10 Things You Should Like About Bo Pelini

I try not to copy and paste, but this story was on HuskersIllustrated which is part of Rivals.com. You need to pay sort of a hefty fee to subscribe to it each year (about $100) but it's worth it for info on recruiting if you're into that sort of thing. But here are two stories about why this is the best hire Nebraska could have made. I would have liked to have seen Turner Gill get a shot, but I'm not sure if Osborne thought now was the time. Either way, this seems to be a hire that will satisfy a lot of people.

Eight days after Nebraska interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne fired Bill Callahan, it was announced on Sunday that NU's new head football coach is LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

John Talman/HuskersIllustrated.com
Bo Pelini is 55-10 as a college defensive coordinator.

In five seasons as a college defensive coordinator, Pelini's teams are 55-10, including a 10-3 record while he was at Nebraska in 2003. Here are "10 reasons why this a great hire."

Pelini's brings emotion

When you looked at this football team, the two biggest things that were missing in 2007 seemed to be emotion and an overall belief in the system on defense. Pelini is a fiery coach and everyone who has played for him has consistently said they'd run through a brick wall for him.

He's a defensive minded head coach

It's no secret that defense was the biggest issue with this football team, and this is hopefully an area Pelini will shore up right away. In 2003, Pelini helped turned NU's defense from one of the worst in the nation to one of the best. It's going to have to do it again in 2008.

Getting back to the old school

If there's another thing Pelini will bring on board, it is an old school Nebraska flavor. Some expected names that Pelini could bring back are former NU coaches Barney Cotton, Marvin Sanders, Ron Brown and his brother Carl Pelini. It is also speculated that Pelini plans to retain NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, which I think is definitely the right move. Watson knows the Big 12 Conference and he can also help Pelini make a smoother transition on offense with his knowledge of NU's personnel.

Understanding Nebraska

One of the biggest knocks towards Callahan and his staff was they didn't have any previous ties to Nebraska, which made their transition that much tougher. Pelini was only at NU for one year, but in that one year he won over the state. I'll never forget the "we want Bo" chants in the Alamo Dome following NU's 17-3 victory over Michigan State. Pelini will also have a staff of coaches that understand Nebraska and what football means to this state.

The "it" factor

Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker Barrett Ruud may have said it best when describing Pelini. Ruud said Pelini has the "it factor" and he just gets it as a coach. Not only is Pelini a motivator, but he's also a sound X's and O's guy.

Blue collar attitude

	Pelini will bring back a blue-collar attitude to Nebraska football.

Nebraska is a blue collar state and this football program was built because of that same attitude. Pelini is a blue-collar hardnosed guy from Ohio and he should bring a Bob Stoops type mentality to Lincoln.

The players don't lie

Every player that Pelini has coached in five years at the college level will all say the same thing – they love Bo Pelini. This is such an important characteristic a head football coach must have.

Pelini fits the college game

Yes, Bo Pelini spent several years in the NFL, but ultimately when you break down his style as a football coach he's a college guy. Callahan was obviously a pro guy with his mentality of running a football program, so it should be a complete 180 when you compare their styles.

Winning now

When you look at his football team, Pelini is realistically the best guy Nebraska could've hired to win now. There is talent on this football team and Pelini should be able to shore up the issues on defense and the offense has enough coming back where this team can be competitive in 2008.

The guy is a winner

No matter where Pelini has been, he's won. Now yes, he was at places like Oklahoma, LSU and Nebraska, but a 55-10 record as a defensive coordinator and a 3-0 record in conference championship games is about as good as you are going to see from any coach in the country.

Quotes on Bo

On Sunday, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini was named as the new head coach at the University of Nebraska.

John Talman/HuskersIllustrated.com
Before returning to Nebraska, Bo Pelini was a coordinator at both Oklahoma and LSU.

Pelini, the defensive coordinator for the Huskers in 2003, also made stops at Oklahoma along with LSU, before returning to Lincoln as of this weekend as the successor to Bill Callahan.

Here are some memorable statements, from people who have been around Pelini over the last several years, have said about the new head coach for NU.

"When I take the field, I feel like I'm out there with an army and he's our leader. He's always wired up, always intense. He's not a big cusser or anything, but he knows how to get you fired up."

-- LSU defensive tackle Glen Dorsey, (Yahoo! Sports, Oct. 11, 2007)

"Guys were ready to run through a wall for him. He was such a great motivator. He'd print out cards with different quotes and leave them in our locker to fire us up before games, and when it came to X's and O's, he definitely had the 'it' factor. He was the total package"

-- Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Nebraska linebacker Barrett Ruud (Yahoo! Sports, Oct. 11, 2007)

"I'll tell you this, he would deserve a head job. He's an excellent, excellent coach."

-- LSU athletic director Skip Bertman (The Advocate, Dec. 1, 2007)

"I loved the day before a game, going into defensive meetings just to hear his words. He always had a way of motivating the defense. It was something I've never seen before or heard. He was just so intense."

-- Former Husker punter Sam Koch (Lincoln Journal Star, Nov. 21, 2007)

"You know how some people have it and some don't? He has it."

-- Former Nebraska defensive tackle Titus Adams (Omaha World Herald, Nov. 11, 2007)

"From the moment we met him…you saw this could be a guy you could follow and go to with."

-- Former Nebraska defensive tackle Jason Lohr (Omaha World Herald, Nov. 11, 2007)

"Nobody's willing to cross him. He's got those people skills to come to you like a man and talk to you. That's his biggest philosophy, that everybody on this team is a man. He doesn't talk behind your back. There's no babying. You just get the job done."

-- Former Nebraska defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith (Omaha World Herald, Dec. 28, 2003)

"He has a love of the game and wants you to get after it. It's about loving the game and getting after it. The main thing he's focused on his effort. One of the big things is just his style and how he presents things to us. What we have to do is learn it, so we better learn it now."

-- Former LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams (TigerBait.com, April 7, 2005)

"He knows what he wants to get out of a defense. People say he's serious, but he has a lighter side to him and stays serious as well. I think that's good. But don't be mistaken, he can joke with you, but he'll mix it up with the best of them when he wants to. He has a goal in mind, an end result, and he wants to make sure he stays focused on that."

-- Former Nebraska secondary coach Marvin Sanders following Pelini's first day as defensive coordinator at Nebraska. (HuskersIllustrated.com, March 26, 2003)

"There was a fight, then something happened after the fight. He (Pelini) got hit in the nose, then he grabbed somebody's facemask, and it was over from there."

"Bo Pelini — that is the man. He is the man, whatever he says, I'll do. I'll run through a brick wall on fire. I'll run through flames for that man, and there is a bunch on that defense that will do that.

-- Former Nebraska defensive lineman Bernard Thomas on Pelini breaking up a fight in practice (HuskersIllustrated.com – March 2003)