Huskers go outside the family

EDITOR'S NOTE -- Since this column was writter, Houston Nutt has said he turned down Nebraska's ofer:

The Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders turned it down. So did the Miami Dolphins Head Coach, Dave Wannstedt. Bo Pelini was never offered the job and, according to some sources, was never considered.

What we're talking about is the Nebraska football head coaching vacancy, considered by many to be the most coveted college coaching job in America. That has been tarnished somewhat over the past couple of years and many records that had stood for decades fell under the leadership of Frank Solich.

Even this year as the Huskers posted a good overall record, a closer investigation into their season reveals that they were defeated by the three best offensive teams they played, Kansas State, Missouri, and Texas, giving up an average of over 400 yards per game and 30 plus points. I think that had a lot to do with Pelini never being in the mix. It has been obvious ever since Solich was fired that Pelini was not going to be the guy. That deal would have been struck a long time ago if he had been on Pederson's list. Much has been written about his "one game tryout" in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan State. Surely we didn't really think that one of the most storied college football programs in the nation was going to hire a new head coach based on his entire one game tenure as a head coach. Most knew that Pedersen was going after a "trophy" coach and that had to mean that, for the first time in 40 years, someone outside the Nebraska "family" was going to be tabbed.

Since I'm on deadline, that decision has not yet been formally made but all indications point to Houston Nutt, the Head Coach at the University of Arkansas, being named as the new head coach at the University of Nebraska, most likely sometime today (Friday). Nutt presents somewhat of a conundrum for Nebraska fans since most know little about him or what he's done at Arkansas.

Here are some facts. His coaching record is 84-49 in 11 years. In six years at Arkansas, he is 48-27 overall and 26-22 in SEC games. He has the best record among the SEC West six teams over the past six years. Not to be overlooked and most likely, a strong contributing factor to his hiring is that his Arkansas team soundly defeated Texas and Missouri this past year, two teams that soundly defeated Nebraska. I'm sure that Pederson believes that if Nutt can consistently win 8 and 9 games every year at Arkansas, where recruiting is a tough sell, he can win 11 and 12 games consistently at Nebraska and be in the National Championship hunt as well.

Nutt is a fireball, a task-master, and a student of the game who has always had great rapport with his players. Year after year the reports out of Fayetteville say that his players would run through brick walls if that's what he told them to do. That's why, even though most of the games Arkansas played in the SEC found them overmatched and out-talented, they were seldom, if ever, out-coached. Nutt's Arkansas teams have been in the two longest overtime games in NCAA Division One history and the Hogs won both of them.

Nebraska needed a unifier, a proven winner, someone with major head coaching experience at the Division One level and someone who still has the fire in his belly. Nutt, at 46 years old, is just coming into his prime and should be able to resurrect the Nebraska football team to its glory days of the past and keep them there for many years to come.

Because I'm an Arkansas native and a forever fan, I wanted him to stay in Fayetteville. But if he had to leave, the only two places I wanted to see him go were Oklahoma or Nebraska. It appears that Nebraska will be his final head coaching destination. I'm sure there's no other job he would leave Nebraska for and I doubt that he gets fired.

I think you're gonna like this guy.