Callahan era may be limping to an end

Lincoln Journal Star
Steven M. Sipple

It’s just a little phase we’re going through, this Bill Callahan era at Nebraska. It’ll be over soon. At least that’s how it felt Saturday.

Never before, in fact, has the Callahan era appeared more doomed to failure.

How soon could it end? Perhaps as soon as the end of this season. Yes, you could draw that conclusion while watching Nebraska suffer yet another embarrassing defeat, this time a 45-14 crusher to a decent Oklahoma State squad.

Underline “decent.” The Cowboys are just an OK team. The Huskers are just flat-out bad right now — astonishingly bad. They’ve torpedoed past mediocrity to whatever dismal state of being you find at rock bottom.

If you bleed Husker red, you have to hope this was rock bottom. Trouble is, Nebraska has five regular-season games remaining. Find me a win in that group. Find me some Rolaids.

Yes, this feels like a phase. Oklahoma, for instance, had its phases after Barry Switzer left in 1988. The Sooners endured Gary Gibbs (1989-94), Howard Schnellenberger (1995) and John Blake (1996-98) before being rescued by Bob Stoops.

Several other traditional powers have experienced down years in which good men and good coaches simply failed to get the job done. Southern California went through guys like Ted Tollner and Paul Hackett before Pete Carroll. Texas went through phases with Fred Akers, David McWilliams and John Mackovic between Darrell Royal and Mack Brown.

Hey, it happens. Many of us just never thought it would happen here, at least not in this dreadful manner.

The fourth year of the Callahan phase at Nebraska follows the six-year Frank Solich phase. Solich was fired in 2003 with an overall record of 58-19 (.753). Callahan now stands at 26-18 and 14-13 in the Big 12. You saw undeniable progress under Callahan last year. This year, you’ve seen debilitating losses to USC (49-31) and Missouri (41-6) and a few wins that raised a slew of red flags.

Saturday, the bottom dropped out.

Yes, this feels like a phase — a painful period that simply can’t continue much longer. It’s too painful for too many people. Yet, it’s an interesting study. The pain numbs after absorbing repeated blows. The mind numbs. Fatigue sets in. And boredom. Yes, utter boredom. At some point, fans just decide they’ve had enough.

Thousands evidently had enough Saturday. Hence a scene I once considered unimaginable: Big Red fans exiting the stadium in droves at halftime, with the Huskers trailing 38-0.

Schnellenberger and Blake and Hackett and McWilliams probably experienced similar ordeals during their phases.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised it’s occurring here.

Let’s face it, Callahan wasn’t exactly NU athletic director Steve Pederson’s first choice to replace Solich. Callahan essentially fell into Pederson’s lap after Pederson stumbled and bumbled through a protracted search. What a mess. But, hey, what’s done is done. The program’s future becomes of paramount importance at this point.

Please place yourself in Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman’s position. How many more Saturday embarrassments can he afford? Pederson is polarizing enough in these parts without his football program being smacked around every week. Make no mistake, big-money boosters are restless, and some outright angry.

This is no time for snap decisions. Cool heads must prevail, and all that. But it’s clear you have to begin serious discussion about the possibility of ending this particular phase of Nebraska football history at the end of this season, if not sooner, for the good of the program, university and state.

Nebraska’s showing Saturday told us unequivocally that the Huskers are nowhere near a sudden turnaround.

Yes, Pederson and Callahan recently received contract extensions. But trust me, there’s enough money in the hopper to clear out Pederson, Callahan and the entire coaching staff, if that’s the decision. As for Perlman, well, you can’t fire everybody, right?

Right?

Oh, this is all just wonderful. What a wonderfully uplifting week we face, rehashing another loss in which Nebraska appeared woefully unprepared. The defense was predictably awful. And now Callahan’s West Coast offense looks tired and outdated.

I felt badly for Callahan in the post-mortem. He sometimes comes off as unfeeling, but this time his hurt was unmistakably real. He appeared to be beaten. Broken down. It hurt to watch.

Nebraska players keep insisting they trust the coaches and they’re playing with passion, but they once again were flat from the start.

Finally, I offer a mea culpa. I wrote in August that Callahan should indeed have his contract extended. I was swayed by progress I saw last season. I trusted Callahan’s work ethic and football wisdom. I trusted the recruiting Web sites that handed out star ratings like they were M&Ms. I was apparently wrong about Callahan and Company.

Of much greater significance, it appears Pederson was wrong.