I voted for Bill Callahan in this poll. Zero play makers left for him to start his era. Recruiting decayed to a shocking point under Solich. I assume Solich probably felt the "system" and Husker "consistency" was strong enough to overcome poor recruiting. Callahan was left with a complete rebuild including installing a new system. Pelini was definitely handed a ton of talent. It showed his first couple years. Pelini left Riley with slightly better talent than Solich left Callahan though. I'd rank the cupboard strength this way:
Best to Worst Cupboards
1. Solich 1998 (Had to break in a new young QB though)
2. Devaney 1962 (Bill Jennings was a great recruiter. Devaney had lots to work with and the results and improvement showed in 1962)
3. Osborne 1973 (Lost lots of bigtime players from 1972 but the talent was definitely there)
4. Pelini 2008 (Callahan clearly could recruit talent. Suh, etc. Pelini right after Solich would have been interesting since his recruiting prowess was suspect as well )
5. Riley 2015 (Had a couple offensive playmakers, but middling QB play and Pelini player poison hurt bad)
6. Callahan 2004 (Solich handed Callahan mediocre talent for a system Callahan wasn't gonna run)
Best to Worst Cupboards
1. Solich 1998 (Had to break in a new young QB though)
2. Devaney 1962 (Bill Jennings was a great recruiter. Devaney had lots to work with and the results and improvement showed in 1962)
3. Osborne 1973 (Lost lots of bigtime players from 1972 but the talent was definitely there)
4. Pelini 2008 (Callahan clearly could recruit talent. Suh, etc. Pelini right after Solich would have been interesting since his recruiting prowess was suspect as well )
5. Riley 2015 (Had a couple offensive playmakers, but middling QB play and Pelini player poison hurt bad)
6. Callahan 2004 (Solich handed Callahan mediocre talent for a system Callahan wasn't gonna run)
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