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Nebraska Bo Pelini not on hot seat according to AD

By Cameron La Fontaine

Oct 12, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini leads his team onto the field before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini leads his team onto the field before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst held a 45-minute interview with The Associated Press and Nebraska state newspapers Wednesday where he tried to end all speculation that football head coach Bo Pelini is on the hot seat this year.

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Eichorst told The Associated Press that the program is “stable” and that the Huskers have a “seasoned coach who has won a bunch of games.”

Pelini has been head coach at Nebraska for six years and has won at least nine games in each season, but they haven’t won a conference championship since 1999. Pelini did however lead them to the Big 12 title game in 2009 and 2010 and the Big Ten Championship in 2012.

Last year proved to be a bumpy one for the head coach after a secretly recorded audio tape of Pelini criticizing fans in 2011 went public two days after the Huskers blew an 18-point lead in a home loss to UCLA. Pelini then almost nearly hit a sideline official with his cap while arguing a call in a home loss to Iowa. Then, after the game he was asked about his job status and he said, “If they want to fire me, go ahead.”

Eichorst also told The Associated Press, “I really enjoy what he brings to the table. He’s the first to admit he’s kind of walked that line a little bit. Everybody is different. You’ve got calm and collected, high strung and everything in between. I try not to make judgments about that.”

Pelini comes into the year with solid chances in the Big Ten conference. He has college football’s best returning running back from 2013, senior Ameer Abdullah who recorded 1,690 yards rushing and nine touchdowns in his junior season and a now a 2014 Heisman Trophy candidate. Nebraska sits at 22 in ESPN’s preseason top-25 and has a relatively easy schedule where they dodge Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan during the Big Ten season.

This may not be a make or break year for Pelini, but with it being Abdullah’s final season, it could be a make or break year for the team as a whole.

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