Its not that Nebraska football fans need to be reminded that the Huskers have been one of the worst programs in the sport over the last two decades. That’s something that is in our collective faces plenty often.
Still, its’ almost impressive just how bad the Cornhuskers football program has been before Matt Rhule. A new article makes it clear yet again that NU stumbled into one bad move after another over the last 15-20 years. That includes not one but two coaching hires.
Will Backus of CBSSports.com recently put together a list of the 15 absolute worst coaching hires of the last decade and Nebraska had the distinct honor of being the only program that made the list not once, but twice.
That the Huskers have made the list isn’t that big a surprise. Everyone remembers Scott Frost. Everyone remembers Mike Riley. But if you’re like me, you’ve compartmentalized. You forget that it was back to back horrible hires.
And that those hires didn’t come for Nebraska in the last 10 years. That somehow they were a little more far apart. Because realizing they were this close together just means that the Huskers have been so, so bad.
Backus added perhaps the best explanation for both Mike Riley (No. 7 on the list) and Scott Frost (No. 13) on the list with just one paragraph:
"The monkey paw really curled when Nebraska fired Bo Pelini for, in the words of then-athletic director Shawn Eichorst, not winning "the games that mattered the most." One would think that since consistent nine-win seasons weren't enough for Nebraska, the administration would swing for the fences with its coaching search. "
The administration swung again after Riley with Scott Frost. They missed again.:
"At the time, Frost was a significant hire for Nebraska. He was fresh off a 13-0 season after downing Gus Malzahn's Auburn in the Peach Bowl. And as we'll see later on this list, a lot of Nebraska's early struggles in Frost's tenure weren't necessarily his fault. But the high point of Frost's tenure was a 5-7 2019 campaign. He never made a bowl game won a total of seven games in his final three years. If Nebraska already had one foot in the grave before Frost got there, he ensured the once-proud Huskers were six feet under by the time he left. "
The Nebraska football team has Matt Rhule now. Here's hoping he doesn't land on a similar list in a few years. So far so good in that regard.