Frankie Solich
- Thread starter Charlie Marlow
- Start date
A little sooner would have been nice. But it really could not wait much longer
He's been very judicious with his comments this week. I know he's been back in town on many occasions since his removal, but he's been very careful to keep a low profile. Frank and his wife still have lots of friends in Nebraska.
Who really fired Frank? Of course we all know AD Steve Pederson did the dirty work but who behind the scenes called for the hatchet job? Shouldn't they be the ones apologizing today?
Are you aware how arrogant Steve Peterson was?
I have no doubt in my mind that he was the mastermind in letting Frank Solich go..
I have no doubt in my mind that he was the mastermind in letting Frank Solich go..
TO mentioned that he didn't realize that Petersen and frank had a rift going back to when Steve was recruiting coordinator. Said he never would have given Petersen thumbs up for athletics director. Not going to get into franks qualification to coach, just glad to see him back, he looks good for being 74 with the stress of being a college coach
It was the start of egos getting in the way instead of making the correct choice for the football program, aka eichorst
Yeah, Pedeyshine was a MONSTER sized disaster. That we added SE to the list it's quite amazing we have a chance on rebounding our program. Those two were really something.....
We've seen multiple occasions where the over-correction was what the fans wanted, but wasn't what was best for the program.
1. Many fans were tired of Solich and thought he was capped out. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but the over-correction came in the form of a new NFL offense and mindset to "keep up with the times" - that backfired and led to another over-correction...
2. After Callahan failed, the fans wanted a "Nebraska guy who knew how we operated" and went with Bo Pelini, though it was a stretch to call him a "Nebraska guy" he felt like he was from the same ilk and while his performance wasn't all that bad, his temperament ultimately did him in (in addition to some really big blowout losses.... which led to once again, another over-correction.
3. Smiling Mike Riley comes in to correct the temperament issue of Bo. He was well liked for the most part, but he never seemed to understand what it took to win or the Nebraska culture..... this led to
4. Shawn Eichorst being relieved of his duties and Bill Moos replacing him, which also resulted in Scott Frost. I am hopeful that these were more performance-based decisions vs. over-corrections from a different style/personality.
1. Many fans were tired of Solich and thought he was capped out. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but the over-correction came in the form of a new NFL offense and mindset to "keep up with the times" - that backfired and led to another over-correction...
2. After Callahan failed, the fans wanted a "Nebraska guy who knew how we operated" and went with Bo Pelini, though it was a stretch to call him a "Nebraska guy" he felt like he was from the same ilk and while his performance wasn't all that bad, his temperament ultimately did him in (in addition to some really big blowout losses.... which led to once again, another over-correction.
3. Smiling Mike Riley comes in to correct the temperament issue of Bo. He was well liked for the most part, but he never seemed to understand what it took to win or the Nebraska culture..... this led to
4. Shawn Eichorst being relieved of his duties and Bill Moos replacing him, which also resulted in Scott Frost. I am hopeful that these were more performance-based decisions vs. over-corrections from a different style/personality.
The common thread in 1-3 was general ineptitude and an absence of unified vision at the level of the AD and above.
The only thing I would add to your synopsis is that some things were drifting in a really bad direction during Frank's tenure and hiring the Pelinis was like throwing gasoline on a fire. (Carl especially). I'm not sure Frank would have been fired IF he hadn't hired the Pelinis. The record that year was really probably secondary to the lack of effort in recruiting and the staff problems.
You knew times were not going in the right direction when frank couldn't get a recruit going against OU or Texas, he went down to going against ku and Iowa state for a two or three star, hell he couldn't close the deal on the kid that was a high school quarterback that went to notre dame and became a db Tommy zimboski something like that.
Yep, I remember Tommy Z. really liked Gill but when Solich hired Cotton as a (Highly questionable hire) as the OC, that was the kiss of death of landing Tommy Boy.
It's too bad that it has taken this long, but better late than never. Very hard to follow a legend. But Frank's whole life between high school and his firing was in Nebraska football. You have to respect that dedication.
It wasn't going to happen until the system was purged of Pearlman and Bo. Yes Bo. No love lost there. We needed the right AD and a head coach too who wanted it to happen. I think Tom really wanted to see Frank welcomed back before he himself tips over.
I have no ill will towards Solich. I wanted him gone as head coach. I think he was a bad choice. That being said, he will always be a Husker. He gave a lot to the program and I respect him for that. Just over his head as head coach at NU.
Make no mistake about it, these two hated each other equally and I will probably get a lot of shit for this ... Frank was as much the problem in the relationship as Steve.
two really big egos at the time. Frank viewed Pedey still as the nerd college intern that didn't know squat about football who was going to tell him who to hire and recruit. Tough pill for Frank to swallow. The kid who never played a down of football and was a college intern when Frank was coaching all conference RBs was his boss and making suggestions on how to do things.
solich had a tough deal, try to keep the program near the top level dr.tom had it after decades of trying. and shuffle in new coaches at the same time.
in the end it worked out well, he's the coach in his home state (I think he's from there?) and he's well respected where he spend most of his career.
in the end it worked out well, he's the coach in his home state (I think he's from there?) and he's well respected where he spend most of his career.
So excepting the firing, it worked out for Frank. Got to coach at his alma mater for a number of years and be part of title teams and then coach in the state where he grew up.
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