Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Bo Locked Up
Yesterday Nebraska made sure everyone knew who the head coach is going to be for the next five years. Bo Pelini was given a nice little pay raise from 1.1 million annually to about 1.8. Oddly enough this is still only the 6th highest in the Big 12. Was this a good decision by Neb? I mean its only been one year. I think Bo symbolizes what Nebraska football is all about and they really needed that stability which will pay dividends in recruiting. Bo lead the Huskers to a 9-4 season. While none of those wins except the one against Clemson were impressive, he did rebuild many bridges that had been burned down by Callahan. He brought back the beloved walk-on program and reinvigorated the Husker fan base. The defense improved and if it were not for the ridiculous numbers put up by other Big 12 offenses Nebraska would have been given a lot more credit for their offensive production. Still, I am not quite ready to crown Bo as the savior of Nebraska football. He had a good year, but that was about it. His recruiting class was not too impressive. The year Callahan took over he brought in a top five recruiting class. As of now the 2009 class was ranked number 45. What will be interesting to watch next season is if Nebraska will be able to form an identity on offense like they were at defense. That was the Achilles heel of the team this year because they were hot and cold all throughout the season and would have trouble with the weaker defenses of the Big 12. I like Bo as the head coach of Nebraska and think he is heading in the right direction, but I am not ready to place him next to the legends of Husker football. Should he have been awarded a pay raise? Since when did the Husker nation award mediocracy?
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Where do you get the idea Bo is just average? Seems like an above average coach to me. By the way, what do they pay the coach at Tx A&M?
ReplyDeleteMike Sherman gets 1.8mil a year as well, but that was his original contract and he did not recieve any benifits this year. If you look at the record and bowl win you can make the argument that Bo Pelini had a great year. But if you look again you'll see blowout losses and weak wins against Baylor and Colorado, both at home. Follow that by the weakest recruiting class brought in by a new Nebraska head coach and you'll see why I am a bit skeptical.
ReplyDeleteI think the raise is indicative of the high level of confidence they have in Bo right now. Of course, time will tell. You got to keep in mind that the University is feeding off the popularity of Bo right now and giving him a raise only stirs up a little more positive vibes. This is good PR for UNL, which has more than good football in mind.
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