That wouldn't be an exciting hire to me but if he's better than 3 wins and a bunch of moral victories then I'll take him.
Rivals predicting Bill O'Brien to Nebraska
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Saban did not utterly fail in the NFL. He actually did pretty well considering he had garbage QBs. Nobody wins with garbage QBs in the NFL. When that realization hit him, he decided he didn’t want his success to hinge on a QB lottery. Recruiting puts it in his own hands.
I do think his personality is better suited for college, but I think he’d be a good NFL coach with a quality QB. Seeing Jason Taylor and Belichick talk about him further convinced me of that.
Requirements for a head coach should be:
1) Recruiting
2) Recruiting
3) Recruiting
4) Has some of those big signs with pictures on them for backup quarterbacks to hold on the sidelines.
1) Recruiting
2) Recruiting
3) Recruiting
4) Has some of those big signs with pictures on them for backup quarterbacks to hold on the sidelines.
Only Bill Callahan embraced this to the hilt. Too bad he sucked at other aspects of coaching.
I think Riley’s staff worked hard on the recruiting trail too, both had Top 10 classes when they were canned. BC was doomed by keeping his DC and Riley by letting his go.
He means geographically lateral.
If that’s the case we mine as well just hire Ron Zook. Guy can recruit the lights out but my 4 year old daughter would be a better coach
I've never been on the O'Brien train, but could probably be talked into it pretty easily - what he did at PSCU was nothing short of amazing.
But based-on the type of football we want to play (and the recruits we can get), I think either Campbell or Fickell have to be choice #1.
But based-on the type of football we want to play (and the recruits we can get), I think either Campbell or Fickell have to be choice #1.
I’m not all that excited about Bill O’Brein..
What relationship does he have with Trev is just here say..
What relationship does he have with Trev is just here say..
Could not agree more. Your coaches better be salesmen and they better have big brass balls.
The switching back and forth from spread to WCO offenses hasn’t worked well for us.
Do you know the whole story ? Obviously not.
Like I posted above he was the interim coach in 2011 with a totally depleted lineup due to the Tressel sanctions. Several of their star players were suspended for the 1st half of 2011 - including star QB Terrelle Pryor who decided to just pack it in before the 2011 season even started. Several players transferred out. OSU - back in 2011 - had nowhere near the big-time depth they have now. Fickell was forced to go with Joe Bauserman at QB. The Buckeye fans nicknamed him "3rd row Joe" for a reason.
Winning fixes many problems.
Yep. He would’ve beaten us in Memorial Stadium when we were a pretty good team if Braxton Miller didn’t get injured.
I would approach Bill O'Brien much the same as I did when Tom hired Bo. WTF, well I guess if Tom thinks he's the guy then I'll go with it. I think Trev is a thousand times more qualified than anybody on this board to make a decision on Frost and then hire a guy IF he decides to let Frost go. Personally hiring Bill O'Brien wouldn't be my preferred move. If you think Callahan's relationship with the media was entertaining, you'll love Bill's. His offense would be like our neighbor's east of the Missouri. Sigh. Why can't we hire a young dynamic guy who will be with us for decades.....
Which is he isn't my first choice. Aranda is. Or Fickell.
Yikes!. If the "voice of the Huskers" was addressing the rumor then that is a LOT of smoke. One thing you have to look back at and remember is that even though PSU's recruiting classes were smaller and they lost some transfers, there roster was still LOADED with talent. I don't know how they did it but they were still pulling in highly ranked kids. Some of it was Bill's NFL resume I'm sure. Some of it was probably the promise of early playing time due to the smaller classes. Yes the school was a circus but his football team was still very talented. I'm not sure that 7-5 with the kind of talent they had is a ringing endorsement of his coaching ability.
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe he ran a WCO when he was at PSU.
Plus, he's the OC at Alabama right now and they definitely run the spread.
I am NOT a Fickell fan. I think he caught lightening in a bottle at Cinci with OSU pulling in national recruits from all over the country which has allowed him to cherry pick the area talent that OSU has left behind. He won't have that luxury at Nebraska. I think he's a mediocre coach at best. I would rather have a young no name guy from podunk state than Fickell.
Oregon is a better program now than Miami. Miami's downfall really started with the loss of the Orange Bowl more than the past sanctions and crime. Without a new stadium near campus they won't return to a premier level. Stadiums do matter.
I believe - could be wrong - that Braxton Miller was a true freshman that year. Hence, Fickell had to go with Bauserman at QB in 2011 - who I believe was actually a baseball player that transferred in. That was the thinnest OSU depth chart in decades. How thin ? That was the one time OSU lost to Michigan. That ought to tell you something. Can't blame that year on Fickell. He did well to finish 6-7 (they lost in a bowl game). People automatically think OSU - being OSU - had depth that year - they didn't because of the sanctions
You're thinking of Greg Sharpe, not Gary
I'm not sold on O'Brien. Better coach than Frost but I doubt he would excite recruits or really care that much about NU. Just not a destination job for him. I actually like Tom Herman and Dave Aranda right now. Both are young with ties to recruiting hotbeds outside Nebraska. I think recruits would be eager to play for them and they have proven themselves as head coaches in Power 5 conferences.
Yes, I have questions about Fickell too which is why Aranda is my top choice. But Fickell does have recruiting connections in the B1G footprint, has demonstrated an ability to coach at a high level when he has the talent. Can he develop talent? Can he coach guys up? Does he know how to put together a winning staff? If his only successes were this year I would say the verdict is still out. But he has put together some really good teams.
Hopefully Alberts doesn't hire him because they're friends. That rarely works out.
That's a good point about Bama. Maybe he actually has the ability to assess what he has and adjust accordingly.
O'brien would not be in my top 5 or perhaps even top 10.
He was ok at PSU but was always looking to the NFL his entire time there. Think he'd be more of a band aid than a permanent fix.
If changes are made, hopefully Trev looks for somebody who WANTS to be here for the long haul and brings in quality assistant coaches not just buddies.
He was ok at PSU but was always looking to the NFL his entire time there. Think he'd be more of a band aid than a permanent fix.
If changes are made, hopefully Trev looks for somebody who WANTS to be here for the long haul and brings in quality assistant coaches not just buddies.
Here is BOB introductory press conference at Penn State. O'Brien makes a lot of sense.
Presser
-Taking over a very toxic situation at PSU. One can argue the atmosphere here is pretty bad. He brought the fans and university together after the PSU scandal.
-He didn't bitch and complain about the roster he inherited. He just worked with the kids he had.
-He showed his leadership by getting his team to believe in themselves and somehow go 8-4 in their first year.
-He now has been learning with Saban and doing just fine at Bama.
-He has experience at all levels and has a large coaching tree (unlike Frost)
Presser
-Taking over a very toxic situation at PSU. One can argue the atmosphere here is pretty bad. He brought the fans and university together after the PSU scandal.
-He didn't bitch and complain about the roster he inherited. He just worked with the kids he had.
-He showed his leadership by getting his team to believe in themselves and somehow go 8-4 in their first year.
-He now has been learning with Saban and doing just fine at Bama.
-He has experience at all levels and has a large coaching tree (unlike Frost)
No one stays at one place for the "long haul" in college football anymore.
Nah. Nebraska historically pays more money than anyone in the country to ex coaches. At this point they have a permanent ex-coaches fund in the budget every year.
Nebraska has spent more money firing coaches than any other school in the past 15 years
Since 2005, Nebraska’s fired football coaches Bill Callahan, Bo Pelini and Mike Riley, and men’s basketball coaches Doc Sadler and Tim Miles.
But Fickell didn’t choose or go with Bauserman. He went with Braxton Miller as his choice. OSU was beating us with Braxton until he got injured. Then they were forced to turn to Bauserman and we came back and won.
I was at that game. And I stayed to the end and didn’t care for what Bo had to say about fans after the game. He was building his us-against-the-world worldview.
Gary Sharp on 1620 in Omaha, not Greg Sharpe who does the Nebraska games.
Not sure O'Brien would take the gig, but if he did, at least amateur hour would be over.
Not to mention, NU is not a destination job for a lot of coaches but a stepping stone. I will accept that, especially if it means he gets our sunk ship back afloat and perhaps leaves the program in a better position for the next coach to take over. NU was a destination job for Frost, but I would gladly take a winning coach that doesn't intend on staying for the long haul than a coach like Frost who means well but is simply not cut out for head coaching at the P5 level or at least not in the B1G.
I would be happy with the hire.
Miller was a freshman but he was the starter. We injured him halfway through the game which led to our biggest comeback in school history.
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