Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[Tony G]

Bo Pelini On Nebraska Fans: "Fuck You, Fans. Fuck All Of You."

(link above has audio)

This is fun. Here we have an audiotape of Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini flipping his shit about both the media and the Cornhuskers' fans after a 2011 game. Why are we getting this now? Well, our tipster was particularly exercised by Nebraska's flameout against UCLA on Saturday, which has led to some [ame="https://twitter.com/HuskerExtraBC/status/379655527451484160"]awkwardness[/ame] in Huskerdom. In the 2011 audio, Pelini says the word "fuck" a lot. He seems to have no idea he was being recorded.
Our tipster says the recording was made on Oct. 8, 2011, just after Nebraska had come back from three touchdowns down to beat Ohio State in Lincoln. He or she only recently had come into possession of this audio before sending it our way. It was recorded moments before Pelini did his postgame radio interview with Greg Sharpe of the Husker Sports Network. Pelini sounded anything but relieved by the big victory.
In the recording, Pelini is talking to Sharpe and to a woman whose identity we've been unable to determine. Pelini initially seems upset with an unknown person who works at the Omaha World-Herald, whom he calls "a piece of shit." [Update (5:31 p.m.): As another reader has since noted, Pelini wasn't happy with the World-Herald's Dirk Chatelain during his presser after the Ohio State game. Pelini had been angry about this Chatelain column.] Pelini then begins venting about World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel: "Fuck him, too. Fuck him. That's what I'm going to tell him. He wants to walk out after my press conference? I'm gonna say, 'Get the fuck away from me. I'm done with you, motherfucker. I'm done with him.'"
All of that is just the prelude to Pelini's message for the Huskers' fans: "It took everything in my power to not say, 'Fuck you, fans. Fuck all of you.' Fuck 'em." After Sharpe says a lot of students had left at halftime, the woman starts to say that people did return to their seats. Pelini interjects: "Our crowd. What a bunch of fucking fair-weather fucking—they can all kiss my ass out the fucking door. 'Cause the day is fucking coming now. We'll see what they can do when I'm fucking gone. I'm so fucking pissed off."
Sharpe then changes the subject by pointing out how Pelini's "guys showed some guts." A moment later he gets ready to roll the tape for the actual interview.
Update (8:40 p.m.): Nebraska's chancellor and athletics director respond.
Update (8:54 p.m.): Bo Pelini has responded:

I want to sincerely apologize for my comments from two years ago which became public today. I take full responsibility for these comments. They were spoken in a private room following the Ohio State game. I was venting following a series of emotional events which led to this moment. That being said, these comments are in no way indicative of my true feelings. I love it here in Nebraska and feel fortunate to be associated with such a great University and fan base. I again apologize to anyone whom I have offended.

[entropy]

Sipple: Weasel tipster seizes the moment

There is no pleasant way to spin this one.

Bo Pelini got busted by "a tipster."

A lowdown tipster who had audiotape of Pelini launching into an angry, f-bomb tirade about a very passionate and loyal fan base.

The degenerate tipster perhaps made a nice chunk of cash by selling the audiotape to Deadspin.com at precisely the right time. Or precisely the wrong time, depending on your point of view.

What a country.

Somebody was out to get the Nebraska head football coach. They got him good.

Will Pelini run out of the tunnel Saturday at Memorial Stadium to lead his team? Should he get that privilege?

Your answer likely depends on your previous regard for the coach, your social-media savvy and perhaps your grasp of reality.

Who among us would pass the hidden-recorder test?

Even so, Pelini's recorded harangue is a shock to the system, at least initially.

You seldom hear such rugged talk from coaches because, if they say such things, they do so in private. Pelini's comments were in private. Two years ago. In the heat of a moment. But someone made them public. A tipster. A pathetic tipster with a grudge.

Which incenses you more: A passionate coach momentarily losing control in private? Or a calculating tipster determined to destroy a man's career?

Can a coach get fired for this?

F--- that.

Have the guts to fire Pelini for his record, not for this.

Pelini got busted for calling Nebraska fans "fair-weather" in 2011. He said fans "can all kiss my ass" as he goes out the door. He said that day was coming. He said he was pissed off. I deleted several expletives. Deadspin.com doesn't.

Those who know Pelini well knew this type of thing could someday cost him dearly. He's hot-blooded. He's outspoken. He's brazen. He sometimes uses harsh language. I've long wondered if he would say something inappropriate in front of the wrong person, and that person might make him pay, perhaps in a devious way.

The leaked comments reflect Pelini's "us-against-the-world" nature.

So, was I surprised by the report? Not really.

Pelini released a public apology. He provides context. Context is critical in this discussion. He was angry that his team was booed at halftime of the 2011 home win against Ohio State, the biggest comeback in school history. He was angry some fans left at halftime. He was angry about an article written that week about quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Pelini has told me that he was upset that a fan angrily grabbed him by the arm as the coach made his way to the locker room after the game.

Pelini, in a prepared statement Monday night, said the comments in the audiotape "are in no way indicative of my true feelings. I love it here in Nebraska and feel fortunate to be associated with such a great University and fan base. I again apologize to anyone whom I have offended."

Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst, in a prepared statement, said he was "disheartened and disappointed" by the audiotape. Chancellor Harvey Perlman told the Journal Star he was "very disappointed and we're considering what to do and what the impact is on our program."

I don't think this development is reason to fire Pelini. Put it this way: Place a hidden recorder at a chancellor's palatial dinner party and see what comes out of it. Put one at my desk and ... wait, don't.

The problem for Pelini is toxicity level. When Nebraska falters badly on the field, as was the case Saturday against UCLA, and in blowout losses in 2012 and 2011, the mood among the fans becomes downright nasty. Toxic. It happens at a lot of places. To make matters worse, Bo's surly demeanor turns some people off.

The toxicity can become debilitating. It can lead to empty seats. It can lead to phone calls from boosters to the AD. The momentum against a head coach, once it gets rolling, is difficult to stop.

Momentum already was rolling against Pelini.

The weasel tipster seized the moment.

What a strange Monday.

During his weekly news conference, Pelini spoke of the inherent pressures of coaching at Nebraska. He said it can consume a person. His comments, in retrospect, are particularly interesting -- almost like he knew the Deadspin.com article was forthcoming, though I'm told he didn't see it until about 5 p.m.

He said during the news conference that he had to change the mood in the program. He said he needed to start having fun again.

"I understood when I came back here (in December 2007), this is a different place," he said. "This is a special place. It's a great place. But it's a different place. It's very unique. It can consume you."

He said he didn't want his demeanor to affect whether the players were having fun.

Ah, yes, the players. Another very sad part of this story is the impact it has on players.

I've had more than a few run-ins with Pelini. There is a common thread: His anger is always about something I wrote or said about a player. It is never about him. He has his players' backs with more tenacity and passion than any coach I've ever known.

Of course he was angry fans left early. Of course he had his QB's back.

But somebody wanted to nail the head coach. They did it. The dirtball also hammered the program. The implications will last beyond the Pelini era. Coaches will forever look over their shoulder for this type of sleaze. Hope it all was worth it.

[Tony G]

^ BS. He made those comments while talking to a reporter
In the recording, Pelini is talking to Sharpe and to a woman whose identity we've been unable to determine.

What a blathering pathetic column in a weak attempt to shift responsibility for what comes out of the coach's mouth.

[entropy]

yahoo had a similar one.. Some people can identify with being upset and saying things you regret..


that said, i don't believe bo likes it in Lincoln, but he doesn't have options.

[Tony G]

That's fine Ent but the coach said it a reporter and at least one other person. The timing of this does raise a question or two but Pellini put his neck in the noose on this one. FWIW I don't think it's a fireable offense nor even a disciplinary one at this time.

[entropy]

yea.. I think there would be more backlash to fire him over this..

Husker fans are back to being split.. they've been since solich was the coach. Some are using this as further proof that Bo needs to go... others are suggesting Bo is being set up and attacking the person who leaked the tape 2 yrs later..

[Jeff Buchanan]

Baloney.

This is an easy problem to fix.

If the world weren't so PC it would have already been done.

[entropy]

most people don't want to be recorded in private.. including the media.

[iam416]

As I was at that infernal shitfest of a fucking game, I sort of understand Pelini's comments in context. A shitass OSU team was waxing the Huskers. And at halftime there was some disgruntlement amongst the fans. That said, the stadium was in full voice when the UNL offense got cranked up and the OSU offense went the way of Bauserman.

So, I dunno -- I mean, it wasn't like the fans quit on the team in that game at all. So, the comments, even in context, are off. They surely reflect, as Entropy said, the fact that Bo just doesn't like it in Lincoln.

Well, that's an easy problem to fix for both parties. And Mack Brown will be available in no time!

[entropy]

I think they'll let the season play out and review everything as a whole.. jmo

[Wild Hoss]

The way this issues is unfolding is beyond comprehension. Not only is he being vehemently defended by the very people he profanely insulted, the debacle of the UCLA game is now being whitewashed in the process. I have once again underestimated the power of the lucky star under which Bo Pelini sails.

If Bo was a superhero he'd be Unaccountable Man, with powers that rendered him invulnerable to responsibility.

[iam416]

The important thing is that UNL needs to give Bo a chance. Five full seasons really isn't enough to judge a coach. Remember, he took over a terrible situation. And, that made recruiting very difficult. He had to shift systems on both sides of the ball. I mean, when I think about the obstacles he's had to deal with I find myself wondering how he's managed to be so successful. In another five or so seasons, he'll finally have everything fully in place and UNL will be dominant.

And to think ungrateful fans like Hoss want him out. Goddamn travesty if you ask me. Fuck him and the rest of his fair weather lot!

[Wild Hoss]

EFZ

[Wild Hoss]

Apathy?

Bo Pelini's wiki page hasn't been updated since the 2011 season.

[Rocky Bleier]

I remember reading a book when I was young wherein Woody Hayes called the osu fans idiots. Big deal. Pelini's comments are embarrassing, but did we really not know that that is how many coaches feel about us fair-weather idiots anyway? If he gets fired, it will be because his defense has been so bad...and he's a former DC.