David, from B2, I hate to say this, but it's going to be a long, long time before Nebraska is a conference title contender.
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Much less a national title contender. I say that to put in context that -- even still -- I don't like the firing of Bo Pelini. I personally think Bill Callahan wrecked the program. He did more damage in 3 years than Pelini could fix in 10.
You look at Pelini's first couple years, and he did fantastic. He really started turning the program around and reinstating the culture of Huskers football.
Then the idiots in the athletic department decided to jump from the Big 12 to the Big 10 and that wrecked the program again. Pelini and the rest of the coaching staff had to re-tool the entire program to face a completely different style of offense and defense.
I'd like to hope that Pelini would have take the team to a conference title within 2-3 years, put them back in the top 20 consistently by then, and maybe even gotten into the playoffs for a national championship in 5. But I doubt it. I think the athletic department is such a huge, flippin' mess under Shawn Eichorst that it'll be years before Nebraska is a factor in collegiate sports at the national level.
And it's not just football that's suffering under Eichorst. Women's Volleyball at Nebraska used to be a national powerhouse. Up until 2011, they were always a contender for the national title. Now they're a regional powerhouse.
The men's and women's basketball teams have slipped, men's and women's gymnastics have slipped, men's baseball is pretty much an afterthought, and women's softball has also slipped.
I don't think you can blame Pelini for this, and I don't think he should've been fired. I think the entire management of the athletics department needs to undergo a through clearing out and the entire culture needs to get back to the Tom Osbourne era before things will improve.
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