Husker Fans… Looks like Steve Pederson may be…

GONE!

He met with Chancellor HP today for 5-7 minutes… News release later today.

Update… He’s gone!

I heard this too. I’m not going to get my hopes up until I see the news release. Then the healing can begin.

Confirmed on the radio, 1620. It’s on KETV channel 7 in Omaha. Done deal.

http://www.journalstar.com/huskerextra/football/doc4713b58350f87196520867.txt

I’m going to have a cold one to celebrate.

I’ll get the first round. Talk real nice and I’ll get the second one too.

“There is a 90% chance that Steve will be fired by the end of today.
>>>The guy in charge of setting up the press room was told to get it ready now.
>>>The next AD…..Tom O. has been asked to take over, at least in the
>>>interim. He was also told to compile a list of candidates to replace
>>>Callahan. The powers that be are waiting on TO’s decision. More as
>>>I get it.”

Got this at lunch today. Also just heard Remington’s name being thrown around.

“Steve Pederson is out after a meeting with Harvey Perlman. An interim A.D. will be selected.”

This is directly from huskerpedia.com.

I don’t generally root for anyone to lose their job, but in his case I’ll make an exception. And it’s not like he’ll be hard-up for cash.

The wheels are in motion, and any change is good change at this point. I expect this will mean Cally and Coz are out, probably at the end of the season. The future looks better than the present.

Damon Benning is on 1620 the Zone right now. Love that guy!

http://www.1620thezone.com

Pederson out as NU’s AD
BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Oct 15, 2007 – 02:29:30 pm CDT
Steve Pederson is out as Nebraska’s athletic director. It was announced at 2:15 this afternoon in a press release by Chancellor Harvey Perlman.

The exact words of the press release are as follows: “University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman today announced he has asked UNL Athletic Director Steve Pederson to step down from the post he has held since January 2003. Perlman said he believes Pederson is no longer positioned to move the Athletic Department forward.”

The move comes two days after Nebraska’s football team suffered its worst home loss since 1958, prompting widespread concern about the direction of the football program under Pederson’s most notable hire, Bill Callahan.

Less than three months ago, Perlman extended Pederson’s contract through June 2013.

Pederson, a North Platte native and University of Nebraska graduate, was hired on Dec. 20, 2002. He’d served the previous six seasons as athletic director at Pittsburgh, where he helped rebuild that program’s facilities.

Pederson initially arrived in Lincoln with great fanfare, lauded by many as a Nebraska native with Midwest values who understood the culture and would fit perfectly in his new position.

Those thoughts changed a year later. Pederson fired football coach Frank Solich in December of 2003, saying, “I refuse to let this program gravitate to mediocrity,” and that he wouldn’t surrender the Big 12 Conference to Oklahoma and Texas.

Those are comments critics have used against Pederson after each of Nebraska’s troubling defeats under Callahan’s watch. Callahan, in his fourth season, is 26-18 overall and 14-13 in Big 12 Conference games. Pederson signed Callahan to a five-year contract extension on Sept. 4.

The firing of Solich — which came after Nebraska completed a 9-3 regular season — was followed by a coaching search that lasted more than 40 days, prompting more debate. Pederson was criticized for not being open and honest with public and media.

Pederson has again been recently evasive, refusing to field fans’ calls last week on his weekly radio call-in show.

Pederson finally turned to Callahan, recently fired from the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Before hiring Callahan on Jan. 9, 2004, several coaches turned down Pederson’s overtures, including Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders.

Pederson also helped revamp Nebraska’s football facilities, leading the $40 million expansion of North Stadium — a project that increased Memorial Stadium’s capacity to 81,067 and boosted Nebraska’s recruiting edge with a new locker room, weight room, indoor practice building and training facilities.

Nebraska’s self-supporting athletic department has remained in sound financial shape under Pederson’s watch. Other notable Pederson hires include Nebraska men’s basketball coach Doc Sadler, who’s been widely accepted by fans.

Pederson’s first job in college athletics was as an NU sports information assistant in 1980. He was Nebraska’s recruiting coordinator from 1982-86 and also served as recruiting coordinator at Tennessee and Ohio State. He returned to Lincoln as an associate athletic director for football operations from 1994-96 before leaving for Pittsburgh.

Healing… We’ll see. There are an awful lot of hurt feelings over this. There will be fallout again, it’s unavoidable. Overall, it will be overwhelmingly positive though.

I wrote Perlman in 2003 telling him of my wife and I’s decision to not help fund the new, and as yet unnamed Osborne Complex and our profound disappointment on how the situation was bungled. He replied that they would quote “raise the money without us and that Solich was not worth the million he was making”. He was wrong on both counts.

Hopefully he’s on the block too. He’s been far too involved in football as a Chancellor.

Lots of People loved the Pederson / Callahan train and hated the Solich regime, option football, walk-ons, and stodgy offense. Mainly they are the “fans” who revel in pass attempts, recruiting rankings, believe that Nebraska players aren’t good enough to “compete” at the NFL level, think college football players should be perfect, and belive Nat Championships are birthrights. I personally hope they take the bus with Pederson/Callahan.

I’m glad I didn’t get rid of my GO HSKRS plates and look forward to returning to Memorial Stadium. It’s good someone has finally taken the keys from the impaired drivers.

The former players are planning to meet Wed. I wonder if that now will still happen. Word was they, along with substantial boosters, had a plan in place to pay off the involved admin/coaches, stadium, and would bring in TO as an Interim AD.

Hopefully this ship will get turned around. I expect Turner or Bo to become the next head coach here with a staff of former players as coaches on board. I also expect that these folks will make zero excuses for system implementation, fundraising, or PR gaffes.

Geez Zach, at least get Rimington’s name right!

Rimington’s been heading the Boomer Esiason Foundation for the last several years, so who knows what could come of that.
I was just checking out a site for his trophy at http://www.rimingtontrophy.com/
Got some cool stuff there, including a video player showing some old footage. How I wish the good ol days were still here, when people talked about our offensive line before anyone else. I guess they kinda do now too, but not the same way.

This is great news.
I went to UNL 94-97, so these last few years have been tough for me to watch. I sure look forward to seeing what happens next.

I’m a million miles from NE football but loved watching them over the years under Osborne. I understand the level of respect he has earned and is given in that state.

My question would be, is Osborne able to “connect” with the type of coach needed for kids of today. Things have changed. I think he’d be taking a big risk in coming back in any large responsibility capacity. Consultant maybe, …..

Am I off base here?

Eric

Quote:

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Hopefully this ship will get turned around. I expect Turner or Bo to become the next head coach here with a staff of former players as coaches on board. I also expect that these folks will make zero excuses for system implementation, fundraising, or PR gaffes.

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I was thinking the same thing Todd… Gill or Pelini. I hear some talk of Brent Venables of the Sooners. He’d also be another great choice from what I can gather. It’d be REALLY nice to see some former Huskers on the staff. Rimington as AD would be great. Will Shields as OL coach would put a smile on my face.

Does an 18 year old kid today respect his grandpa. If that answer is yes, then T.O. would have no trouble.

T.O. won’t be back in any coaching capacity. He may be in as A.D. until they can right the ship, but only for the short term.

Todd, Have you heard if Paul Meyers will return?

That’s one small step for nebraska,One giant leap for the Huskers.

Osborne had a Ph.D. in Education Pschology and never relied on what some might call the skill set of a Bobby Bowden or Barry Switzer when it comes to relating to players, coaches or others. If anything it probably crippled us that so many assistants were loyal and stayed – Osborne would give his raise to his assistants and turned down raises for himself!!!! Because so few of his assistants went on he never created a big “coaching tree” yet here is Jerry Moore at Appalachian State, Monte Kiffin at the Bucs, and so on out there. Not sure but Barry Alvarez goes back to Devaney and/or him too. Turner Gill has turned around Buffalo, Craig Bohl has a monster up at NDSU.

I personally think he would be a great mentor to a coach lucky enough to work under him like he did under Devaney. He would also quickly heal the divide that’s out there.

Put it like this, if Tom Osborne calls any coach in the United States – you think they take the call? I do.

Nebraska was never about glitz and recruiting rankings. It doesn’t have to be now. Sometimes we don’t appreciate what makes us the proudest or happiest until it’s gone. Osborne also talked about the process to be in position to win as far more important than winning. THAT’S what resonated with Nebraskans and fans of Nebraska.

Whoever guides the program, I hope they emulate his low-key, cerebral, loyal to a fault style with numbing cold efficient play on the field. In all honesty the man would have been a military genius.

Scott Frost once said Osborne had about 60-80 offensive plays for a season of which maybe 10-15 rotated in or out that week with a few gadgets. But those 60-80 were practiced to perfection. Rumors have Callahans in 300 range every week though the average team runs 65 plays a game roughly.

I’M HAPPIER TODAY THAN WHEN I CAUGHT A 14.5# WALLEYE. Ok, it’s reallll close.

Good points and interesting as I’m not in the know on such detail.

I still think its a risk for him personally and perhaps, not his style to think he can make everything right again. It may calm things for awhile……..

That coach Bohl at NDSU could be a good choice! They’ll put a whoopin’ on my Gophers this weekend. Now if I were just a betting man!

Eric

I have not heard from my sources if Meyers is back. I’m 100% sure he will be though, bets are out there on him as AD without a doubt I’m sure also. I have a feeling his departure was more of a seismic shift in booster unease than people realize, especially on top of the other departures.

It makes a lot of sense for Osborne to be Interim, Meyers to succeed him, maybe bring in a Rimington and so on. Not only him, but Miles, Doak, and all the the others might be back. Remember Perlman is under TREMENDOUS pressure, Osborne as Interim AD or Meyers as AD and Osborne as coaching search chairman/Special Asst to AD might save him yet. (Perlamn has said and Interim would be approinted)

There is a players meeting Wednesday btw. It was arranged before today’s news.

I expect in the next few weeks lots will happen, as yet we do not know the status of the current coaches for the remainder of the season, I think we all expect them to not be here in 2008. I could be wrong, but it seems unlikely. At best Callahan may remain with a shook-up staff, but honestly I don’t think so.

I do feel sorry for the current coaches, families, and the players with attachments for those folks. I feel no joy for what they are going through. Maybe in the scheme of things this had to happen and the U, the Program, and fans as individuals will be better for this. We will also have some player departures I’m sure based on whatever “system” we have next.

Coaching is nomadic for most, Nebraska had been an exception to that and I hope it is again.

Man, I can take my daughter and my one on the way to a game. She was going to have to go with her Grandma or Mother. You have no idea how hard that’s been for me to think about whether I’ve been right or wrong in my stance and whether I’d break down and go though I couldn’t support the program as staffed.

Now I gotta look at next year’s schedule !!!

Some of you might enjoy looking at the old offense

Old Playbook, etc

Perlman is NOT firing coaching staff – new conference. He wants more qualified people to decide that. Says he has no idea if current staff can turn it around. Decided to fire him last Thursday. Has not talked to any other AD staffers yet. Will hire a search firm. Will not talk about Osborne as AD/Interim AD – will seek his advice about what “makes most sense going forward”.

Wouldn’t clearly answer any concerns about fundraising. Said Pedey left department financially strong.

Says regents / boosters have not contacted him

Says new AD does not have to have Nebraska ties. Gulp, but actually the right answer my CEO side of brain says.

Has repeated he’s the “last to know things” over and over and over. Says he had no idea until recently about problems. I’m still lost why he fired him other than “future direction, future leadership”.

Says TO has been helpful too him. Bristling at repeated TO involvement questions. Clear their relationship is not great. Refers to him as “legacy” to football.

No concerns about AD office without Pedey. At least those left (my comment)

Interesting to me at least – acts like Steve was fine yet fired him for future leadership. Yet, if AD is fine and performance is bad you “encourage” AD to fire coach(es) – correct? That’s double-talk my friends. Now is saying SP lost respect of people he worked with.

“Steve Pederson never lied to me I don’t think, he just was a very positive person. He always accenuated the positive.”

Worried media will make his job/search more difficult.

Hopes we all stick with program.

Should be able to watch it at <a href=”www.ketv.com” target=”_blank”>KETV</a>

Todd

I suppose he can’t tell all right now. He said he has been consulting T.O., so that’s a positive. There’s more to this story, I’m sure.

I understand there’s a party going on at DJ’s Dougout.

Not what I was expecting to hear from the news conference. Pearlman says that the money will come out of AD money that is set aside for AD stuff. Well, $2.2 million+ sure could have helped out the swim team rather than spending it on a contract extension that was pre-mature and excessive. I am sure that Harvey will have some tough questions to answer.

And Perlman won’t be the one firing the coaches. He’s not lying there. But someone (new AD) will be firing the coaches. There’s a process. We’ll have to be patient… again.

An aside – Perlman commented that he first started having/hearing of concerns in July. Yet, he just signed off on Pedey’s extension.

That begs a LOT of questions. My opinion was that Harvey was pretty supportive of Pederson yet today and yet distanced himself from anything over there. Pretty smart considering how involved he’s been over the years since the Solich firing. Remember he – not Pederson – commented in a large Omaha WH article roughly a year ago.

He’s also had his head in the sand, conveniently. Steve Pederson was Sports Illustrated’s most reviled sports figure in Nebraska recently. No one mentioned this, the lack of successful fundraising, the mediocre football record, the myriad of staff members leaving, the fact he wasn’t going to any or good bowl games depending on the year???

I honestly think both Harvey and Steve misread the public regarding Coach Solich. While they may have made the right decision in letting him go – and make no mistake that THEY, not He (Pedey), did that – almost everything else they’ve done since in athletics have been wrong except for going ahead with facility building without funding in place.

I suspect many of Steve’s former employee’s will now come forward and share much of the inner workings. Some, but not all of this will reach the public. This will not help Perlman either.

In strong Nebraska fashion, I expect a rocking stadium this weekend as my wife, brother and other family members attend the game.

The Lincoln JS and Omaha WH are going to sell a lot more papers and Internet ads the next few months.

In the back of my mind I wish Osborne would have been just a smidge more selfish and stayed on. At this point his legacy would have been mind-boggling.