Some pre spring practice thoughts.....

[Tsakoi]

1: Are you buying what Rhule is selling? Is the team?

I'm as skeptical as anyone these days when someone comes along and tells you what you want to hear. Lord knows the US is full of people, that while being complete frauds, still have people who support them no matter what as long as they keep saying the things they like. And Rhule has definitely struck a cord with Husker fans through his comments and actions so far. So, is he genuine or a fake? I am leaning towards that he is genuine because I just don't believe that anyone could fake it this WELL. Shouldn't he have had a mis-step by now? Trust me when I say that as a group Nebraska fans aren't going to be so suseptible to falling for a phony this time around. Our radar is on high alert from years of trauma. And those same traumatized fans are liking what they see and hear from Rhule. We can't all be falling for some mass delusion, can we? We aren't Colorado mindlessly falling into a trap that has been set by a slick talker with some fancy cars. I think we are laser focused and would notice the fraud if Rhule was selling bullshit. Of course spring practices are about to start and offer us an even closer look, so I'm sure it will provide more evidence of what I'm saying. That's just how I'm seeing it anyways.

2: We need the whole team to feel like Thomas Fidone.

I kind of questioned why TF was chosen to speak to the media the other day. (Don't get me started on C. Borders) But after some thinking I came to the conclusion that I don't think there is a player at Nebraska that feels like he has more to prove than TF. He wants to show he can play. He wants to contribute. He basically wants to finally actually be a college football player after such a long wait. And we need some of what he has to rub off on guys like Turner Corcoran, Nash Hutmacher and Zavier Betts. We need dudes that feel like they NEED to prove themselves and live up to the high rankings and heralded potential. If we are gonna be successful this year we need some dudes that haven't quite been up to snuff to have a fire lit under their ass. And Rhule is offering them the perfect opportunity to show it.


Anyway....that is just what came to mind as I was doing my daily jogging earlier.

 

[NEHusker54]

The amount of attention that Rhule gives to small details compared to the last clown and the cohesiveness of this staff has to translate to some measured improvement on the field….right? Idk, he’s said all the right things and I’m fully bought in. What other choice do we have.

 

[Mustangblood]

I was out on frost during the Covid year and have been pretty pessimistic since then, I’ve now done a 180 and I’m now the koolaid drinker in the group. I’m ready to believe again and by god I hope I’m right this time.

 

[Tsakoi]

I was out on frost during the Covid year and have been pretty pessimistic since then, I’ve now done a 180 and I’m now the koolaid drinker in the group. I’m ready to believe again and by god I hope I’m right this time.

What I really like about this whole thing is that Turd was on Scott's ass from the get go. He recognized it was an unsustainable situation and got his ducks in a row to rectify the situation. My trust in Turd has increased ten fold.

 

[Dell Husker]

I was actually thinking about this the other day…
What makes this group of staff different than Frosts first one?

They label themselves as “family”
A few are inexperienced with a couple veterans
Media buys everything they sell in pressers

 

[HuskerDocCo]

the medical term, is ballsac

 

[DrinkItIn]

1: Are you buying what Rhule is selling? Is the team?

I'm as skeptical as anyone these days when someone comes along and tells you what you want to hear. Lord knows the US is full of people, that while being complete frauds, still have people who support them no matter what as long as they keep saying the things they like. And Rhule has definitely struck a cord with Husker fans through his comments and actions so far. So, is he genuine or a fake? I am leaning towards that he is genuine because I just don't believe that anyone could fake it this WELL. Shouldn't he have had a mis-step by now? Trust me when I say that as a group Nebraska fans aren't going to be so suseptible to falling for a phony this time around. Our radar is on high alert from years of trauma. And those same traumatized fans are liking what they see and hear from Rhule. We can't all be falling for some mass delusion, can we? We aren't Colorado mindlessly falling into a trap that has been set by a slick talker with some fancy cars. I think we are laser focused and would notice the fraud if Rhule was selling bullshit. Of course spring practices are about to start and offer us an even closer look, so I'm sure it will provide more evidence of what I'm saying. That's just how I'm seeing it anyways.

2: We need the whole team to feel like Thomas Fidone.

I kind of questioned why TF was chosen to speak to the media the other day. (Don't get me started on C. Borders) But after some thinking I came to the conclusion that I don't think there is a player at Nebraska that feels like he has more to prove than TF. He wants to show he can play. He wants to contribute. He basically wants to finally actually be a college football player after such a long wait. And we need some of what he has to rub off on guys like Turner Corcoran, Nash Hutmacher and Zavier Betts. We need dudes that feel like they NEED to prove themselves and live up to the high rankings and heralded potential. If we are gonna be successful this year we need some dudes that haven't quite been up to snuff to have a fire lit under their ass. And Rhule is offering them the perfect opportunity to show it.


Anyway....that is just what came to mind as I was doing my daily jogging earlier.

IMO, there have not been any missteps so far, but many fans freaked out when Rhule hired Garret McGuire. That is the closest thing I can think of.

 

[Mustangblood]

I was actually thinking about this the other day…
What makes this group of staff different than Frosts first one?

They label themselves as “family”
A few are inexperienced with a couple veterans
Media buys everything they sell in pressers

I’d say the biggest differences so far with 20/20 hindsight, is Rhule didn’t just bring an entire staff that he already had with him. Yes he has connections to most of them but he went out and got who he wanted. Also the faith in the head man. Looking back frost didn’t have a set plan for all the new inexperienced coaches to fall back on, Rhule apparently does

 

[Poor_and_Stupid]

It would be totally on brand for The Simulation© to be teeing us up for the most massive kick to the balls of all time. That’s the only thing keeping me on edge. It knows how numb we have become to the pain. The only way to hurt us more is to make everything look so perfect that we have no choice but to buy in.

Fwiw I consider myself to be one of the most pessimistic people on the board and even I believe we might actually not suck anymore.

 

[Kaladin]

Big ten champs

Big ten champs

 

[DrinkItIn]

It would be totally on brand for The Simulation© to be teeing us up for the most massive kick to the balls of all time. That’s the only thing keeping me on edge. It knows how numb we have become to the pain. The only way to hurt us more is to make everything look so perfect that we have no choice but to buy in.

Fwiw I consider myself to be one of the most pessimistic people on the board and even I believe we might actually not suck anymore.

 

[slattimer]

It would be totally on brand for The Simulation© to be teeing us up for the most massive kick to the balls of all time. That’s the only thing keeping me on edge. It knows how numb we have become to the pain. The only way to hurt us more is to make everything look so perfect that we have no choice but to buy in.

Fwiw I consider myself to be one of the most pessimistic people on the board and even I believe we might actually not suck anymore.

I'm in this camp. I love what he's doing and think he's the guy to turn it around....but part of me believes that until Solich comes back and sacrifices Lil' Red at midfield, the curse will continue.

 

[Kaladin]

MKR is elite. We will win games this year and win Big 10 championships/playoff games/national titles with him at the helm.

 

[Bootleg11]

I was actually thinking about this the other day…
What makes this group of staff different than Frosts first one?

They label themselves as “family”
A few are inexperienced with a couple veterans
Media buys everything they sell in pressers

I would say that
A) The head coach has done this before on the power 5 level.
B) He hired from outside his circle for his defensive coordinator hire and let him bring his analysts with him

Other then that, I'm guessing most new staffs are exactly as you describe them: They are generally familiar with each other, they get a first year boost from media and fans being excited about the new staff.

Whether it works or not? I don't know. But Rhule seems to have a plan. He appears to run a much different ship than Frost. He's definitely not an us vs the world guy like Pelini and Frost were.

I think the biggest thing you're gonna see with Rhule is that his practices are (to quote Mark Banker) a blood bath. I have heard that from every Texas High School coaches I know, "Get ready for Nebraska to be physical" "He puts the ball down at practice and let's them play" Rhule is unapologetic when it comes to how he runs practice. Very very physical practices. You definitely haven't seen that at Nebraska in a long time.

I also think you'll see his recruiting/roster management department ran much differently than Frost. It's going to be ran much more like what you see in the SEC as far as how many people are in it and with all of the analysts and player personnel guys

 

[Pepe Silvia]

the encouraging thing to me is that Rhule and his staff are doing so many of the basic things we've been talking about for years with previous staffs.

1) reaching out to TO and Solich
2) making himself visible (at places other than the golf course)
3) visiting local high schools
4) hiring support staff with connections in valuable recruiting areas

none of these will win games on the field, but they are basic functions of the job that should be expected of any HC, yet our past several coaches couldn't be bothered to make even a token effort.

That attention to detail and doing the simple things matches Rhule's stated goals and methodology for turning around a program. if he's going to expect the kind of commitment from the players that has been rumored he needs to walk the walk himself to have credibility with the team, and he's absolutely done that so far

 

[betsch]

I'm not sold that THIS year will been any better, but I feel pretty good about our future as a whole.

 

[Bootleg11]

I'm not sold that THIS year will been any better, but I feel pretty good about our future as a whole.

Agreed. They have a weird hodgepodge of guys on the defensive side. If White gets that group to work then he probably should get a raise.

 

[MtnHusker]

1: Are you buying what Rhule is selling? Is the team?

I'm as skeptical as anyone these days when someone comes along and tells you what you want to hear. Lord knows the US is full of people, that while being complete frauds, still have people who support them no matter what as long as they keep saying the things they like. And Rhule has definitely struck a cord with Husker fans through his comments and actions so far. So, is he genuine or a fake? I am leaning towards that he is genuine because I just don't believe that anyone could fake it this WELL. Shouldn't he have had a mis-step by now? Trust me when I say that as a group Nebraska fans aren't going to be so suseptible to falling for a phony this time around. Our radar is on high alert from years of trauma. And those same traumatized fans are liking what they see and hear from Rhule. We can't all be falling for some mass delusion, can we? We aren't Colorado mindlessly falling into a trap that has been set by a slick talker with some fancy cars. I think we are laser focused and would notice the fraud if Rhule was selling bullshit. Of course spring practices are about to start and offer us an even closer look, so I'm sure it will provide more evidence of what I'm saying. That's just how I'm seeing it anyways.

2: We need the whole team to feel like Thomas Fidone.

I kind of questioned why TF was chosen to speak to the media the other day. (Don't get me started on C. Borders) But after some thinking I came to the conclusion that I don't think there is a player at Nebraska that feels like he has more to prove than TF. He wants to show he can play. He wants to contribute. He basically wants to finally actually be a college football player after such a long wait. And we need some of what he has to rub off on guys like Turner Corcoran, Nash Hutmacher and Zavier Betts. We need dudes that feel like they NEED to prove themselves and live up to the high rankings and heralded potential. If we are gonna be successful this year we need some dudes that haven't quite been up to snuff to have a fire lit under their ass. And Rhule is offering them the perfect opportunity to show it.


Anyway....that is just what came to mind as I was doing my daily jogging earlier.

I've worn many hats in my years in the business world. Faced the challenges of helping struggling businesses and consulting on successful and failing companies. So between running, owning and consulting I have seen quite a bit giving me an idea of some noticeable differences between well run and poorly run. Plus I have not only played sports my whole life but also coached on the College Club & High School Levels. Truth be told I was a much better Asst Coach than Head Coach. I learned my place, and it wasn't as a Head Coach. I'm sure many others on here have had their own experiences dealing with CEO's/Coaching/big business so would love their take.

From his first Press Conference on I had concerns about Frost as I saw many characteristics that threw up Red Flags. They were more consistent with the poorly run business owners/CEO's than the well run business owners/CEO's. But winning can come in all forms but unfortunately we weren't a well run program that ended up losing at a record pace. Winners find a way to Win & Losers make excuses.

Rhule shows many traits of a great CEO/Business Owner/Coach. He seems to have a well thought out plan for success with a staff that all is on the same page. Surrounding himself with quality coaches and impressive behind the scenes staff. Communication is huge and so far there appears to be plenty of that plus he is a motivator. Players appear excited and having fun. Also Buy In is important and so far I have seen nothing from Rhule or his staff, or even the players that suggests they aren't Bought In 100%. Businesses run better when people know the expectations and their roles. Hold them accountable and it starts at the top. If you are going to Talk the Talk you need to Walk the Walk and so far Rhule & his staff have done that. He seems more CEO than any coach we have had with Callahan being the next closest when it comes to organization and well run behind the scenes. I am impressed with not only their work ethic but also their transparency. They are open which makes me feel they are comfortable in their own skin and not insecure. His Business Plan also seems to be based off of building a foundation for long term success, not just Win Now.

I am impressed so far with their plan and execution. Seen no major Red Flags so far. We have no idea if they can coach at a level necessary to compete for Championships in the B1G but I see them having a high Floor due to work ethic, facilities, recruiting, organization and leadership, Turd included. Depending on how tough our schedule is and how good the B1G is I would think they will have us at a minimum of 8-9 wins/season. Pelini like numbers as a Floor after a couple seasons except in a much deeper tougher conference. I'm drinking the Rhule-Aide so won't be shocked if we win 8 or more games this season.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Agreed. They have a weird hodgepodge of guys on the defensive side. If White gets that group to work then he probably should get a raise.

a competent running game would be the fastest way to improve our defense

 

[huskerj12]

As for his leadership and personality and fit at Nebraska, he has knocked it out of the goddamn park, beyond my wildest expectations. I don't know if I've ever seen another modern coach who is so clearly comfortable in his own skin, and is doing everything for the greater good of the program and players and fans. He doesn't coach to prove a point, or impress or intimidate anybody, speak in boring cliches or get his own glory. He's a genuine person who like, wants to make the world a better place?? and is using leadership and football and community and camaraderie to do it. I sound like I'm swooning over the dude, but he's just been extremely impressive every step of the way with that stuff.

Compared to our previous coaches, rather than shit on any of them I actually see Rhule having some of the best qualities of each one:

• Callahan's organization skills, recruiting tenacity, insistence on being cutting edge and modern
• Pelini's passion for the old-school gritty parts of football, and genuine relationships with players
• Riley's gratitude to be at a place like Nebraska, and total lack of arrogance
• UCF Frost's willingness to let players be players and have a blast being part of the team (sadly Frost's brain popped when he got to NU so I can't really think of anything he did particularly well as NU Frost 😕 )

Ironically, the football part of things is really the only mystery for me. I'm not exactly sure what the systems are going to look like, or how confident I should be in our coordinators, etc. So I'm not sure how confident I am yet in becoming a title contender again or anything. I don't have any bad vibes at all, I just don't have much to go off of yet. But as the guy leading Nebraska football, I think he's already shown he is going to be a perfect fit.