years.

I'm not saying it was "Frost Or Bust," I just mean I don't sense nearly the same type of appetite from the fans that we need A Nebraska Guy or someone who will bring in old guys to talk to the team about what it all meant to them back then. I can only speak for myself, but the epic failure of Frost "getting things back to how they used to be around here" has me ready to truly turn the page. The county fair/family reunion vibe can't drive everything anymore. I don't want to alienate fans or former players/coaches, I just want the new coach to be allowed to start fresh. We as a program need to unclench a little bit and allow the next coach the freedom to create a new program that can sustain itself into the future, the way Devaney did, and not just try to cram himself into the rickety 70s-90s Nebraska Football Machine.

SO, if that happens, what kinds of stuff like traditions/songs/logos/mascots/uniforms/Husker Vision/PR strategies/tunnel walk/fan stereotypes/walk on program/etc. would you want to keep or throw out if you got to start NU football with a blank slate? What is still valuable (like fan support) and what should be left in the dust (the Irish folk song)?

 

[lee_carvallo_12]

It's going to have to be a top down program teardown and rebuild if it's going to work. That means anyone below Turd should be out. There's nothing to be gained by keeping failed parts of prior regimes.

 

[Mavsker]

Everyone talking about how the sellout streak / tunnel walk / Irish folk song are somehow detrimental to the program = potato

All you need is a new coach who knows how to recruit and develop players, and how to make good in-game decisions and adjustments. That's literally it.

(I do agree with dumping all these 90s football players and their friends who somehow got jobs in and around the AD)

 

[Irv]

The after action report needs to discover what circumstances led to Wyatt Liewer seeing the field so much and ensure those never again arise.

 

[Tell_Sackett]

I do believe the sell out streak, no matter how manufactured it is now, is a differentiator we should hope to keep. The fan base is our only strength at this point, even if we have enabled our own failure to an extent.

As far as things to bring back... A pipeline we can be proud of, a reliable running game and a belief that we will inflict more pain than we incur. We are the softest, pansy ass program on our schedule and it really irritates me.

 

[lee_carvallo_12]

I guess I should make it clear that I don't think we should dump our traditions. I feel strongly we should dump all personnel who have been involved too long from support staff to administrative roles. #buildbackbetter

 

[iruletheskool]

Pop Lil Red!!!

 

[Juro]

Keep:
Brown hair Herbie
Clear my Throat during 3rd/4th quarter
Any long term Husker fan recognition
The Union Walk or whatever it's called with players walking into the stadium
The Huskers PR team (they're the unspoken heroes for their kool-aid methods)
No balloons

Discard:
Lil'Red
Benches for seating (fucking upgrade to seats already)
Tunnel walk song only for walking (literally only do the 1 minute prep thing before the song gets played)
Fireworks
Irish song
Country music being played
Any mention of The Pipeline until we actually can Pipeline a defense

 

[Ripping Lips]

Probably not a popular opinion, but maybe revamp the walk on program and only take a select few. IMO, It’s been irrelevant lately and only a select few ever developed into major contributors. I could be wrong….

 

[BIGSTICK67]

Probably not a popular opinion, but maybe revamp the walk on program and only take a select few. IMO, It’s been irrelevant lately and only a select few ever developed into major contributors. I could be wrong….

I think this is a good start, and the walk-on program would be one of my 1st changes.

Also, WGAF about the Blackshirts about now? Someday when they start playing their balls off, surprise them with Blackshirts. If that's 3-years from now, so be it. I know heads will explode in the state, but it's almost a distraction at this point.

Get a good leader with a very good staff, and improvements will be noticeable within the first couple years. What @Mavsker said. Re-think who you allow close to the program. I'm not saying to not allow letter winners into practice occasionally or into the football offices. What I'm saying is unless you're on the paid coaching staff (MJ hopefully) and maybe Busch, get rid of the volunteer guys.

Clean shit up basically, and run it like a big business.

 

[Ext. 55]

It's going to have to be a top down program teardown and rebuild if it's going to work. That means anyone below Turd should be out. There's nothing to be gained by keeping failed parts of prior regimes.

This. Husker football as we know it is dead. We truly are at ground zero.

 

[huskerj12]

Leave Behind:

• Walk-on glorification - I'm sure some of them truly work harder than "talented" recruits and inspire them to seize the day, but the tall tale has outlived the actual benefit
• Irish folk song - it's jarring, grating, uninspiring, laughable
• Whoever is in charge of in-game video features. A tiny bit of "agriculture history lesson" type stuff can be charming when we're blowing someone out, but usually I'd rather have chants or the marching band fill the lulls of the game.
• Same goes for the music they play. I never need to hear AC/DC or "STAND UP AND SHOUUUUT" again. There's plenty of music that can be used to pump up the crowd.
• Brown haired Herbie
• Larry The Cable Guy as program ambassador
• Super slo-mo/dramatic music highlight reels and recaps
• Media bugging Tom Osborne for interviews

Keep:

• Actually earn the reputation for kickass physical football, which has been a hollow reputation for most of the last 20 years
• Blonde Herbie
• Use the Huskers script logo fulltime

Keep, but change:

• Sell out streak. This is controversial because it's already been fudged for years, but I actually do think it's one of those things that is worth the PR it brings. So many recruits over the years have talked about how mindblowing it is, and letting it end out of spite is a mistake. You can't just restart something that gigantic. My caveat is that they need to go back down to like 80K seats ASAP so that it can be a legitimate sellout streak again.
• Blackshirts - Enough of the nonsense, just give it to whoever is starting that week. Most of our defenses have been so sad over the past 20 years that the "Blackshirt tradition" and all of its pageantry is almost set up to fail.
• Uniforms - Nothing drastic, but I actually think our practice jerseys look great and unique, and before anybody talks about tradition our jerseys had vertical stripes like that in the early 70s
• Welcoming back former players - Must include players from all eras, and must have the ability to have polite but firm boundaries with them. I think current players end up feeling suffocated by their presence and attention sometimes.
• Tunnel Walk - I actually still like Sirius and get chills in the stadium when it starts, but the rest of the presentation around the Tunnel Walk has gotten really stale. The videos are somehow overdramatic AND boring at the same time, the fireworks and smoke machine stuff might be cool up close I'm not sure. The best/most memorable Tunnel Walks of my lifetime were in the early days, when it was a short goofy cartoon that ended with like a football bomb exploding the opponents helmet, and then cut to the team walking down a small unadorned hallway looking like they were about to go murder someone.

 

[betsch]

Probably not a popular opinion, but maybe revamp the walk on program and only take a select few. IMO, It’s been irrelevant lately and only a select few ever developed into major contributors. I could be wrong….

I heard the other day that they had to cut some spots on other men's programs because of the football walk-on program due to Title 9. Track and field being one of them. Even though it isn't a scholarship spot, it is still a position of opportunity so women had "less opportunity". A friend of mine's son was going on an official visit for track and field and they said they would no longer have a spot because of this. I could be wrong or off a bit on my description, but with as strict as they are with Title 9 it sounded legit.

 

[lee_carvallo_12]

This. Husker football as we know it is dead. We truly are at ground zero.

Yes. Like Severe said on Sunday morning post GA Southern “we’re no longer diagnosing symptoms. this is an autopsy.”

 

[Ext. 55]

Yes. Like Severe said on Sunday morning post GA Southern “we’re no longer diagnosing symptoms. this is an autopsy.”

It really is. It’s sad and hard to admit…obviously most won’t admit it. But it’s dead.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be born again. But if it is going to be reborn, it has to take on a new form. It can. We have facilities, resources, and an endless supply of optimistic (maybe not realistic) fans to fill the stadium.

AND it’s time to look at how we view Husker football moving forward.

I’m not sure it will be possible given the small market we live in and the number of money & power brokers who think they need their bit of control over it…and there are many…but it’s possible.

If the same groups are unable to stay out of it, we will see another 20 years of bad football.

I said from the hire of Frost that he was to big to fail and would implode our program if he wasn’t successful. Didn’t like the hire. Not because he wasn’t the hot coach at the time, but because of who he was to the program and to Dr. Tom.

This is the single biggest hire since The Bobfather. We are at ground zero.

Whoever accepts the job has massive resources and support. And they will have to navigate some very murky internal waters and expectations to find success.

If they can, expect a winner. If not…we officially become the Kansas of old for another 20 years.