My last two columns generated several responses about two subjects: Nebraska’s PPM (points per minute) stat in the Purdue game and what qualifications Nebraska’s next head coach must have.
I’ll address the latter issue first.
Many of you (and you know who you are) voiced displeasure at the prospect of Mickey Joseph becoming the next permanent Husker head football coach.
Those who wrote against MJ, cited that Joseph has never been a head coach or even a coordinator at the Division I level.
Those are valid points.
So let’s look at some of the other Husker head coaches and what credentials they had prior to being hired by Nebraska.
In 1962, Husker A.D. Tippy Dye picked Bob Devaney to succeed Bill Jennings. Devaney had been the head coach at Wyoming where he built the program from a 4-3-3 record the year before he got there, to a five-year record of 35-10-5 (.750 win rate). He also took the Cowboys to a Sun Bowl win in just his second year and won or tied for the Skyline Conference the other four years he was at Wyoming.
Devaney’s teams at Nebraska went from 3-6-1 in 1961, the year before he arrived at Nebraska, to a 101-20-2 (.829) record over the next 11 years. His teams also won two national championships (’70-’71).
When he retired after the 1972 season, Devaney handed over the reins to Tom Osborne, who had been Devaney’s offensive coordinator from ’69-’72. Osborne remained as the head coach from ’73-’97 and had a 25-year record of 255-49-3 (.853) and three national championships. Not a bad hire.
After Osborne retired, Frank Solich (58-19, .753) took over for Osborne in ’98. Solich remained as the head coach until he was fired by Steve Peterson after the 2003 season.
Then came Bill Callahan, who coached the Raiders to the Super Bowl after the 2002 season. Callahan was fired four years later by then A.D. Tom Osborne. Callahan left Nebraska with a record of 27-22 (.551).
Osborne then hired Bo Pelini to succeed Callahan. New Husker A.D. Shawn Eichorst then fired Pelini after seven years at Nebraska. Pelini left the Huskers with a record of 67-27 (.713).
Enter Mike Riley in 2015. He had been the head coach at Oregon State before taking over the Husker head coaching role. Riley was fired after just three years by then Husker A.D. Bill Moos. Riley’s record at NU was 19-19 (.500).
In December of 2017, Moos announced the hiring of former Husker QB Scott Frost after Frost had led Central Florida to its best record ever, going 13-0 in 2017. Frost had taken over a UCF team that had gone winless in 2015 (0-12), went 6-7 his first year (’16) and went undefeated in 2017.
Despite having only one winning season at UCF, Frost was hired as the new Husker head football coach. He had the résumé and pedigree (or so it seemed at the time) to be the perfect fit for Nebraska. He had been the OC at Oregon and head coach at UCF. More than that, he was a native son – the QB who led Nebraska to its last national championship in 1997. A sure thing. Can’t miss. Brilliant hire.
We all know how that turned out. Sadly, Frost led the Huskers to 4¼ miserable years of football, going 16-31 (.340) during that time.
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Devaney wasn’t a Power Five football coach prior to his coming to Nebraska. Osborne had never been a head coach. Solich had never been a coordinator or a head coach at the D-I level.
Callahan had served as OC and head coach for the Oakland Raiders of the NFL.
Pelini was never a head coach prior to being named by Osborne as the new Husker head coach. But Pelini had served as linebackers coach for the NFL Packers and was Solich’s DC for one year in 2003. Pelini also served one game as the interim head coach after Solich was fired after the 2003 regular season.
Mike Riley had been the head coach at Oregon State, the NFL’s San Diego Chargers and the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
So what does all this history tell us? Having a brilliant résumé doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything.
Mickey Joseph may not have the perfect résumé. He has never been a head coach or even a coordinator at the D-I or Power Five level. Maybe Mickey isn’t ready yet. I don’t know.
What I do know is that all Mickey Joseph has done so far is raise the level of excitement around the Husker football program. So far, his players seem to have bought everything Mickey has been selling. Yes, Joseph’s record is just 2-2 so far as the interim head coach. But he’s been given the unenviable task of trying to repair an engine while the motor is still running.
Perhaps MJ isn’t as polished as some would want, and maybe he lacks some sparkling credentials some other coaches have. But dang it, give me a coach who can recruit well and gets his players to play their hearts out and I’ll show you a great head coach.
PPM (Points Per Minute)
The other batch of email was about my recent column on how the Huskers managed to get 37 points in only 17 minutes of time of possession in a recent loss at Purdue. Nebraska lost that game, 43-37.
I wrote that I couldn’t remember when (if ever) a Husker football team had scored that many points in such a short TOP.
Many readers quickly directed me to the 1983 Husker team that pummeled the Gophers in Minneapolis. That year was the height of Nebraska’s “Scoring Explosion” team that featured WB Irving Fryar, QB Turner Gill and eventual Heisman-winning RB Mike Rozier. In just over 22 minutes, Nebraska scored 84 points for a PPM rate of 3.81. That’s nearly double what the Huskers’ PPM was in the loss to Purdue (2.17).
I can’t believe I didn’t include the Minnesota game. I have no excuse for such an oversight because I was at that game! Thanks to all the readers who took time to respond. You are the BEST!
How ’Bout Them Huskers
In our latest podcast, Will and I preview this week’s matchup with Illinois. We also talk about new Husker WR commitment Malachi Coleman (Lincoln East) and salute the Husker volleyball team for its outstanding performance. Don’t miss this episode!
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