Bill's Gone...Now What?

Yesterday, Nebraska's Dali Lama of the Pigskin, Tom Osborne, confirmed what everyone pretty much new was coming. Bill Callahan is out as head football coach. After four years of absolutely horrible football, it should come as no surprise.

Let's face it, Callahan never fit at Nebraska. I don't think it was his trashing of the power football, option offense to the West Coast offense, although that didn't sit well with a lot of Nebraskans. You don't have to look past the Big 12 to see the pendulum of change has swung in favor of passing offenses, witness Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, OSU, Colorado, the list goes on. No, it was something much deeper than that. It was as if the entire program had been stripped of its identity. Almost overnight, the vaunted Black Shirt defense morphed into the Pink Shirts. Their lack of intensity and effort was probably what defines Callahan's legacy. I think Callahan wanted to draw up his fancy offenses and leave the rest of the team to somebody else. You can't do that as a head coach. You're ultimately responsible for the entire team- not just the offense.

I have to question Callahan's judgement and toughness. His choice to start Sam Keller at QB over Joe Ganz seems pretty ridiculous at this point. But the bigger flaw, was Callahan's choice to keep Defensive Coordinator, Kevin Cosgrove. Callahan should've fired Cosgrove when it was obvious to everyone but him that Cosgrove's defense had quit playing with any intensity. Make no mistake, firing people is no fun, it's a tough job, but sometimes completely necessary. Because Callahan chose not to make a tough decision, he paid the ultimate price- he lost his job. And Cosgrove will end up losing his job too anyway.

Here's my 3 Step fix for the next NU coach:

1. Restore Blackshirt Pride. Recruit players that have a mean streak in them. I don't care if they're from California or Crete. They gotta be able to hit somebody in the mouth.
2. Restore the walk-on program. There are some tremendous athletes right at home. Let's make sure we keep them. And by keeping them, we keep the Husker fan base.
3. Humble yourself. We don't need or want any more bold promises or chest thumping. Just do your job and let the results speak for themselves.

I hope the next guy that steps into those Big Red coaching shoes, brings back a sense of honor, pride and toughness. Every little boy that plays Midget football in Nebraska grows up dreaming of playing for the Huskers. Let's keep it that way.