Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini has never cared whether or not the camera is on him. He’s going to say exactly what he feels, and that usually involves a lot of yelling. If you need a reference point, just watch what he did to Taylor Martinez when his Cornhuskers played Texas A&M in 2010.
That incident, and many other reasons, is why many people were less than surprised at the recently surfaced tirade from 2011 that is peppered with profanities. It’s clear in his rant that he’s mad at fans for leaving the game against Ohio State when Pelini’s team fell behind three touchdowns. Nebraska eventually stormed back to win the game, but the former Les Miles padawan was mad nonetheless.
This is largely bad timing for Pelini. His ‘huskers just lost at home to UCLA after leading the Bruins by 18 points in the first half. The great Tommie Frazier, a notch below Tom Osborne on the Scarlet totem pole, recently went on a Twitter tirade against his former school. The two-time national champion quarterback stated it was time for change, intimating that Pelini should go.
In reality, Pelini’s teams haven’t been unsuccessful. Last year Nebraska achieved 10 wins for the third time in five seasons, all under Pelini. That’s better than one coach who’s sharing the hot seat with Pelini: Texas’ Mack Brown.
Only four years removed from having the top rushing defense in the nation, the Longhorns’ defense allowed the BYU Cougars to run for 550 yards. Brown fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz but didn’t really make any improvements with the new hire, which was really an old hire – former Texas coordinator Greg Robinson.
The stale move showed in the game against Ole Miss when the Rebels’ young defense again gashed the once-elite defense that now has holes larger than swiss cheese. After the game, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said the Longhorns’ defensive performance was basically a shot-for-shot remake of the previous showing, save for a few goal-line variations.
I understand not much can be done in one week, but still. Yikes.
The difference between Brown and Pelini is that Brown just doesn’t seem to be into it anymore. Ever since golden boy Colt McCoy hit the dusty trails, Brown has been standing aimlessly on the sidelines, incapable of emotion as his teams suffer blowout after blowout. He has the talent, but something is clearly missing.
The plateaued Pelini, on the other hand, really does seem to care. It’s likely Nebraska will use the rant to oust him at the end of the season if the Cornhuskers don’t compete for the Big 10 championship. But next time an offensive tirade shows itself on the internet, don’t ask for Mack Brown’s opinion, because he probably doesn’t care.
