Former Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe regrets not taking Nebraska job in 2006

Former Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jim Grobe is spending the 2014 season as a television analyst instead of roaming the sidelines of an ACC program. It’s a stark change for a coach who spent 13 years at the helm of the Wake Forest program.

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After resigning this offseason, that decision also apparently has Grobe reflecting on what might have been in the winter of 2006. That’s because, according to CBSSports.com’s Jon Solomon, Grobe wonders where he’d be today had he accepted the head coaching position at Nebraska.

He admitted that he thought things were on the upswing in terms of commitment for the program at Wake Forest, and at the time of his initial decision didn’t regret it. That’s not the case in 2014 though, as Grobe told Solomon the following:

"“I do now, I didn’t at the time,” he said. “I honestly took great pride in Wake Forest. I had some really good friends there. I trusted some people there. I thought Wake was a little different than other schools. I really, at the time, felt we were going to get a bigger commitment in terms of facilities and support for the program that never really materialized. We loved all 13 years we were in Winston-Salem, but I’m not real happy with the way things ended.”"

Yes, that’s right, Grobe was the first choice for the Huskers over Bo Pelini.

Let’s remember that Grobe had just gotten done coaching his Wake Forest team to an 11-3 overall record, an ACC title and an appearance in the Orange Bowl. All of that at Wake Forest—not exactly a historical powerhouse if you will.

However, that was the high-water mark for Grobe at WF, as his teams never won more than nine games following that 2005 season and Grobe ended his 13-year tenure with five losing seasons in a row.

That’s only a part of the story though, because the downfall of the program came on the heels of five winning seasons in Grobe’s first seven years in Winston-Salem. It led to higher expectations, but Grobe believes the program failed to match those expectations with help in the arms race against other power conference programs.

“The expectations got too high without a push for better facilities and better support,” Grobe said. “When your expectations go up but the things you’re doing to win don’t, that’s when there’s a problem.”

Imagine what would’ve been when you match Grobe’s ability to coach and the top-notch facilities and name that Nebraska brings to the table? It’s something we’ll obviously never know the answer to, but it’s also a decision that affected the fates of a coach and two different programs in big ways.

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