Husker Nation should unite behind Callahan

Now that the Cornhuskers' coaching search is over, it's time for the Big Red Nation to unite behind the Huskers' chosen leader: Bill Callahan.

The search was divisive. There's no question about that. Some Big Red supporters were upset when the athletic director, Steve Pederson, fired the Huskers' head coach, Frank Solich, after a 9-3 season. And, an even greater number of Husker fans were irritated and embarrassed by the way Pederson conducted the coaching search.

But, when it comes to Cornhusker football, it's time to let bygones be bygones and go full steam ahead. Time will tell us whether not we were lucky to get Callahan as Nebraska's new head football coach. But one thing's certain: He was lucky to get us.

Because, as Bill Callahan is already discovering, Nebraska has the best fans in the nation. In a state without professional teams, or another major university gridiron program, Cornhusker football is supreme.

Where else -- and Alabama might be an exception -- would the firing of a college football coach be rated the Number One news story of the year, as it was in Nebraska?

And where else, for over a month, would the firing and the coaching search be the most discussed issue of the year ... if not of all time. Talk about a hot topic! Everywhere you went in Nebraska, whether you were among sports fans or not, the Cornhusker coaching search was the spice of about every conversation.

But, now that the search is behind us, it's time to use that unmatched Big Red passion. We need, once again, to show the football world how powerful the united state of Nebraska can be in building and supporting a football program.

Although Pederson took the heat, he was not alone in his insistence that Nebraska football not settle for mediocrity. Every true Husker fan feels the same way. We don't like to get beat.

But, at the same time, we're nice people, too. We applaud, politely, as the opposing team leaves the field, win or lose. Now, the question is, can those two philosophies -- winning and being nice -- co-exist? We hope so. We believe so.

Bill Callahan is a lucky man. Unlike the Nutts of this world, he has a golden opportunity ... an opportunity to join, and be a contributing member, of the greatest fan club anywhere: the Big Red Nation.

Welcome aboard, Bill. You'll be amazed at how devoted Husker fans are to Nebraska football. By working together with them, you have a wonderful opportunity to not only keep Nebraska at the top level of college football, but -- perhaps more important -- to return the team and the state to a position of respectability in the eyes of the nation.