SAN ANTONIO - Welcome to the land of ten-gallon hats, Bo Pelini. Now can you tell us about the Ohio State job?
Bo Pelini
The plane had barely landed Tuesday, and Pelini was hit with more questions about his future. Nebraska will play Michigan State in less than a week at the Alamo Bowl, there's guys in spiffy bowl jackets eagerly awaiting this game, but the hot topic Tuesday drifted far north to Ohio State.
That's where a defensive coordinator job opened up Tuesday morning when Mark Dantonio was named head coach at Cincinnati. Pelini's name quickly surfaced as a candidate because of his ties as a former player and alum. He even named his dog "Buckeye."
Apparently, Pelini wasn't checking the want ads on the flight to San Antonio.
"I don't know anything about that," he said as the team arrived at the downtown San Antonio Hyatt. "I didn't even know there was a job opening."
It's obvious Pelini has options if the head coaching gig at Nebraska doesn't pan out. Two weeks ago, The World-Herald reported that the 36-year-old interim head coach has been offered a job at Oklahoma, apparently as co-defensive coordinator.
Pelini has said repeatedly that he's not looking past Monday night, when the Huskers meet Michigan State in the Alamodome. Nebraska is in week four of its coaching search, and Athletic Director Steve Pederson is staying mum about his process.
In an interview earlier this month about Pelini, Dantonio praised the Youngstown, Ohio, native for turning around an NU defense that ranked 55th in the nation in 2002.
"I've been impressed by what he's done," Dantonio said. "They played excellent defense when I watched them."
Pelini's popularity has grown in his first few weeks as interim coach. He cut the team loose to explore the town Tuesday, and both Nebraska and Michigan State took in the Spurs-Clippers game on Tuesday night.
After one of the most topsy-turvy months in the history of the program, the Huskers deserve a little break, NU Quarterbacks Coach Turner Gill said. They beat Colorado in an emotional regular-season finale on Nov. 28, a game they thought would save Frank Solich's job.
It didn't, and two days later, Pederson's search began.
"I'm not going to sit here and say there haven't been distractions. There have," Gill said. "But right now we're just focused on being in control and playing a great football game.
"Practices have been intense. They've been focused, and they've been alive. There has not been a lack of effort. This is what they enjoy doing, playing football. They're ready to turn it on and use their God-given abilities."
Maybe the Huskers just needed a change of scenery. Last week, a players-only meeting made the national wires when the word boycott was uttered. NU nose tackle Patrick Kabongo said the team was never divided.
Players just wanted some answers.
"I think at the beginning, everybody just wanted to know who was going to be our coach," he said. "I would like to know. But it's not tense. Everybody is focused."
