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Worst Nebraska head coach

Worst Nebraska head coach

  • Frank Solich

    Votes: 9 3.9%
  • Bo Pelini

    Votes: 16 6.9%
  • Bill Callahan

    Votes: 48 20.7%
  • Mike Riley

    Votes: 159 68.5%

  • Total voters
    232
This topic has been beaten so many times but I’m going to go with Riley. Callahan did take us to a conference ship and recruited really well. Riley didn’t do either.
I believe this is a min the 4th poll regarding this topic
 
This topic has been beaten so many times but I’m going to go with Riley. Callahan did take us to a conference ship and recruited really well. Riley didn’t do either.
If Callahan had hired a strong Defensive Coordinator, he might still be here.

(This has been stated this way here many, many times already, as most of you know)
 
Based purely on empirical results I think you have to conclude that Riley is the worst of those four. But subjectively, my gut says Callahan due mainly to his arrogance and his disrespect for TO and our tradition.
Callahan had a blind spot when it came to his incompetent DC, but he sure had the f’n hillbillies pegged spot on.
 
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It really bothers me that people say. Riley is worse than Callahan. Callahan came into a great culture and did everything he could to tear it down. Riley walked into a lot of problems and culture-wise did a lot of good. Sure, he was not a good coach x’s and o’s wise but as far as being a good genuine person and being a good role model for his players and the community, and welcoming back former players and trying to restore some of what was lost he did pretty good imho.
In other words, if you ignore everything that happened and how incompetent he is and just read the fluff articles that his buddies in the media wrote about him, Riley was good.

Ok.
 
I cant believe Solich is on this poll. Its one thing to not like him or say he was a disappointment but as bad as these other yahoos?? No frickin way!

If we are talking on field results it has to be riley. Has to be.
He crashed an empire. Same league as Mark Helfrich, maybe worse
 
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He crashed an empire. Same league as Mark Helfrich, maybe worse
No.
He did not crash an empire.
And hes not worse than helfrich.
The fact that you think this way only solidifies how stupid it is to try to say solich is worse than the three amigos, especially riley, the worst of the worst.
 
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Obviously not if I asked the question.
Did you read what I responded to? I don't think its hard to figure out, but I will explain it to you

I think Mike Riley is incompetent. I think the media liked him and wrote stupid stuff so stupid people would think he is a swell guy and be happy to have a nice old man on the sideline despite the fact that he had turned the program into a tire fire. And I think the guy I responded to is one of those people that fell for it .
 
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Did you read what I responded to? I don't think its hard to figure out, but I will explain it to you

I think Mike Riley is incompetent. I think the media liked him and wrote stupid stuff so stupid people would think he is a swell guy and be happy to have a nice old man on the sideline despite the fact that he had turned the program into a tire fire. And I think the guy I responded to is one of those people that fell for it .
You’re entitled to that opinion. But I’ll take knowing someone personally over an opinion of someone that watches from afar
 
You’re entitled to that opinion. But I’ll take knowing someone personally over an opinion of someone that watches from afar
Oh, that was you I responded to?

Anyway, I am sure you and Mike are good pals. It doesn't change that he turned the program into a complete pile of crap. But, I am glad he smiled and the players had a swell time with him.

He was worse than Callahan and I didn't think that was possible.
 
Oh, that was you I responded to?

Anyway, I am sure you and Mike are good pals. It doesn't change that he turned the program into a complete pile of crap. But, I am glad he smiled and the players had a swell time with him.

He was worse than Callahan and I didn't think that was possible.
I’m not arguing that on the field the product was terrible. There’s no debating that. He didn’t turn us into anything. He had to build back up what was fractured after bo. That’s why he was hired. He was hired because he was a nice guy. Not the right move by any means..but it was the move that was made. I’m not sure how, other than on field production, you can make the argument that he’s worse than Callahan. Never have. Never will.
 
Solich by a mile...

Took the most powerful dynasty in college football history
Top 3 recruiting classes in 1996 and 1997, and by the time they graduated we were 7-7.
Plus I was around his teams...they were arrogant and undisciplined. He walked around like he had done something, and they did as well. Even though those responsible for winning were long gone.
He won over 70% of his games but was never hired by a decent program again. Absolutely garbage.

He didn't even fill his recruiting class, and was so unattractive to players that he took the dynasty and barely had top 40 classes by the time he was fired. Can't blame Cally when he took over a program without a winning culture, he couldn't continue what Frank was doing...Bo had a ton of talent and went down the path of solich, lazy and arrogant...Riley was just not a good coach, but was given historically low levels of talent.

I agree with a lot of what you say. My only defense of Solich is that an unfortunate fumble cost him a chance at playing for a MNC in 1999. In today’s CFB he’d likely have got the #3 playoff seed and and a semifinal game against Michael Vick and VT. That Texas game shaped his destiny here.

When he was let go in 2003 I didn’t think it was fair, and felt if he was going to be let go, it should have been done at the end of 2002. However, it was pretty clear by 2003 that the Big 12 had gotten their wish and brought Nebraska down, and I didn’t see Solich as the guy to stop the slide, let alone reverse it.
 
I’m not arguing that on the field the product was terrible. There’s no debating that. He didn’t turn us into anything. He had to build back up what was fractured after bo. That’s why he was hired. He was hired because he was a nice guy. Not the right move by any means..but it was the move that was made. I’m not sure how, other than on field production, you can make the argument that he’s worse than Callahan. Never have. Never will.

Fractured after Bo?????

Bo won 9 or 10 games for seven consecutive years. How the hell that equals or exceeds the losing seasons of Clownahan & Riley shows an IQ of a Gerbil.
 
I’m not arguing that on the field the product was terrible. There’s no debating that. He didn’t turn us into anything. He had to build back up what was fractured after bo. That’s why he was hired. He was hired because he was a nice guy. Not the right move by any means..but it was the move that was made. I’m not sure how, other than on field production, you can make the argument that he’s worse than Callahan. Never have. Never will.

"other than on field production" ?!

You just proved my point.
 
Fractured after Bo?????

Bo won 9 or 10 games for seven consecutive years. How the hell that equals or exceeds the losing seasons of Clownahan & Riley shows an IQ of a Gerbil.
Did I say either of those two things? But yeah there were a lot of things fragile after his last year or two.
 
It really bothers me that people say. Riley is worse than Callahan. Callahan came into a great culture and did everything he could to tear it down. Riley walked into a lot of problems and culture-wise did a lot of good. Sure, he was not a good coach x’s and o’s wise but as far as being a good genuine person and being a good role model for his players and the community, and welcoming back former players and trying to restore some of what was lost he did pretty good imho.
Ugh...
Nice guy - Check
Culture? Besides doing his best impersonate Forrest Gump at the podium, what did he change about the culture? Ask Jason Peter and other former players how welcome they felt when he visited? He oversaw an extreme pussification of Nebraska football and stuck to a failed philosophy brought in by your pic as the worst coach.

This nice guy stuff just never ceases to amaze me. I would imagine you truly believe Warren Buffett wants to pay more taxes – right?
 
Fractured after Bo?????

Bo won 9 or 10 games for seven consecutive years. How the hell that equals or exceeds the losing seasons of Clownahan & Riley shows an IQ of a Gerbil.

Thank goodness for Bo he didn't have to play 8 conference games, so he could eek out wins vs Wyoming, McNeese State and South Dakota State, and help him get to that vaunted 9 win mark every year.
 
There are many parts to this question. If all you look at is results on the field then the answer has to be Worse to better.. Riley, Callahan, Solich and Bo pretty equal. However if you look at the culture of the team you get another answer as you do if you look at how the team was left upon leaving. For sure this is not the same.
 
Thank goodness for Bo he didn't have to play 8 conference games, so he could eek out wins vs Wyoming, McNeese State and South Dakota State, and help him get to that vaunted 9 win mark every year.

No worries, with your great hero MR getting his vaunted "four" wins a year he was easily far better than Frank or Bo.
 
I agree with a lot of what you say. My only defense of Solich is that an unfortunate fumble cost him a chance at playing for a MNC in 1999. In today’s CFB he’d likely have got the #3 playoff seed and and a semifinal game against Michael Vick and VT. That Texas game shaped his destiny here.

When he was let go in 2003 I didn’t think it was fair, and felt if he was going to be let go, it should have been done at the end of 2002. However, it was pretty clear by 2003 that the Big 12 had gotten their wish and brought Nebraska down, and I didn’t see Solich as the guy to stop the slide, let alone reverse it.
I remember that game, it was against Texass. The 2 things I vividly remember were all the fumbles we had in that game, and what lost that game for us. Even with all of the fumbles, that didn't cost us the game. What ultimately cost us that day was in the last 3 minutes of the game, was an uncalled PI penalty which should've been called against their star TE Hernandez as he grabbed Mike Brown's Jersey on top of the shoulder pads and threw him to the ground 15-20 yards from the LOS and then caught the pass from Applewhite unchallenged and raced down the sideline where on the next play they scored and ironically enough it was 3rd and well over 10 yards for a 1st down on that pass play to Hernandez as we had the lead.
 
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I’m not arguing that on the field the product was terrible. There’s no debating that. He didn’t turn us into anything. He had to build back up what was fractured after bo. That’s why he was hired. He was hired because he was a nice guy. Not the right move by any means..but it was the move that was made. I’m not sure how, other than on field production, you can make the argument that he’s worse than Callahan. Never have. Never will.

I'm still amazed at the people who want to blame Riley for the program being fractured under Bo. Bo was the one that built it back up. Not to the level we wanted but to a level way above Callahan. There never was a Bo cancer. It was fake news by the Riley apologist to try and explain away the lack of success MR had his first two years. The players didn't fail to buy in because of Bo.....they failed to buy in because MR couldn't sell it. They saw what the average fan just now sees. Crappy coaching.
 
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Thank goodness for Bo he didn't have to play 8 conference games, so he could eek out wins vs Wyoming, McNeese State and South Dakota State, and help him get to that vaunted 9 win mark every year.

Yea you are right. Its a good thing he didn't have to play Northern Illinois too or he would have only won 4 games a year.
 
Barney Cotton. Worst winning % in the history @ .000... should have kicked the FG and went to OT
 
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