Pelini takes over at Nebraska
Bo Pelini is only the fifth head coach for the Cornhuskers since 1962.
Lincoln, NE - The University of Nebraska named LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini its new head football coach on Sunday.
Pelini got the job to become the 28th head coach in Cornhusker football history. He’s only the fifth head coach for the Cornhuskers since 1962.
Pelini, who had a one-year stint as Cornhuskers defensive coordinator under Frank Solich in 2003, agreed to take the job opened when Bill Callahan was fired on November 24.
The move comes a day after LSU beat Tennessee in the SEC championship game. Pelini had spent the past three seasons running LSU’s defense. He was reportedly picked over Buffalo coach Turner Gill and Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe.
Callahan’s firing came one day after the Cornhuskers wrapped up a dismal 5-7 campaign with a 65-51 loss at Colorado. Nebraska has only had two losing seasons since 1962, and both came under Callahan, who was 27-22 in four seasons.
Pelini will be asked to rebuild a Cornhuskers defense which endured one of the most embarrassing seasons in school history. In addition to a 35-point setback at Missouri and a 31-point home loss to Oklahoma State, the Huskers were blown out at Kansas by a 76-39 margin, a school record for points allowed.
“We need a head coach with strong defensive credentials and great leadership,” Nebraska interim athletic director and former Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne said. “We were also looking for someone who can inspire confidence and get players to play with great effort. And, of course, we also wanted our new head coach to understand our traditions, including the importance of our walk-on program and the importance of football in this state.”
The soon-to-be 40-year-old Pelini served as interim coach for Nebraska in 2003 after Solich was fired by then-athletic director Steve Pederson. His other career stops include Oklahoma, where he was co-defensive coordinator for a team that played in the 2004 BCS title game, and stints in the NFL on the defensive staffs of the 49ers, Patriots, and Packers between 1994 and 2002.
“I think that’s what makes the University of Nebraska unique over any place I’ve been in coaching is how much it means to the state,” Pelini said. “It’s like one big family.”
An Ohio State alum, Pelini began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with Iowa in 1991 before coaching at his high school, Cardinal Mooney of Youngstown, Ohio — the same school that produced Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Arizona coach Mike Stoops.
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