Tom Osborne Speaks About Whether He Would Hire Bo Pelini Today

By Oliver Vandervoort | Jul 30, 2016

Nov 22, 2014; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini walks the sideline against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

Tom Osborne appeared on a sports talk radio show for KWSN on Friday where he talked about his hiring of Bo Pelini and whether he would do it again.

The interview began with subjects such as how the famed coach was able to get his team and his players through the loss of a friend and former teammate in Brook Berringer. He talked about the comparisons to the situation this year involving Sam Foltz.

The conversation soon moved to less heartbreaking topics and the question was asked whether or not Osborne would have hired Bo Pelini if he had the decision to make all over again. While the question was never answered directly, it’s clear that Osborne both felt Pelini did a decent job with the Nebraska football team and also understands why he was let go.

The legend’s direct response to whether or not he would still have hired Bo was exactly the kind of response you would expect from a man who spent so many years on the football field. Osborne looked at the decision he said “Like I did as a football coach.”

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He said he could only look at the information he had at the time and that was overwhelmingly in favor of making the move. During the interview, Osborne called Pelini one of the greatest defensive minds around “at the time.”

The first part of his answer really did seem like he was a bit remorseful about the hire. The second part of the answer appeared to be a defense of Pelini because he “won quite a few games” and his players were doing well academically.

Osborne also pointed out Bo never got into a situation where he was accused or abusing or hitting players. That last one seemed like the strangest to me because it seems an awful lot like “the tallest midget” defense.

Yes, it’s true Bo Pelini was never accused of hitting his players. That’s not something someone should get credit for. You aren’t supposed to hit players. You don’t get a cookie for not doing something you absolutely should note ever do … ever.

Osborne’s defense of Bo Pelini is understandable. He did hire the now Youngstown State head coach. It’s hard to admit you made a mistake. It’s even harder to admit you made a mistake if you look only at the win-loss record and ignore the things that were firing off warning bells.

With that in mind, the defense of Pelini by Osborne was more tepid that I expected to hear. If you listen closely to the interview you won’t hear the man who is inarguably one of, if not the best head coach in the history of the game defend Bo’s coaching acumen as a head man.

Next: Nebraska Football Family Deals With The Tragedy Of Sam Foltz Death

When you listen to comments where he talks about Bo’s volatility, “things he didn’t know about then” it certainly appears as if Tom Osborne regrets the decision, at least to a point.

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