MrRant 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan accepted the head coaching position at Nebraska after a crazy week in which the Cornhuskers tried to hire Mike Zimmer, the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator. Once he heard through his agent, Gary O'Hagen of IMG, that Zimmer pulled himself out of the running for the job, Callahan pushed for it. A former offensive line coach at Wisconsin, Callahan has always desired to be a head coach in college, and there had been some thought he would be considered at Notre Dame if the job there ever opened. Callahan met the past two days with Nebraska officials and was offered the job Thursday afternoon. Terms of his agreement weren't available. Callahan replaced as Oakland's coach after Jon Gruden after he left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. In his first year in charge, Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Bucs. Despite severe cap problems, the Raiders kept the bulk of their roster together for a second run at the Super Bowl this season, but everything fell apart. Oakland finished 4-12 amid considerable locker room sniping about Callahan. As a former offensive line coach, Callahan could bring an aggressive running offense to Nebraska along with the option of using forms of the West Coast offense. At least three NFL teams were considering Callahan for offensive coordinator positions. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...john&id=1703817 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Well I certainly hope he treats them better than he treated The Raiders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 So he goes from coaching today's criminals to tomorrow's criminals? Nice lateral move Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 So he goes from coaching today's criminals to tomorrow's criminals? Nice lateral move You have to teach fundamentals at a early age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Pete Caroll, and even Al Groh must have rubbed off on the A.D. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Secret Agent 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 ... And Nebraska plummets even farther next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 ... And Nebraska plummets even farther next season. That would definitely be sweet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Don't bet on it, this actually has an amazing chance of working out well. Even though the Raiders fans and players were quick to forget, Callahan is a former Super Bowl coach and does know enough about the NFL to be an attraction to many recruits who wouldn't usually choose Nebraska. He's going to install a modern passing offense at Nebraska to replace the option offense which may not be well received at first but is necessary to Nebraska surviving in college football. This is actual a very smart move by Nebraska as former NFL coaches going back to college has worked out well lately. Nebraska needed a coach who could a) bring in a passing offense and b) could convince recruits that wouldn't usually consider Nebraska to consider Nebraska. Excellent hire by the Huskers and this will be the job that gets Callahan back in the NFL in 3-5 years and Nebraska back in the title picture next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Even though the Raiders fans and players were quick to forget, Callahan is a former Super Bowl coach Callahan is to Gruden as Switzer was to Johnson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 And Switzer was a good college coach. This isn't the NFL and frankly, I'll judge Gruden when he does something with a team he built and not a team built by Tony Dungy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2004 I believe you missed my point and ironically argued for it, in a way Callahan rode Gruden's team and even Gruden's playbook into the SuperBowl last year, hence I don't believe he proved anything to that fact Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Redhawk Report post Posted January 9, 2004 Well I certainly hope he treats them better than he treated The Raiders. I certainly hope the Huskers aren't big pussies like the Raiders. I wasn't in the locker room or anything, but to me it seems like the Raiders were just being petulant children last season. Funny how they all loved Callahan in '02, then they lose a few games in '03 and suddenly he's Hitler without the mustache. Like I said earlier, anyone who's in the NFL has probably played for at least 10 different coaches in their careers (that includes assistants), and I'm sure some of those coaches yelled at them at some time. Get over it and play the game for which you're getting paid hundreds of thousands-to-millions of dollars to play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2004 Well I certainly hope he treats them better than he treated The Raiders. I certainly hope the Huskers aren't big pussies like the Raiders. I wasn't in the locker room or anything, but to me it seems like the Raiders were just being petulant children last season. Funny how they all loved Callahan in '02, then they lose a few games in '03 and suddenly he's Hitler without the mustache. Like I said earlier, anyone who's in the NFL has probably played for at least 10 different coaches in their careers (that includes assistants), and I'm sure some of those coaches yelled at them at some time. Get over it and play the game for which you're getting paid hundreds of thousands-to-millions of dollars to play. I believe I heard he called them "the dumbest team in america" and treated them like absolute shit. Now a Coach can be tough yes...but to say that and then to turn around and let your actions reflect your attitude that you have for the team(which you shouldn't even have)is just wrong. Besides I hear from Artie Gigantino(works for the Raiders) that Callahan is an asshole and hard to deal with. Oh and the AP Newswire is reporting that Bo Palini was seen leaving with a box that had everything from his office in it earlier today. So looks like he's gone. Many think he's going to join on as the co-defensive coordinator with Brent Venables at OU. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I'm That Damn Zzzzz Report post Posted January 10, 2004 Good place as anywhere to ask: Any more info about Solich being fired because he's had/having an affair with a student? Or is that shit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2004 The Raiders WERE the dumbest team in America. They kept a group of old players, not veteran...just old. He said what everyone was thinking and they didn't deserve any respect. They couldn't tackle, they couldn't catch, they couldn't throw and they couldn't block. They were easily the dumbest team in America and they deserved to be treated like they were treated. Course, he was the dumbest coach so they all fit together nicely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
