I still get the right kind of vibes from Rhule, aside from wandering in the wilderness for two years with a talented but pure pocket QB, he isn’t trying to turn Nebraska into something it historically hasn’t been, which has not been true for several of the post-Solich coaches, including Scott Frost.
I’m disappointed that Minchey flipped to Kentucky, but that’s the world we’re in now, and he’s from Tennessee so he probably fits in better at Kentucky.
2026 will be a key year, and now the Huskers are probably searching the Portal for another QB.
Two recent turnaround stories have been Colorado and now Indiana. Colorado did well in recruiting after Coach Prime’s first season, but things sort of fell apart this season, and 2026 will be key for them as well. Indiana has done well in the Portal this year, time will tell if they regress to their historical mean.
There was an interesting book written in 1981 called “The Nine Nations of North America”. It divided North America into 9 nations by what those areas are and do. His theory was that people would feel ‘at home’ anywhere in their own nation and less so in any other nation. Nebraska, for example, was in the Breadbasket, as was a large part of Illinois. (Chicago was in the Foundry and southern Illinois was in Dixie.)
I often think about this book when Nebraska brings in players from other ‘nations’.
When it was announced that Rhule was hired to coach the Huskers, I thought it was a joke. I stopped following Husker FB after that. After watching his performance in the NFL and his abysmal record, how could anyone in their right mind think he would be a success. His demeanor on the sideline portrays (to me) a coach who hasn’t a cIue what he is doing. There is one positive change I see in Rhule by the way. He started wearing his hat on backwards. That should help win a couple more games a year don’t you think? (Sarcasm intended).
We extend his contract even tho he has shown little progress. If he is fired before his contract is finished the people who extended him should be responsible financially. How about some accountability for these bad decisions. Coach contracts should havonnyray" incentive clauses. Do well, be rewarded. If you suck you get fired for cause (poor performance) and forfeit all future imbursement. Of course accountability in coaching will never happen. You can get fired but you don’t lose a nickel of your contract. Ridiculous!
This is a “do over” for Rhule. Plain and simple. People forget Rhule hired all the unsuccessful assistant coaches that have moved on. Are all those coaches really the problem? Is there a possibility the HC is the problem? It would really be interesting to see what the Indiana HC would accomplish with those coaches.
I hope I’m 100% wrong and will gladly eat my hat if that happens.
How about those Lions! Not a great 2025 but the last few have been fun. I’m 81 and never expected to see a winning Lions team.
Don Rietsch
That’s an interesting correlation, Mike, and very true for lots of kids, probably most. Wan’dale Robinson came from KY for a couple years, then returned. I think Dante Dowdell was from the south as well and is going back that direction. But then Tommie Frasier was from FL and it worked out for him in Lincoln. Same for the Wistrom brothers from NJ (I think). Kids are all different.
Seems to me that, with the wholesale change across FBS football, everything is still in flux and will be until some hard and fast rules are put in place - if that ever comes to pass. On the positive side, nearly any FBS team that strikes gold in the portal can have a fantastic season (who would have bet IU and Ole Miss would be in the final four this year?). It does make for interesting football games but I wonder if it’ll eventually lead to one-hit wonders.
On the other hand, with all the jumping around year to year, a lot of players are missing out on being truly developed anywhere. They’re all chasing the quick opportunity or imagined opportunity… and the $$$. Few can truly be developed into their true player potential without some sort of continuity in coaching systems and consistent team comraderie over several years.
The biggest disappointment for me as a fan is that school loyalty is a thing of the past. It’s rare to watch the same player at the same team grow and develop over four or five years now.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m gravitating toward the lower divisions when they’re available to watch. The announcers said this during the Division 3 final on Sunday: “These kids don’t have NIL, endorsements or scholarships even. Transfers are rare and the teams bond over several years together.” That’s refreshing even if it puts me in the geezer column.