No on Bo

Say no to Bo

Pelini has reached godlike status with quite a few fans of Nebraska football. His short stint here where he re-energized a downtrodden defense and played head coach for a bowl game has many believing he is the best candidate for the job. Let's not forget his defense got its butt kicked against the three best offensive teams they played that year-Missouri, Texas and Kansas State. A year later as co-defensive coordinator at OU, he was rightly or wrongly blamed for defensive collapses against Bowling Green, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and USC. Now at LSU he arguably has as much defensive talent as anyone in the country but yet he still shows signs that he's not ready for the big time. A quick search of some LSU boards yields the following messages from Tiger fans regarding Pelini:

"God I hope Bo does not become our HC, I'm not too sure that you guys would want him either. He's already stated that he doesn't like to recruit, and after his last two game plans I am losing confidence in im as a DC. I mean how cocky is he? He was handed the blueprints on how to beat Florida and UK via South Carolina and Auburn, and he totally ignored them both. Granted we won the Florida game but I'll credit that one to our offense. I hope for Bo's sake that he can pull his head out of his rear and get this defense back on track."

"Hey man, all i can say is: if you want Bo, take him. So far this season after watching the defense and how they have been playing lately i conclude this. Bo Pelini already announced that he does not like to recruit...well there are strikes 2 and 3. On top of that, i think it is very apparent that LSU was a bit overrated...that or the media blew the LSU defense's heads up with so much crap they decided to sit back and relax against UF/UK. watching the defensive play calling it seems like Bo has only a handful of different defensive plays, and the blitzes he calls seem to be the same blitz every time."

"They are arrogant in different ways--Saban about his work ethic and philosophy on winning; Pelini on his complete inability to admit that he made any mistakes. As much as I've always hated Saban, I would have to say at this point that Pelini is even worse."

"I agree with you on Pelini, as he only excels against run-oriented. one-dimensional teams... But to say our DB's are amazing is way off base. Zenon has been terrible this year, and Chevis is catching up to him in this regard more and more each day. The rest are playing average at best. We have big problems here folks. I mean big problems."

"I still can't believe that Bo Pelini is such a pussy playcalling wise. I mean they (Auburn) drove 83 yards on "the best defense in the country" in the 4th quarter with not much time left, and scored a TD which almost made us lose. I'm so sick of seeing zone with 4 rushers or man with 4 rushers. They had 296 yards total and that is really about 100 to much."

In my opinion, Bo is not the answer to Nebraska's problems. We would probably be a tougher and more disciplined team and be re-energized for about a year until the shine wears off and we really find out what kind of head coach he is. We have no idea what kind of offense he would run since he has no track record on that side of the ball. IF he were to be successful, it could well be that he bolts for the NFL. At Nebraska, he will NEVER have the kind of talent he has had at LSU and Oklahoma, where he's seen great days as a defensive coordinator but also had his share of issues. And if its true that he really doesn't like recruiting...that is the nail in the coffin for me. Bottom line-he's not perfect and presents more questions than answers. Its a huge gamble for a program that doesn't need to take anymore risks. The safest best is Paul Johnson. Johnson is a proven winner as a head coach and exactly what Nebraska needs. Say no to Bo and let Texas A&M have him.