So I depart the state for ten days and the entire place turns into an Elmo Hearth GIF? Nebraska Cornhuskers, it’s not only a job, it’s an journey.

I took off for Colorado to do some mountaineering and naturally it become a number of days of day hikes whereas dodging excessive nation extreme storms. After a Saturday morning hike, I toddled over to a Durango sports activities bar known as Steamworks , befriended an aTm fan and his spouse and we obtained to know one another in grief whereas each shedding to Solar Belt groups on the identical day.

After which information of the firing broke on Sunday morning as I used to be leaving city searching for higher climate within the mountains up north and obtained to hearken to radio and attempt to learn texts whereas making the terrifying drive over Independence Go on Freeway 82. (Some folks aren’t shaken by 1000’+ drops with no guardrails. I’m not them.) This was adopted by discovering myself on a path two days later a worse drop.

It was time to return residence.

Sufficient with the character present, let’s simply dive proper in. There’s just a few subjects through which I need to dip my toes and the one factor of which I’m positive is that none of those opinions are going to have common settlement. Be happy to fireside away beneath, it’s why we’ve got a feedback part and I’m 100% critical once I inform y’all it’s greater than as soon as I’ve learn one and thought, “I’ve by no means checked out it from that angle.”

Let’s rock.

WHO GONNA BE DA’ COACH?

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Certain, let’s go for the low-hanging fruit first.

I dipped into this in a Q&A with Oklahoma’s Crimson & Cream Machine final week and with minimal fiddling from that, right here’s what I mentioned I’d be – some mixture of a number of of the next – for Nebraska’s subsequent highest paid state worker:

• 1 – D1 head teaching expertise
• 2 – A low-floor, excessive ceiling man whose rent will generate pleasure (take a shot, issues can’t go a lot decrease)
• 3 – A monitor file of fixing damaged issues
• 4 – A confirmed recruiter – Nebraska requires precise recruiting potential
• 5 – Being such a fantastic coach AND horrible human being that I contemplate promoting my soul to the satan for a possible return to glory (Sorry, needed to embrace for Urbs)
• One caveat – Nebraska connections aren’t a constructive nor detrimental. Nobody is included as a result of he has a Nebraska connection or eradicated as a result of we have to keep away from it. The worst two tenures had one among every. It’s not an element.

So right here’s my listing so as with out browsing to see who could also be critical or not.

1. Lance Leipold – Checks #1, most of #2 (particularly with Kansas 3-0) and #3. His groups are basically sound which most of us don’t actually acknowledge anymore. Additionally, throw in a historical past of successful championships repeatedly.
2. Matt Rhule – Already on skinny ice in Carolina which is ok, he belongs in faculty. Checks all bins and what he did at Baylor after that catastrophe was superb.
3. Dave Aranda – No, I didn’t simply surf Baylor, thanks. However right here’s a defensive-minded Baylor coach who would undoubtedly convey again a hard-nosed angle which has been on indefinite trip.
4. Mickey Joseph – Clearly, one thing particular should occur over the subsequent few months which at the very least passes an enormous eye take a look at if the file doesn’t flip round. I’m itemizing him right here principally out of hope as a result of he’s undoubtedly obtained #2 & #4 with two months to build up just a few video games of #1 and no higher likelihood to point out he has #3 in his arsenal.
5. Jamey Chadwell – Coastal Carolina is simply enjoyable as hell to observe and people groups play with boundless pleasure and vitality. We’d like just a few CC’s of that.

Wild Card – Da Coach O – Ed Orgeron – Hell, who even is aware of if Ed needs to educate once more? Like he mentioned after they informed him his buyout was $17.1 million they usually have been gonna give all of it to him? “What time you need me to depart and what door you need me out of, brotha?”

However he wished to return right here as soon as earlier than, he’s obtained #1 and is the very Webster’s definition of #2 and #3. The one query is has he gotten the ladies out of system but? I’m not kidding – an enormous purpose for his Baton Rouge nosedive after the title was actually getting divorced and launching the one life. I’m not making that up and sure, it’s simply Ed Orgeron as hell. If he got here right here solely searching for contemporary recreation, we’d see that low ground.

Matt Campbell, Invoice O’Brien, Chris Klieman, Gary Patterson? Many could disagree and that’s OK, however I simply don’t really feel pleasure or a excessive upside from these guys. Oh properly, we’ve obtained just a few extra months to suppose this over.

URBAN MEYER

Please no. And I really hope he has taken himself out of consideration.

I hear the cries of individuals terrified we would lean towards looking for an Osborne clone and requiring a coach who can be main prayer circles at midfield after each recreation whereas preventing the notion of promoting heat overpriced beer at Memorial Stadium. For individuals who don’t know me, I hope the Coach O vote rapidly quells any notion that kind of shit scores factors with me in any respect.

However that doesn’t imply I need to convey Urb’s model of nonsense to Lincoln. An inventory of the litany of scandals at Florida and Ohio State and his all the time slithering out of them with a pile of lies and pretend sicknesses for “retirement” needs to be sufficient to make an individual’s pores and skin crawl. Simply Google all of it a while and provides some focus to Ohio St. the place he helped cowl for wife-beating pervert assistant coach and really leaned on the sufferer to not go to the cops. Whereas Jacksonville hiring him was past silly, at the very least his full failure to win coupled with more unusual and offensive habits earned him a boot within the ass earlier than he may begin claiming again issues and roll round in a wheelchair earlier than one other “retirement”.

I promise you – drawing the road at hiring a large, steaming pile of shit doesn’t imply I’m insisting on one other Osborne.

FROST AND CHINANDER

If there’s 2 issues we do properly & constantly, it’s have a piece of the fan base take an enormous dump on each QB since Frazier and each outgoing head coach since Ozzy and attempt to discover methods to make it private. I’ll cross on that, so right here’s my eulogies.

FROST

I actually thought he would possibly get an extended leash, however the firing after Georgia Southern in all probability each made sense and offers a little bit weight to a few of these lack of dedication tales. His historical past of success previous to Lincoln will discover him on workers someplace subsequent season if he needs and actually it appears like him getting the hell out of Nebraska for a contemporary begin is the perfect factor for the person.

I want it will have labored. It felt prefer it was doubtlessly simply across the nook final 12 months as exhausting as they performed in these shut losses. And man, it was not. Many due to all who have been there to inform us they knew “THE REAL STORY” after the very fact. However no knives within the again from me – simply hope he finds his means again as a result of failing on big stage, even when self-inflicted?

Sucks.

CHINANDER

For Mickey to have any sort of truthful shot, this needed to occur and the bye week was in all probability the time to do it. I heard it advised that Chins was being “punished” for the failings of Frost. Nothing could possibly be farther from the reality. My guess following the Southern recreation was that Chins can be reduce free to present Frost a final gasp. Oh properly, flawed once more.

However it wasn’t punishment, Chins was simply dangerous at his job and was fired for that purpose, nothing extra. The numbers don’t lie after 4 video games. Additionally contemplate 3 of them have been in opposition to not nice competitors to place it generously and Venables took his foot off the fuel mid-Third quarter within the Okie recreation:

• 114th out 131 groups in D1 in scoring protection
• 128th in yards given up per recreation
• one hundred and thirtieth in 1st downs allowed
• 68th in purple zone scoring proportion
• 124th in speeding yards allowed
• one hundred and fifteenth in passing yards allowed
• 83rd in cross effectivity protection

Over 4+ years, he was common at his greatest – suppose Mark Banker – and godawful at worst. It doesn’t make him a foul individual, however this was inevitable. Better of luck sooner or later.

IRELAND AND WEEK 0

I’m positive everybody had enjoyable in Dublin however given the kicks within the tooth or decrease areas served up by Northwestern and Illinois the final two years….perhaps we simply depart that stuff alone for the foreseeable future till when/if we get our toes again beneath us as a program?

The Eire factor didn’t deal with Northwestern too properly both. They’re 0-2 after a bye week with losses to Duke – which can look okay down the highway – and Southern Illinois which won’t. SIU was 0-2 going into that recreation with the losses coming in opposition to Incarnate Phrase and SE Missouri St.

Simply saying. Let’s hold recreation one in Week 1 and in opposition to somebody like Akron or –

(Lightning cracks)

Shit. By no means thoughts. Curses are actual.

Go Large Crimson.