And on the eighth day, Osborne said, "Let there be Bo!"
That's right. If you check any recently printed calendars in Nebraska, you'll notice they have eight-day weeks. That's the time it took interim athletics director, and Nebraska legend, Tom Osborne to oust former head football coach Bill Callahan and replace him with fan favorite Bo Pelini.
OK, most of that isn't entirely true, but for Nebraska football fans, it isn't far off. To put it mildly, the last four years have been a living hell for Husker Nation and only now are rays of sunshine beginning to break through.
It's hard to describe exactly what Cornhusker football means to Nebraskans. I would say it's like the obsession with Kansas basketball in this region, but it really isn't.
In Kansas, sports fans on this half of the state have the Chiefs and Royals in addition to Kansas basketball and suddenly Kansas football figures into the equation. Fans in central Kansas have Kansas State and Wichita State to root for. Southeast Kansas has Pittsburg State football (it's actually a pretty big thing there). Along the Oklahoma border there are plenty of Sooners fans. And western Kansas can pick and choose between all of thee above or even venture over into Colorado and follow the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets and Buffaloes.
Not so for Nebraskans.
There isn't a single major professional sports team in the state. They have the Omaha Royals, but the O Royals are so popular up there, the team is trying to build a smaller stadium to accommodate their typically scant crowds. The College World Series is played in Omaha every year, but that's more of a national event that only Omaha can take pride in.
No. Imagine what hockey means to Canadians. Imagine what soccer means to Brazilians. Imagine what baseball means to Dominicans. Now add them all together. Cornhusker football is like a favorite son to Nebraskans and for 40 years before Callahan's arrival, their son could do no wrong.
In four seasons under Callahan, Nebraska suffered two losing seasons and lost a total of 22 games – equal to the Cornhuskers' total number of losses the previous 11 seasons. There was the 70-10 loss to Texas Tech in 2004. There was the loss at Kansas in 2005. And just as Callahan seemed to be turning the program around with a Big 12 North title and Cotton Bowl appearance in 2006, 2007 was downright unbearable.
Nebraska was embarrassed at home on national television by USC and didn't help matters the following Saturday, beating Ball State by just one point at home. Then came another forgettable performance on national television against Missouri two weeks later that was the first of five straight losses, including a 76-39 loss at Kansas, and the beginning of the end for Callahan. But before Callahan was fired, his defense set Nebraska records for points allowed in a game and in a season and appropriately finished the season with a 65-51 loss at Colorado. By then, Nebraska's five national championships were but a distant memory.
This season was such a disgrace that Nebraska's official athletics Web site has already replaced links to the 2007 coaching staff, roster and schedule with links for 2008.
Enter Pelini.
The book on Pelini is relatively thin:
He's not a household name. However, he was widely regarded as a hot coaching commodity heading into the offseason. Popular opinion was he'd be a head coach somewhere before the calendar turned.
He's a defensive-minded guy. He played safety at Ohio State from 1987-90 and was a team captain his senior year.
He's intelligent. He was named Academic All-Big Ten three times.
He's well traveled. He was an NFL assistant for eight years, most recently at Green Bay. In 2004, he was co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Oklahoma. The last three seasons he's been the defensive coordinator at LSU.
He gets results. His defenses ranked third best in the nation every season he's been at LSU. In 2006, the LSU defense had its lowest yards allowed per game average in 30 years and led the SEC in six defensive categories. This season, despite his best defensive player battling injuries all season, Pelini's defense is fourth in the country in turnovers forced.
All of those factors were certainly vital to Osborne as he searched for a coach who would be able to restore respect for Nebraska's defense, formerly known as the "Blackshirts." However, the year Osborne highlighted on Pelini's résumé was 2003.
That year was Pelini's first and only season in Lincoln as defensive coordinator under former coach Frank Solich. That season, the Blackshirts were No. 11 in the country in total defense, No. 2 in scoring defense and led the nation in pass efficiency defense.
When Solich was fired before the team was to play in the Alamo Bowl, Pelini was named interim head coach and guided the Cornhuskers to victory. Many Nebraska faithful hoped former athletic director Steve Pederson would remove the "interim" from Pelini's title. Instead, Pederson gave Pelini a token interview and hired Callahan.
Osborne wasn't just trying to hire a crowd-pleaser, though. I like to think he saw a little bit of himself in Pelini during the interview process. Osborne took the reigns as Nebraska's head coach before his 36th birthday, after all, and Pelini turns just 40 next week.
Older candidates with head coaching experience were available – most notably Turner Gill, 45, a fantastic quarterback for Osborne and former Nebraska assistant coach who has almost single-handedly turned Buffalo into a respectable Division 1 program. Many thought he would get the job because of his close relationship with Osborne.
However, I think the bond between Osborne and Gill is what caused Osborne to go with Pelini. While Osborne surely feels Gill will be a great college coach someday, I think he also realized if Gill were to take the Nebraska job and fail, he might never recover. To fail in front of the very fans who once rooted for him as a player would be devastating. Osborne and Gill always had a father-son relationship and Osborne may have been trying to protect Gill.
And, again, I want to believe Osborne saw himself in Pelini. It's no secret Osborne took pride in his Nebraska defenses. They didn't receive the Blackshirts moniker for nothing. He knows that for Nebraska to compete in the Big 12 again, it needs to have a dominating defense. To achieve that, there was no better candidate than Pelini.
If Osborne is right, don't be surprised if Nebraska starts printing its own money with "IN TOM WE TRUST" stamped across the back.