The TRAGIC DOWNFALL of Bo Pelini 

What coach should I do next?

Should have never fired Frank Solich

If we had stayed in the big 12 I believe Bo would have been a successful.

As a Nebraska native. Bo also got fired for audio tapes getting leaked of him bad mouthing the fan base. Lot of the wins he got where against bad teams. And the losses were always blowouts.

At the rate it's going you will have to do a scott frost video in a couple years.

My videos about the Rise & Fall of Coaches ru-vid.com/group/PLCwDMhVtyOHgcJd8WGlc4EfUu6EimnvrI

Pelini was Paranoid. He thought everyone was out to get him. He had the team believing that too. Which was crazy because he had the best fans in America. Then the New AD came in and at the end of the first season with him, he literally asked to be fired. He didn't get fired until a year later. The Riley hire was a disaster.... and Nebraska has not recovered from the lack of talent left in his wake. He recruited kids that wanted the easy way to stardom. Many of those left the team. That's not the Nebraska way. Hard work, and power football has always been the key to success. Frost is doing a lot of weeding in his first 4 years. Made his share of young coaching mistakes. Took Tom O 25 years to win one, hope Frost does it sooner. Or I may not be around to see it.

Nebraska under Pelini: 9-4 10-4 10-4 9-4 10-4 9-4 9-3 Since Pelini: 6-7 9-4 4-8 4-8 5-7 3-5

As a Tennessee fan I would take 9 wins a year

Scott, thanks for the video. As a born and raised Nebraskan, you live, eat, sleep Cornhusker football. It is hard to believe that it has been 19 seasons since the National Championship Game. This is a program that will win again, but it will take time, and fans of The Big Red are patient, but they also demand results. It is a challenge to recruit and will always be. As far as new videos, the coaches that have already been let go in the NFL, Tom Herman at UT, Lovie Smith at Illinois, Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

Pelini was terrible at Youngstown State. Settling for mediocrity every year. I went from a season ticket holder to not even going to one game in 2018 and 2019. He is like Romeo Crennel, people keep giving him chances as a coach but he's really just an assistant.

It was not just the nine and three record at Nebraska for Bo Pelini. It was his attitude all around. Represented the state horrible as well as the football program.

His downfall started when he failed to upset Texas in the Big 12 championship in 2009

His downfall really started happening when he confronted taylor martinez on the side line, and got caught on a open Mike trash talking our fans

HUGE mistake getting rid of Bo. Mike Riley was the biggest joke in Husker history and unfortunately Frost is on track to take that label from Riley

You failed to mention he was constantly an embarrassment to the University. 9 wins would have been good enough if he was a class act. That off campus meeting with the players showed his true character and disdain for Nebraska. He had to go.

2:03- Correction: Pelini was LSU DC and helped Toligers to win the 2007 season National title game (Superdome Jan. 2008) NOT 2006 👍

I mean he got them to the conference title game and went 11-1 which as far as Nebraska will ever get for a while

Scott Pederson and Shawn Eichorst decided that 9 wasn't enough and hired a buddy in Riley

I have been waiting for this video since we lost to Mississippi State

When you hit a ref in the face with your hat, you can start packing your bags.

The Husker teams under the Pelini program would lose one winnable game each season.. Texas in 2010, Northwestern in 2011, Wisconsin in 2012, and Minnesota in 2013 and 2014. That always set him and the team back. The blackshirt defense seem to regress every year after that stellar 2009 campaign. He never recruited great either. There were a few bright spots (Abdullah, Martinez, Burkhead, Jamal Turner, Lavonte David, Randy Gregory) but he and his coaching staff couldn’t consistently develop the bulk of his players recruited. Sadly this is the same problem Frost is having right now too.. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t win the big games. 0-3 in conference championships, many big marquee matchups vs Wisconsin and Ohio State would be blowouts.

I’m a husker fan, and all I want at this point is a bowl game

Another great vid bro. Like always I’m throwing Antwaan Randle El and the duo of Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown out there

It was Pelini's personality that caused him to be fired from Nebraska.

Pfft, I wish we had him back... 9 wins per season?!?

How did it work the first time at LSU but not the second? he inherited a broken system and needs more than a year to fix it. Bo Pellini is a DOG and a winner.

I for one was not happy when Bo got fired for the exact reasons mentioned here. I was happy with 9 wins (think Osborne for 20 years) told the Anti-Bo Husker fans at the time to "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it". What coach to do next? Wait, there's other teams besides Nebraska?? 😉

They joked about Pelini going 9-4 every year but Scott Frost has only managed ONE 4-9 season … and that’s his “best” season

Bo's negative emotional outbursts were embarrassing to Nebraska fans and the university. Emotion is a key but it has to be delivered with positive passion not destructive threatening anger. Bo seems to find it difficult to manage his anger.

I think ok state fans need to watch this video when they keep saying fire Gundy

LSU didn’t win the 06 championship Florida did, think LSU won 07

If we would have had a supportive administration at Nebraska, he would have never got fired. Harvey and Shawn had it out for him. Good fiery coach. Players lived him. Blue collar coach.

People hate the man but he was always going 9-3 every year lol. Scott frost has not done anything yet!

Will you do a legend of series on coaches. I think Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney easily deserves their own video if the legend of series happens.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but has Nebraska football been any good since Pelini was fired? Perhaps it wasn't championship quality, but it seems to me he had the program miles ahead of where it is now.

Honestly I grew up with Pelini as coach and never understood why Nebraska would fire him. This team went from contending to be in the championship game every year and being almost like how Iowa is now to being a bottom feeder in the Big 10. It was a huge mistake and Mike Riley just blew it all up and Scott Frost is left to try and salvage anything leftover.

Nebraska has not done that well since they fired Bo (9/10 wins every year). Piss poor athletic director and Chancellor.

I liked Coach Bo, & the players did too. He had a temper, so did the great, " VINCE LOMBARDI" . The Coaching styles of both were very simular... they both won most of their games. I was proud of the product that Pelini put on the field . The Huskers played hard, and wasn't easily taken down by opponents. Except for a couple games in the Pelini Era were close games. Mostly Single digit or one score losses. After the firing of Coach Bo, season after season, has been all tragedy . It's painful to watch the Nebtaska Football team suffer loss after loss . Blowouts were becoming more and more comman. Up until the 2021 season I was almost embarrassed for the players. Very lackadaisical, and didn't walk with any swagger at all. The 2021 season wins were scarce, Mostly by our own mistakes and self-undoing in tight games, practically inventing ways to lose a game. Late in games or at a crucial times during the game the Husker would shoot themselves in the foot and eventually lose the game. The thing that I noticed was they had their Swagger back. They were still losing but played with pride and expected to win the games when they played one . I was no longer hanging my head down or feeling a deep bruising in my heart , bordering embarrassment when I listened to Husker games on the radio or watched on TV. That's what I missed, the feeling of confidence week after week . I was proud of the boys and knew that they would play with pride the following week. I would no longer have to be embarrassed by their performance or lack of it... Every loss was single score. We could finally play with any opponent again . That's what Frank Solich , and Coach Bo provided, both being let go for not enough wins. To hell with the wins they will come and go. That is Football, that is why they play the games. To play without confidence, Swagger, or pride, to just lay down or give up is totally unacceptable. All I want is to watch the Huskers Proudly, knowing they left it all on the field, did their best, even falling short in the end. It no longer hurts to bleed red in Husker Nation . To Coach Bo and to Coach Frost I'd like to say Thank You. I'm Loving the aura of the Blackshirts , and watch the offense make big plays and first downs . I'm happy to have the opportunity to witness a solid product on the field again , " win or lose"

I heard Pelinis wife doesn't even unpack her bags when they move to town anymore For real though I can tell you why you see nebraska's struggle. No good recruits want to live in Nebraska. Its as simple as that. And yes i am a diehard NE fan.... GBR

Nebraska just finished his payout last year of 6.5 million. Bo did an outstanding job 9 wins each season and bowl games every year... He wasn't perfect, but the Huskers were in better shape as a program than they have been since 2017

This one's a college basketball one but I think it might be interesting to do a video on Frank Haith, he's left 2 jobs because of recruiting violations and left a pretty good Missouri team to take arguably a step down to become Tulsa's head coach

As an Illinois fan, we would take 6 or 7 Consistently. 9 per year would be far above hopes

Make a video about Tajh Boyd the old Clemson Quarterback.

Never had a losing season he was 9-4 and 10-2 for 7 straight years. Bo Pelini never had a down fall, all of the real husker fans know that he was really fired because he wasn't a kiss ass and Eichorst wanted someone that was going to kiss his ass and that why he hired Riley. Oh when i say real husker fans i'm talking about the ones that speak the truth about husker football. I'm not talking about the Husker blind fans, those are the ones that think the Huskers can do no wrong and see progress when there isn't any. Then you have your fair weather fans, those are the ones that only jump on board when the team is doing good and talks shit when their not. Now if you were one of those fans that was offended when Pelini said that, then you're a fair weather fan. I can guarantee that the real Husker fans were not bothered by that fair weather fan comment one bit. GBR

Nebraska ain’t been shit since he left!

Honestly, the biggest mistake Nebraska made was going to the Big 10. In joining the Big 10, they put themselves in a hopeless recruiting situation and the results speak for themselves. Their irrelevancy has only gotten worse.

Can you do a video on HB Samje Perine?

Big 10 a tougher conference for NU and talent is spread around with scholarship limits and the new TV money has been invested in new facilities for all of their competitors. NU has no local recruiting base and has to depend on dudes from out of state willing to live in a small town with cold winters. Tough sell.

They didn't appreciate what they had

Thanks for the upload. You forgot to mention that Pelini didn't exactly endear himself to Nebraska fans, alumni or administration. That can work if you win but if you're going 9-3 and and up in the annual No Name bowl it wears thin. Have you ever been to Nebraska in the winter? It is a frozen hell, a desolate landscape and there is nothing to do in Lincoln except drink or get in trouble or both. Nebraska is a place no top player really wants to go to so they can't recruit top players anymore-no matter who the coach is.

U forgot to mention that 1 point lost to Texas was in the Big 12 title game

Husker fan here. One thing that was not mentioned in the video and one of the main reasons the fans turned on Bo was leaked audio of him bashing on the fanbase. Not really something any coach can keep there job through without winning a championship.

You are only looking at records... The program was in a decline starting in 2011... his lack of success in recruiting wouldn’t show up until 2015 and 2016... Mike Riley(not a good hire) was left with a pretty bare cabinet... Bo nearly lost to McNeese State... gave up the all-time single game rushing record to Melvin Gordon in 3 quarters... and generally was struggling to win the games he should... had they given him another year or two, he would not have continued to win 9 games... at the time the B1G was ascending and Nebraska was declining.

Firing him was the end of Nebraska football.

It wasn't just that he couldn't get over the hump. Every season it seemed like the team would lose a game it shouldn't and get blown out by a team that's perceived as equal or slightly better. His real issue was the way he acted on the sidelines, the way he treated fans and media and the way he trashed NE behind the scenes. When the shit hit the fan, he had already spit-screamed into the faces of anyone that could be his ally.

Bo was a great coach and I think we would have a conference championship if he stayed. Didn’t help the AD had it out for him. Frost is in a decent spot right now, plenty of transfer talent and I feel he took a big step in keeping games tight with the powerhouses. The team just simply looked better than it has in years past. We will be fine

"Don't know what you got- till it's gone"

Coming from a husker fan, wanted jim Tressel after bo got fired

Pelini should have never been let go. we Husker fans got spoiled, but weren't patient enough to see the big picture. now most of us would kill for 9-3. Bo didn't like the media or doing interviews and they wanted him gone, so that's what happened at Nebraska. the other places I can't speak on. Look how long it took Osborne to have a consistent winning program. Bo, wasn't afforded that luxury because fans were spoiled. now we aren't even getting the 5 star recruits anymore. at least he was able to do that. Riley was a joke that never should have happened.

Small correction my friend. When Bo Pelini was at LSU they won the national title in the 2007 season not 2006.

Bo is still my favorite

As a Nebraskan, the Huskers aren’t going anywhere. I think there isn’t enough discipline on the team and not enough of a “losing is unacceptable” culture there. It feels like the players don’t give a damn and half-ass it. Scheme wise we NEED to abandon the 3-4 defense and the offense needs to use a GOD DAMN GOALLINE FORMATION OFFENSE when close to the end zone, use a F-ING fullback! But none of that will happen the way things are going Nebraskans are probably going start rooting out-of-state just like we do in basketball (UNC-Duke was always tense at my school)

As a Nebraska fan, I’m tired of losing to an average of 9 one score wins ever year… winning 9-10 games a year seems so long ago to everyone at this point. We need to rebuild from the group up and it all starts with the line.

Not a Husker fan myself but grew up with my grandma and dad who were die hard NU fans. Nebraska wants the glory of the Tom Osbourne years back but don’t realize that it took over 20 years for Tom to win his first National championship. They want someone who can work miracles in far less time. The program I feel hasn’t been the same since Pelini was fired.

Bo not being able to take the next step is minor compared to the volatile and toxic environment he nutured.

Bo was a great coach!! Nebraska should have never left the Big12 nor should they have fired this man. I am a HUGE husker fan. Have been my entire life and will be till the day I die!! Let’s get back to husker football. We need more local recruiting. These kids in the state would die to play in Lincoln. Get back to the Big12 where we belong, playing Oklahoma, Texas etc. The mistake wasn’t Bo, it was leaving the Big12.

Both Nebraska and UCF wish Bo Polini was still Nebraska's head coach

I've been a Husker fan since 1963. They have made some terrible mistakes over the years and it is not the coaches or players fault. The "administration" opened the door to let the Texas schools into the Big 8 and that is where the Texas schools and their billionaire backers took control. We "used" to have the Big 8 basketball tournament in Kansas City but that ended immediately along with a lot of other changes that benefited the other schools. Texas took control of the Big 8 and all of a sudden we couldn't get recruits out of Texas anymore. Why go North to Nebraska? Now we move to the Big 10 and we can't get recruits out of the Big 10 states. The way it is going maybe Nebraska should move to the Mountain West or maybe a move to a Division II school. We could hire a coach for a lot less money and go 11 and 2.

All I can say is this....I understand where everyone comes from about Bo. But in my opinion is that ever since Nebraska fired Bo Pelini.... Nebraska has been in a downward spiral and needs to find their identity before no coach wants to coach them.

I'm an Iowa fan we have big rivalry now with Nebraska. Bo was a solid coach but Nebraska expectations are too high. Mike Reilly we use to pound his Nebraska teams. Scott Frost some of my Nebraska friends don't like him 0 winning season and getting beat by Iowa but the games have been close. F Nebraska.

he wasn't fired for just 1 reason, 1 couldn't win the big games,2, suffered massive defeats, 3 and worst of all, poor man could NOT control himself, it's 1 thing to be on fire and be driven, totally different thing to lose it even on camera, msm would show his rants over and over, he brought UNWANTED attention to the university recruits parents don't want a mad man controlling their children, WOULD YOU??

I'm a Lubbock/TTU alumini but Taylor Martinez is my favorite football player ever and I just don't see how Polinis coaching style would bring out the best in players. But maybe I'm way off and the players loved him. Just my opinion .

I liked watching Nebraska football with Pelini around, but his attitude was a downfall and I think it stopped him from bringing in top recruits. Scott Frost is a recruiter and a leader. You can see the writing on the wall that Nebraska has gotten better every year with him as head coach. It's simply amazing how that hasn't translated to more wins.

make a video about Trevor Knight?

I don’t want to jinx it but Matt Rhule is my favorite coach in recent memory so far at least the quarterback room is stacked the defense is playing with real grit again for the first time in a decade I feel good about this team

I still attribute his lack of success this year to covid and drastic change from stands to a fiery dc. Still think he is a great dc. And wish him success

I don’t get why they hired Mike Riley right after, like I get Bo wasn’t super great at head coach but like Mike Riley was a huge downgrade and sent Nebraska into a spiral, like I’m hopeful under Scott Frost since it’s going to take a bit to actually make the team good again but like I don’t get why they hired Riley after

Do bill snyder pleaseee

Pelini did not get fired because of his coaching, he got fired because he was an absolute maniac on and off the field.

Pelini was fired by AD Eichorst and in all actuality Eichorst is the one that should have been fired. Eichorst never should have been hired let alone allowed to hire Mike Riley. Eichorst was a dick and never bothered to work with the coaching staff. Chances are if Eichorst had been fired there's a good chance that Pellini would still be there.

How about Dan DEVINE?

Should be the Solich curse... Bo could have stayed but I feel like he was also growing tired of Nebraska his lack of effort in recruiting and not highering assistants outside of the program I think hurt him in the end and began the downfall of Nebraska football. Bo had great teams with callahans recruits but once he was on his own recruits you could see the play start to trend down. Then 3 years no development with Riley put the program in the tail spin. I hope frost can get it together but he may need to make some staff adjustments if things don’t get going by next year. In my opinion

I really wanted to see Bo do well and would have been happy with continued 9 wins and slowly progressing/improving. BUT, his hot head, side line antics, cussing out the fan base, and "me against the world" was the end of it. That was enough. Riley is an entirely different incredibly horrible choice. You could go back and look at the beginning of the end for us to be a perennial power with decline after TO retired (too early) to today. Decline has been sad.

Actually he is a good coach and had better success at Nebraska than today’s coach, Frost. Nebraska is rapidly becoming an afterthought in the same vein as Mississippi or Kansas State

I mean 9 wins is good considering it's like they expected them to go undefeated you're over 500 Better than most schools in the big ten that's actually really good I always never understood this firing Scott frost isnt really doing better so I'm sure they'll miss being over 500

He didn't too bad at Nebraska and now people see this. Nebraska is a 9-3 and 10-2 type program.

The University of Nebraska just doesn’t have the patience like before. How many years did it take former coach Dr. Tom Osborne to win a National Title? He wasn’t fired after a title loss in the 80’s against the Miami Hurricanes. This school and fans today seem picky. What made them fire Frank Thomas Solich a former player? Did they want the title right away? Thankfully they had former coach Bob Devany as athletic director to give Osborne time and patience. I remember hearing that year of him getting hired, he was debating on staying or coaching for Colorado. Luckily with Devany’s retirement, Nebraska had Osborne. Now if there’s no patience with Scott Frost I don’t see Nebraska rising like they were back then.

Am I the only one who saw the LSU background change to another Nebraska one?

Should've replaced Solitch instead of Callahan

The Adam Gase of college football.

Nebraska would be in better shape today had they kept Bo for three more years instead of bringing in Mike Riley.

With what Scott Frost has done at Nebraska.........getting rid of Bo was a MASSIVE Mistake

Do Bob stoops. From Iowa, k state to ou.

Pelini players would have ran threw a wall for him, he was a players coach! Just couldn't replace certain assistance when it needed to be done to make that next step. Pelini wasn't the problem it was Shawn Eichorst, and Harvey Perlman

As a busker fan we need pelini back

They weren't really LED by Armstrong in 2013, Taylor Martinez got hurt 3 games in and they juggled Tommy and Ron Kellogg III. Shame because Taylor was haven't his best season as a passer.

What do I think of Scott frost at this point to early to tell give him till people otherwise we just fall deeper and deeper into the hole

I’m a big husker fan I just want them to win and find a good quarterback

Bottom line is Pelini never grasped the fact that 9 wins per season is not going to keep your job when your personality is as caustic as his is, he hated the fans, the media and just about everything that makes Nebraska a special place. He just happened to be the coach in charge when the old big 12 (run by Texas) decided they didn't want Nebraska (who was leaving the Conference after the season) to walk out with the Championship Trophy. It was painfully obvious to everyone not a Texas Fan that time had expired when McCoy threw the ball out of bounds...the clock read 00:00 right before the ball sailed out of bounds, there was several camera angles showing that fact that were never shown. But Texas got it's way and Nebraska and Big Suh got hosed. This would prove to be the straw that made Pelini Snap....after that game he went well kinda nutty....temper tantrums, cursing at the Referees (so much so that every crew in the Big 10 hated having to work a Nebraska Game) and his temper just made matters worse but the Tape of him badmouthing Nebraska Fans and Boosters, blaming local media for his outbursts in his press conferences and the slapping at a Referee with his hat ......well the conservative farm folks of Nebraska were shocked and were not about to have some crazy disrespectful guy representing the University of Nebraska. That's the bottom line