The University of Nebraska thought they were on the Gravy Train with Biscuit Wheels when they fired former head football coach Bo Pelini. From 2007 on through 2014 Bo Pelini served as head coach of the Cornhuskers and churned out VERY respectable records, never finishing worse than 9-4, and finishing with three 10-win seasons.
Well, that wasn’t enough for the storied Cornhusker program so they sacked their winning coach, hoisted Mike Riley to head coach, and things have gone downhill in a hurry. Nebraska’s 3-6 on the season and they’ve become the laughing stock of the nation for letting go of their winning coach and falling into the Big Ten cellar. Things have gotten so bad that fans have taken to Craigslist with the most polite post I’ve ever seen. Usually when people are calling for a head coach to be fired it gets pretty vicious, but not in Nebraska:
Here’s that text (from Craigslist) if the image is too hard to read:
This football coach was taken in at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln eleven months ago, saved from a sad situation in Corvallis, OR. We assumed that, given a better, more luxurious home, he would adapt to his surroundings and thrive in his new environment. This hasn’t been the case. It’s now clear that a larger home with greater responsibilities is not the place for him. He would be better off with a gentler home where less is expected of him.
Despite his failures during his time in Nebraska, he is still unbelievably nice (almost to a fault). No matter what the situation, he can be seen with a smile, whether that’s what you want from him or not. He is kind and calm, and won’t disrupt you or upset anyone in charge of him with his behavior. That’s why we brought him in in the first place (his predecessor had behavioral issues that no one could solve).
We believe if brought to a quaint, humble home he would be a beloved addition. His demeanor will convince you that everything will be okay with him around (the effect may wear off after ~8 months). But we are more than willing to give him away if anyone would like to take him.
P.S. If interested, we may also be able to come to a deal on an athletic director in a similar situation.
It’s sad to see a program like Nebraska in such disarray when just a year ago things were going great with Bo Pelini. Programs forget how hard it is to win games in Power 5 conferences, and they think every season should be 10 wins. For some schools this is true (Alabama, Florida State), but for other schools a 10-win season is the equivalent of a National Championship…Nebraska’s been one of the latter for quite some time, they just don’t realize it yet.