Michigan Football: Nebraska Football History Shows Rich Rod Should Go

David Brandon is not making a wise choice.  He has publicly stated that he will take his time in evaluating the status of Rich Rodriguez.  If we use history as a guide, Rich Rod should be fired ASAP. 

There are not many programs that are as storied as that of the University of Michigan; comparing Michigan to most schools would not be a fair.  Michigan is still one of the five best jobs in college football.  So if this were the case, then would studying history be futile? 

Though Michigan is one of college football’s most hallowed programs, they do not stand alone.  If one studies the Nebraska Cornhuskers, there will be some significant similarities.  Both schools have a rich football tradition.  Both schools have famous coaches who produced legacies.  But unlike Michigan, Nebraska already went through its “Rich Rod” phase. 

We all associate Nebraska football with current athletic director Tom Osborne.  But the Nebraska dynasty started before him with the arrival of Bob Devaney.  Devaney’s first year netted NU football a record of 9-2 and its first bowl win over Miami. This marked the beginning of 40 straight years of winning seasons at the University of Nebraska (similar to when Bo took over in 1969, Michigan never had a losing season until 2008).   

Devaney retired in 1972 and promoted Tom Osbourne, who was already an assistant, to head coach.  Osbourne brought fame to NU while also becoming its most winning coach and fifth most in NCAA history.  The Cornhuskers never won fewer than nine games under his leadership.

Osbourne retired in 1997 and promoted Frank Solich in 1998 as head coach.  Solich also had early success.  He won two conference championships as well as led the Huskers to the national championship game in 2001.  But a 7-7 record in 2002 began to sour him with first-year athletic director Steve Pedersen.  After making coaching changes (something Rich Rod is rumored to do), his 2003 team went 9-3, but it was not enough and Steve Pedersen fired Solich and named Bo Pelini interim coach. 

Pelini won the bowl game and interviewed for the head-coaching job but was not hired.  The job went to former Super Bowl and NFL coach Bill Callahan who would introduce the "football fad" of the time, the “West Coast offense.”  Callahan coached Nebraska from 2004-2007 where his winning percentage was a dismal 55 percent compared with an overall winning percentage of 82 percent from 1962-2003 when Devaney passed on the head-coaching reins to a Nebraska man in Tom Osbourne and Osbourne hired a Nebraska man in Frank Solich. 

Callahan could not come close and was fired, along with athletic director Steve Pedersen after the 2007 season.  Osbourne knew he had to hire a Nebraska man and Bo Pelini took over.  The change happened almost immediately and Nebraska football has come back.  Pelini’s winning percentage is about 71 percent but it is clear that NU is on the up and becoming the Nebraska it once was.  Pelini has enjoyed so much success that his name has been mentioned as a possible replacement at Ohio State when Jim Tressel retires (but Ohio State would also be wise to hire an "Ohio State" man).

Bo Schembechler once proclaimed to the world of college basketball that a Michigan man would coach Michigan.”  Nebraska learned the hard way that hiring a "hot" coach and abandoning the Nebraska way can prove to be highly detrimental to a program.  Tom Osborne righted the ship by hiring Bo Pelini, a Nebraska man, to replace Bill Callahan.  David Brandon should learn from the Nebraska situation and hire a Michigan man to coach Michigan. 

From 1969-2007, Michigan had an overall winning percentage of 78 percent, a home winning percentage of 85 percent and a road winning percentage of almost 72 percent with a 52 percent winning percentage on a neutral site. 

In UM’s first two seasons, Michigan has a 33 percent overall winning percentage, 47 percent at home, 11 percent on the road and zero percent on neutral sites (because until this season, Michigan has not been to a bowl game, which has not happened since 1962-1963). 

The choice is obvious; a Michigan man should coach Michigan.  If Jim Harbaugh says no, there are plenty of qualified Michigan men out there that can do the job.  Let UM get back the legacy started by Bo.