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Known as "Fearless Frankie" during his NU playing days, a young Solich strikes a familiar pose in this 1960s photo. |
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'Husker Nation' Divided;
Rumor Mill Eases Pain
LINCOLN (BS) -- Before we add our two cents to the Pederson-Solich media frenzy, we should report that Nebraska did, indeed, defeat Colorado 31-22 to improve to 9-3 on the season.
Although the victory halted a two-game losing streak to CU and restored the Huskers' nine-win plateau, it was not enough to save Frank Solich's job.
Instead he was adruptly fired the next day by first-year Athletic Director Steve Pederson, effectively placing the entire college football world in shock.
Virtually everyone has chimed in with an opinion since. The "decision" reaction has been polarized with an outspoken majority who supported (or simply expected) Solich back in 2004.
The "how it was handled" reaction has been nearly unanimous. Even the Husker fans who ardently support Pederson feel that Solich deserved much better.
The Journal Star's anonymous report of the impending dismissal may have forced Pederson's hand prematurely, but we still wonder why a press conference wasn't held to announce the decision.
A private, five-minute meeting seems pretty harsh when you consider that Solich overachieved as a player for Bob Devaney and loyally served Tom Osborne as an assistant for nearly 20 years.
Frank Solich gave the majority of his adult life to Nebraska football, and regardless of how you assess his last six seasons as head coach, you can't say that he didn't give everything he had to the program.
Unfortunately, everything he had simply wasn't good enough. His firing wasn't about wins and losses, but the matter in which his team played.
The Huskers had an easy schedule this year, and they lost big in each of the "tough" games they played. They blew it in the fourth quarter at Missouri and they fought Kansas State for a half, but still lost by a collective 110-40 after a Texas game that simply wasn't competitive.
Remember, this schedule didn't include Oklahoma. Despite losing to Kansas State, the Sooners would have soundly beat Nebraska. (And we didn't need a computer to figure that out.)
The debate will continue, but the only question now is, "who's next?"
The rumor mill has spun the following names: Urban Meyer, Joe Glenn, Rich Rodriguez, Butch Davis, Al Saunders, Dave Wannstedt, Monte Kiffin, Tom Rathman, Dennis Green, and everyone's favorite guess, Steve Spurrier.
Oh, and since he was fired the other day, you might as well add Dan Reeves to the list. An "inside" source allegedly spotted him at Duncan Aviation as well.
Our advice is to ignore all the speculation and be patient, because Steve Pederson won't let this thing slide into Christmas, let alone January. He is far too recruiting savvy to let that happen.
For those demanding a guess, our money is on Bo Pelini, the safest bet there is. Whether he is Steve Pederson's best bet, or gamble, remains to be seen.
At this point, however, nothing short of Howard Schnellenberger (arriving via helicopter) could truly surprise us.
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