What's Your "If Only" Husker History Change?

[Southendzonehusker]

We did talk to Urban while he was at Utah but he wanted a zero $ buy out of Notre Dame or Ohio state came calling and my hunch is we didn’t want our program minimalized like that by the HC’s contract so moved on. Then he got the UF job after that.



The BC conversation is full of opinions and I’ve got some too. I believe his downfall was inline with what FSU had happened this year. His 06 team was still underskilled but had good leadership. And it was leadership he recruited and put in place, and a team that wound up 9-3 before going to the Big XII championship and then playing Auburn in the bowl. So, the track record is there he could do it. The 07 team had none of that. The Juco players he relied on in 04 and 05 to come in and set the tone had graduated, there was the internal strife around Keller vs Ganz, and the team just didn’t care anymore. Perhaps, had he not gone so deep in the Juco space to fill out his team, and he built leadership early on with HS players, the rebuild would have been slower, yet more stable. IIRC he pivoted to much fewer Juco players in 06 and where 07 was before falling apart, which fueled the leadership gap.

BC lost the team and that’s on him. But he also saw that he had no support from the admin. Coz would have found a new home if BC had been supported. But the writing was on the wall, so BC wasn’t going to throw anyone under the bus… he knew he was getting fired.

I would have to agree with this a lot. I’m not saying Callahan was our guy forever but if he would have made a few changes it’s hard for me to think it would have ended as badly as it did. I also forgot about the Ganz Keller thing. I remember people thinking Keller was going to be our guy and take us over the hump. Callahan also needed to stay off message boards and listening to what fans have to say. No matter what some fans will never be happy.

 

[JankTheTank]

If only... Solich doesn't get fired in 2003 and we get to see what he can do with with a second year with his post-2002 staff adjustments.

If it works, we maybe get a couple more years of being in the 9-10 wins a year department and maintain some respect. If it doesn't, he's shown the door and we avoid becoming radioactive for coaching candidates by firing a coach after a 9-3 season. Urban Meyer is then potentially on the hook from 2005 and beyond.

I'm not one that thinks Solich could have gotten it done in the long run. But delaying the firing by a year drastically alters the program's trajectory.

 

[Irv]

Terrance Nunn fumble vs Texas

Came here to say this. It appeared we were actually back.

And then we weren’t.

Callahan was flawed but so are most coaches. That was his particular window to succeed and it closed most cruelly.

 

[doublewing]

If only... Solich doesn't get fired in 2003 and we get to see what he can do with with a second year with his post-2002 staff adjustments.

If it works, we maybe get a couple more years of being in the 9-10 wins a year department and maintain some respect. If it doesn't, he's shown the door and we avoid becoming radioactive for coaching candidates by firing a coach after a 9-3 season. Urban Meyer is then potentially on the hook from 2005 and beyond.

I'm not one that thinks Solich could have gotten it done in the long run. But delaying the firing by a year drastically alters the program's trajectory.

Good points.

I've always found it odd that BC could go 5-7 in his final season and fans projected greatness while Solich made staff changes to go 10-3 in his final season and we were doomed if he stayed.

Neither coach had a great trajectory IMO but the BC projections are silly.

 

[TampaBaySkers]

Good points.

I've always found it odd that BC could go 5-7 in his final season and fans projected greatness while Solich made staff changes to go 10-3 in his final season and we were doomed if he stayed.

Neither coach had a great trajectory IMO but the BC projections are silly.

I think people get too hung up on BC’s recruiting. You have to recruit AND develop

 

[KidsSeeGhosts]

Good points.

I've always found it odd that BC could go 5-7 in his final season and fans projected greatness while Solich made staff changes to go 10-3 in his final season and we were doomed if he stayed.

Neither coach had a great trajectory IMO but the BC projections are silly.

The 03 offense was terrible, even with Jamal Lord and would’ve been an abomination piloted by Joe Dailey.

 

[huskerf an4ever]

I was at that game. What a retard

That being said .. if we win that game does it really change anything?

Probably not but it would make me feel better haha.

 

[BorWhiskey]

If only... Solich doesn't get fired in 2003 and we get to see what he can do with with a second year with his post-2002 staff adjustments.

If it works, we maybe get a couple more years of being in the 9-10 wins a year department and maintain some respect. If it doesn't, he's shown the door and we avoid becoming radioactive for coaching candidates by firing a coach after a 9-3 season. Urban Meyer is then potentially on the hook from 2005 and beyond.

I'm not one that thinks Solich could have gotten it done in the long run. But delaying the firing by a year drastically alters the program's trajectory.

First, I’m not going to disagree with you about firing a 9 win (he would have gotten to 10 if he was allowed to coach Alamo Bowl) coach. In hindsight, while I was supportive of the decision to move on at the time, we should have let him fail rather than projected further slippage and prematurely fired him. IMO, he would have failed. His talent accumulation was pure garbage. I assume maybe we have Curt Dukes running the offense— too much time has passed for me to remember the timeline— but regardless we would have been a pretty bad offense, and what Solich had in our front 7 was slow as fuck. That team maybe wins 7 and keeps bowl game streak going but there were no trends showing us that Solich was ever going to figure out recruiting. And therefore we were likely capped out at that 7 win mark moving forward in his watch.

On the point about being a radioactive school, I disagree that was the case. If anything, what made us radioactive was firing a coach after four years (actually more like 3.5 years given what TO was saying to the media), and another after three years. But still I’m not sure that made us radioactive either.

When we fired Solich, we had initially targeted Mike Sherman. We thought it was a done deal. Sherman had agreed but then backed out. So, we had our first choice (probably also would have been a bad hire, but that’s a different discussion), therefore I’m not sure we were considered radioactive by anyone. As I said above, we also could have hired Meyer if we would have agreed to his terms, but we didn’t. Then the whole Houston Nutt saga where we got caught up in “give me an offer and I’ll accept”, and us saying “accept the job then we’ll give you an offer.” At this point we backed into BC.

Good points.

I've always found it odd that BC could go 5-7 in his final season and fans projected greatness while Solich made staff changes to go 10-3 in his final season and we were doomed if he stayed.

Neither coach had a great trajectory IMO but the BC projections are silly.

I don’t think this is fair of the times. We were a divided fan base. The tradition coalition (tc) and the people who wanted to move on. The TC wanted BC to fail from the start as they were pissed Solich got fired. It was spearheaded by TO refusing to show any sort of support of BC despite BC reaching out multiple times trying to pay homage and build a relationship. The people who felt Solich was a lost cause (like me at the time) were so fucking annoyed with the TC and their outward rooting for BC’s 5-7 seasons that the debate wasn’t about what was right or wrong… it was us vs them. I didn’t necessarily believe BC was going to return us to greatness, I just never felt like Nebraska as a whole gave him a shot. And that was upsetting.

I think people get too hung up on BC’s recruiting. You have to recruit AND develop

Agreed. But his recruiting was significantly better than Solich’s or Pelini’s. The talent BC started with was putrid, and the talent he left Bo was very good. @Mythosaur did I hear you say that Bo’s staff (or even hisself) has been admitting that behind closed doors? That the talent they had been handed in 2008 was pretty damn good?

 

[BradWesley]

Somehow not letting Texas, Baylor, TTU, and A&M into the Big 8 (12).

 

[Stan Raymond]

Somehow not letting Texas, Baylor, TTU, and A&M into the Big 8 (12).

That is a very interesting "what if".

 

[Stan Raymond]

First, I’m not going to disagree with you about firing a 9 win (he would have gotten to 10 if he was allowed to coach Alamo Bowl) coach. In hindsight, while I was supportive of the decision to move on at the time, we should have let him fail rather than projected further slippage and prematurely fired him. IMO, he would have failed. His talent accumulation was pure garbage. I assume maybe we have Curt Dukes running the offense— too much time has passed for me to remember the timeline— but regardless we would have been a pretty bad offense, and what Solich had in our front 7 was slow as fuck. That team maybe wins 7 and keeps bowl game streak going but there were no trends showing us that Solich was ever going to figure out recruiting. And therefore we were likely capped out at that 7 win mark moving forward in his watch.

On the point about being a radioactive school, I disagree that was the case. If anything, what made us radioactive was firing a coach after four years (actually more like 3.5 years given what TO was saying to the media), and another after three years. But still I’m not sure that made us radioactive either.

When we fired Solich, we had initially targeted Mike Sherman. We thought it was a done deal. Sherman had agreed but then backed out. So, we had our first choice (probably also would have been a bad hire, but that’s a different discussion), therefore I’m not sure we were considered radioactive by anyone. As I said above, we also could have hired Meyer if we would have agreed to his terms, but we didn’t. Then the whole Houston Nutt saga where we got caught up in “give me an offer and I’ll accept”, and us saying “accept the job then we’ll give you an offer.” At this point we backed into BC.

I don’t think this is fair of the times. We were a divided fan base. The tradition coalition (tc) and the people who wanted to move on. The TC wanted BC to fail from the start as they were pissed Solich got fired. It was spearheaded by TO refusing to show any sort of support of BC despite BC reaching out multiple times trying to pay homage and build a relationship. The people who felt Solich was a lost cause (like me at the time) were so fucking annoyed with the TC and their outward rooting for BC’s 5-7 seasons that the debate wasn’t about what was right or wrong… it was us vs them. I didn’t necessarily believe BC was going to return us to greatness, I just never felt like Nebraska as a whole gave him a shot. And that was upsetting.

Agreed. But his recruiting was significantly better than Solich’s or Pelini’s. The talent BC started with was putrid, and the talent he left Bo was very good. @Mythosaur did I hear you say that Bo’s staff (or even hisself) has been admitting that behind closed doors? That the talent they had been handed in 2008 was pretty damn good?

Good stuff in there.

I don't think firing any coach made us radioactive to prospective coaches. But as a fan I was saddened the way the administration and some fans/boosters supported some of our coaches. Callahan and Riley had no chance of success in their final season as they were pretty much dead man walking pretty early in the season. Based on what they all have done post-Nebraska, they all deserved to get fired, we didn't fire anyone to early. The Solich firing was timed terrible, either the year before after the 7-7 or give him another year. The Solich firing really split the fanbase and has caused issues for a long time.

 

[Irv]

Good stuff in there.

I don't think firing any coach made us radioactive to prospective coaches. But as a fan I was saddened the way the administration and some fans/boosters supported some of our coaches. Callahan and Riley had no chance of success in their final season as they were pretty much dead man walking pretty early in the season. Based on what they all have done post-Nebraska, they all deserved to get fired, we didn't fire anyone to early. The Solich firing was timed terrible, either the year before after the 7-7 or give him another year. The Solich firing really split the fanbase and has caused issues for a long time.

I think it would have looked better to fire him after 7-7, but the universe of Nebraska fans who were mad about firing Solich after 10-3 was probably almost identical to the universe of Nebraska fans that would have been mad about firing him after 7-7. Something about his connection to TO and “real Nebraska football” and all that was always going to make him a martyr.

We needed a great hire after TO, and we needed one that TO would throw all of his support behind. Unfortunately, we were never going to find someone that met both criteria

 

[Ext. 55]

1 second back on the clock. Texas.

 

[Stan Raymond]

I think it would have looked better to fire him after 7-7, but the universe of Nebraska fans who were mad about firing Solich after 10-3 was probably almost identical to the universe of Nebraska fans that would have been mad about firing him after 7-7. Something about his connection to TO and “real Nebraska football” and all that was always going to make him a martyr.

We needed a great hire after TO, and we needed one that TO would throw all of his support behind. Unfortunately, we were never going to find someone that met both criteria

You are probably correct.

 

[Minute Man]

First, I’m not going to disagree with you about firing a 9 win (he would have gotten to 10 if he was allowed to coach Alamo Bowl) coach. In hindsight, while I was supportive of the decision to move on at the time, we should have let him fail rather than projected further slippage and prematurely fired him. IMO, he would have failed. His talent accumulation was pure garbage. I assume maybe we have Curt Dukes running the offense— too much time has passed for me to remember the timeline— but regardless we would have been a pretty bad offense, and what Solich had in our front 7 was slow as fuck. That team maybe wins 7 and keeps bowl game streak going but there were no trends showing us that Solich was ever going to figure out recruiting. And therefore we were likely capped out at that 7 win mark moving forward in his watch.

On the point about being a radioactive school, I disagree that was the case. If anything, what made us radioactive was firing a coach after four years (actually more like 3.5 years given what TO was saying to the media), and another after three years. But still I’m not sure that made us radioactive either.

When we fired Solich, we had initially targeted Mike Sherman. We thought it was a done deal. Sherman had agreed but then backed out. So, we had our first choice (probably also would have been a bad hire, but that’s a different discussion), therefore I’m not sure we were considered radioactive by anyone. As I said above, we also could have hired Meyer if we would have agreed to his terms, but we didn’t. Then the whole Houston Nutt saga where we got caught up in “give me an offer and I’ll accept”, and us saying “accept the job then we’ll give you an offer.” At this point we backed into BC.

I don’t think this is fair of the times. We were a divided fan base. The tradition coalition (tc) and the people who wanted to move on. The TC wanted BC to fail from the start as they were pissed Solich got fired. It was spearheaded by TO refusing to show any sort of support of BC despite BC reaching out multiple times trying to pay homage and build a relationship. The people who felt Solich was a lost cause (like me at the time) were so fucking annoyed with the TC and their outward rooting for BC’s 5-7 seasons that the debate wasn’t about what was right or wrong… it was us vs them. I didn’t necessarily believe BC was going to return us to greatness, I just never felt like Nebraska as a whole gave him a shot. And that was upsetting.

Agreed. But his recruiting was significantly better than Solich’s or Pelini’s. The talent BC started with was putrid, and the talent he left Bo was very good. @Mythosaur did I hear you say that Bo’s staff (or even hisself) has been admitting that behind closed doors? That the talent they had been handed in 2008 was pretty damn good?

To add to what you said, a lot of people ignore the pearl-clutching that happened when the Vikings interviewed Cosgrove for DC after 2006. RSS wanted him here after that season.

BC used the 2006 season to build to the 2007 USC game. When that went sideways, a lot of the upperclassmen defensive players checked out. They would have been better off playing young defensive players and building off of them and the class coming in no matter what the record was. There was never a chance of that happening once TO became AD.

 

[ShortSideOption]

I actually always wanted to see what Bo could have done if we would have kept him around and Eichorst gave him what he asked for (which subsequently he gave Mike Riley after firing Pelini). I know people always say he was "bound for a downtick due to cupboard being bare" but Mike Riley won 9 games starting basically all Bo recruits two years after he was gone.

 

[Huskerforlife]

1983 failed 2-point conversion to win the NC.