Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[entropy]

Kevin Kugler
Nebraska and Iowa will release details of their new Trophy game at a breakfast in Chicago on Friday.

Jon Miller
The Iowa-Neb trophy invite cryptically defines the word HERO....so I bet it has something to do with Kinnick...who lived in both states

[entropy]

[Wild Hoss]

The Kinnick Trophy...I like it.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Was Kinnick from Nebraska?

[Wild Hoss]

No, but he gained his athletic noteriety playing at Omaha Benson high school.

[SeanB]

That's a great photo of Osborne.

[entropy]

http://www.huskers.com/pdf8/775142.pdf?SPSID=1&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100

Nebraska's new media guide

[entropy]

http://blogs.forbes.com/morganbrenna...professionals/

1. Des Moines, Iowa
2. Raleigh, N.C.
3. Madison, Wis.
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. Omaha, Neb.

[entropy]

Omaha ranked #1 Best Value City in the US "without question"...

http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/b...es-2011/2.html

[entropy]

http://bcove.me/xchu3yv2

Bo P, bigten media day

[entropy]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110730/SPORTS/707309838/1140#shatel-2-sides-of-single-minded-man

Interveiw with Bo

[WM Wolverine]

There is only one Bo.

[entropy]

During SEC Media days the coaches got asked a few interesting questions...

What’s the strangest thing anyone’s ever said to you in a postgame handshake?

Nick Saban - The first year I was a head coach at Michigan State, the first game we played was against Nebraska when Tom Osborne was the coach. Here, I’d been in the NFL for the four, five, six years, I can’t remember exactly how long. Here we play Nebraska, who goes on to win the national championship. I mean they’ve got a really good team. And we’re playing at Michigan State. I’m looking at this like Nebraska’s just like anybody else, because I don’t know that they’re that much better than everybody. I’ve been coaching in the NFL for a long time. And they beat us like 55-14. I mean, it was unbelievable. Physically, emotionally and everything else. Tom Osborne comes across the field and we shake at the end of the game, and he puts his arm around me and says, “You’re not as bad as you think.” And I didn’t really know what he meant by that. Really what he meant was, “We’ve got a really, really good team here. So when you play somebody your own size, you’ll be fine.” And he was right. We went on to win six games, beat Michigan that year, went to a bowl game. For a first year starting a program, we didn’t have a bad team. But it sure seemed like it that day.

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/6807374/the-page-2-sec-coaches-questionnaire

[hodgkal]

What made Tom Osborne such a great coach? Seriously. Was it all recruiting? Was it x's and o's? Was it ability to motivate? Was it shrewd hiring of assistants? All of the above? Was there ever any cheating suspected?

Whatever it was it was a rare achievement and it was long lasting. I know Barry Switzer had a similar run at Oklahoma but much evidence of underhanded rule breaking on his part has emerged in subsequent years. SI ran a damaging piece about this around 10 years ago.

It seems to me there are only a few really great coaches while there are many who are simply good. And I cannot put my finger on what makes the really great ones great, and that includes doing it all in an honest way. Seems to me it has a lot to do with interpersonal communication skills as well as personal integrity.

[entropy]

This is my opinion of a few things that made TO a great coach.


I think TO was an offensive Genius. I think there are a few people who are at that level at anytime. (part of the reason I want Bo as Neb’s HC… I think he is one on defense). He had the ability to evolve, maximize his talent and most importantly, set teams up. He would call plays in Q1 that set up plays in Q3. He was brilliant about it. And if you think about the evolutions of his offenses, from pro-style to 4 wr set spread option, to the triple option, to the veer/speed option of the 90’s… he had success in all of them because he understood, at the core, the goal of an offense in attacking the defense. He is the constant chess player. (You can still see this strategist mindset as AD.) I really think TO was a rare offensive mind. Add to it his approach and personality, he comes across as confident and in control. When you know someone knows what they are talking about, it is much easier to believe and jump in 100%.


TO is a highly organized person who is able to control a lot of things at once. One reason TO doesn’t have a coaching tree is because he was in control, but it also was a huge asset in creating a seamless vision and a seamless approach. TO understood the talent he had available to him and created a methodology he controlled to develop that talent and maximize it. The walkon program was a huge advantage as a result. TO basically got tweeners to walk-on and develop. It really was like adding extra scholarships to your program. It was his ability to process lots of information, be highly organized and in complete control that allowed players to develop, learn the system for multiple years and be very confident in what was expected from them when they finally hit the field.


I also think he was cutting edge. He pushed his support staff to find new ways to train his players. He took over the training table to ensure better health and development of his players. I believe he played a large part in hiring a nutritionist at UNL. He formed the unity council to help the team deal with issues internally and create ownership/responsibility beyond the captains. He’s pushed for multiple upgrades to the academic support center for UNL athletes. The new “Expand their experience” is TO’s idea. He’s also been looking at software to help with film review for the football team. Basically, he’s a guy that constantly looks forward and doesn’t settle for current success, even off the field. On the field, I think you see this same thing with the evolutions of his offense and how he changed the defense in the 90’s.


TO had loyalty, both to others and to himself. There are pro’s and con’s to that obviously, but I think over time it, it benefitted TO. His staff had been with him a long time at the end. They knew each other and understood what everyone could do. They “been there, done that” so to speak… The Fans were very loyal to TO, so was the school and state. His players were very very loyal to him and looked at him as another Father, and for some, their actual father (and there are guys who have stated this publically numerous times). The big donors were loyal to TO and while TO didn’t let them run the program, he always made them feel welcome and part of it. He was the face of Nebraska, and that meant a lot to.. well, a lot of people.

I think TO was a good recruiter. Not sure he was great, but he was good. The offense UNL ran never lent itself to high rankings, but he usually obtained talented players. Thinking back to all the QB’s and RB’s under TO and the talent was there, especially on offense. I think player development was a greater asset to TO than recruiting. Many times guys would need to grow into their bodies. TO once stated that many kids go throw a growth spurt at 19 or 20, and those guys are ignored by a lot of coaches. Nebraska started a lot of seasoned players. Guys were developed instead of playing as freshman. I know it was also a different time with scholarship limits so that played into it as well. I don’t think there was ever any cheating. Nebraska wasn’t competing with the schools who paid players for recruits. Nebraska went after the different guy. Now, am I na?ve enough to think nothing happened under TO’s watch.. no. No program can control all of its boosters. But when issues came up, UNL dealt with them. No major infractions, I believe, says a lot. Some people want to find easy answers to explain a program’s success, but there is no easy answer here… it was a combination of elements controlled by a football genius.

Just some brief thoughts…