This offseason I wanted Deion because he was drastically different than anything we’ve ever had. I think it was the perfect time to have something we’ve never had.
Deion was Nebraskas golden egg and I worry they dropped it.
(reposting from a similar thread on rivals)
Way too early to tell, obviously. My hunch is that Sanders' approach may work perfectly at Colorado, but it wouldn't have worked the same way at NU.
Colorado and their fans embrace the idea that they're some flashy villains, they love to hate and be hated, in their minds they were like the Miami of the Big 8/12. So even after all their time in the wilderness, they were waiting for someone exactly like Sanders to come in and embrace the new-school version of that. Sanders isn't a villain, he seems like a good person, but obviously he absolutely values flash, media hype, bombast, all the spotlight on him and his brand and speaking in the third person, all of the things that make opposing fans crazy. He's sort of like Barry Switzer in that way, a flamboyant charmer playing by his own rules, but you can't quite hate him because (as of right now) he backs it up and doesn't seem like an actual bad guy.
In comparison, Nebraska football is a wayyy different box to fit into. Our fans are desperate for success, but we also still crave the traditional motivational/brotherhood type of approach that worked at NU in the past. For better or worse, Sanders' approach would have freaked out tons of NU fans, it would've been an uneasy marriage from the start.
I mean can anyone really imagine Nebraska football being branded as "COACH PRIME" all over the internet and all media coverage? He needed to be at a program that he could absorb into his own brand, and NU is too monolithic to do that.
As for Rhule, game 1 was a little worse than I expected, but not enough to cancel out everything we saw during the offseason. If Sanders is like Switzer, Rhule (hopefully) is like Bob Devaney - completely comfortable in his own skin, bringing his own tried and true approach to Nebraska, connecting with people of all walks of life in NU fandom, and authentically wanting to develop an updated Nebraska identity that is still built on toughness, brotherhood, development, etc.
Sanders' strategy is built on instant results that may or may not be long-lasting, Rhule's is built on slow and steady results that will theoretically be long-lasting at a place that is not naturally built for flash and quick fixes. That's why I'm going to be pretty patient for the on-field side of things, it might not be pretty but I think we will start seeing the signs of progress throughout the year. Hopefully starting this week.