http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...s-unbelievable-hail-mary-to-beat-northwestern What the fuck is up with Pellini? He looks like he was on the losing end. Maybe he knows he's already out of there at Nebraska. Great to see Jared Lorenzen's younger brother with the heroics.
As much as I would like Pelini out, he will save his job if somehow the team wins out. It seems to be a pattern with his teams -- Get blown out on National TV in your only non conference marquee game and lose another game to an unranked opponent (5 straight years). Once everyone has written you off, win the rest of your games, reach the conference championship, get blown out on national TV again, before losing your bowl game to finish 10-4. His act has grown old to me and many Nebraska fans but if manages to pull the team together he will be the coach again next season. As for the play, Pelini explained after the Big XII Championship game against Texas where the officials put a second back on the clock, he wanted to wait for the replay to confirm it was good before he celebrated -- he has become very cynical as of late. The local talk radio show has named it "Fat kid to the porn stache kid on one".
Where did go wrong with him? We loved him as our DC for the most part (despite a couple of curious calls in crucial situations - like his decision not to blitz on 4th and 8 in triple OT against Ark or playing soft zone the entire 2nd half of the Tenn game in '05 which allowed them to erase a 21-0 deficit and win; but I digress). I realize being a good DC does not make a good head coach, but it seemed like he was the right person for the job when he was hired and I believe most Husker fans embraced him at first. What surprises me most is how poorly your defense is. Maybe poorly is too strong a word, but given his success here and even his previous stint as your DC, I just expected his defenses to be more dominant than they have been. Is it recruiting, coaching, or a combination of both? From the outside looking in, it seems like he's in over his head as the head coach because of all the responsibilities associated with the job. He may be better served just being a DC and there's nothing wrong with that. Elite coordinators are making high 6 and even 7 figure salaries these days.
I think the reason LSU fans liked him so much was because he decided to stay and coach the national championship game, we skull drug Ohio State and then he left in glorious fashion.
