I know I've been on record saying I doubt Rhule may be the one based on what I saw in the first two games, but this afternoon it was a slow day at work, so I started watching old Husker games on YouTube, starting in 2005 with Callahan's Huskers beating Colorado 30-3 in Boulder.
Callahan went 8-4 that year, beating Michigan in the Alamo Bowl 32-28. The next year, he went 9-5, and went to the Big 12 Championship, losing to OU. That year was noted for NU's epic comeback win over Texas A&M in a very hostile College Station.
His final year he went 5-7 and there was a horrible stretch starting with Missouri's beatdown of the Huskers, 41-6, where the wheels just fell off the program. They lost five straight, all in pretty bad fashion. And it was during this time that Steve Pedersen was fired, TO took over as interim AD, and Callahan's fate was sealed.
I then went through the following years under Pelini, Riley, and Frost and did the quick math. Since TO retired, every Nebraska head coach has lasted an average of 4.8 years. So, roughly five years. (I didn't count 2022 for Frost since he was fired after only three games.)
That may be the problem right there. And I'm saying that as someone who supported Solich's and Pelini's firing.
My problem is, I always looked at Nebraska through the eyes of a fan who grew up during the time when NU was feared and respected, when they were a blue blood and one of college football's premiere programs. Seeing Nebraska getting blown out and its defense, once the backbone of the program (along with the O-line), getting shredded was unacceptable to me. I wanted to see the Nebraska of my youth. I wanted to see them relevant again. Contending again. And I think the various administrations since TO wanted to see that as well. Hence, their decisions to make changes.
But the truth is, of the coaches hired since TO's departure, only Scott Frost was uniformly bad. He never had a winning season. All previous coaches at least had one (most had a few) winning seasons, and even won bowl games. Hell, Pelini won at least nine games a year. None of Frost's teams did that.
So, I guess my point is, this program needs to stick with Rhule despite my own misgivings. They need to give him as much time as he needs and see it through. And I mean, all the way through. Yes, there is going to be some blowout losses. Yes, there is going to be some frustrating losses. There already has been. But they need to stick with Rhule and avoid the previous patterns of running a coach out of town after a few years. Unless of course, it's a coach that produces Frost's results. That was warranted.
I'm not sure what the benchmark year should be to render a final judgement, but it sure as hell should be longer than 4.8 years.