Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

I wonder how it feels to be Bo Pelini right now.

Not because his defense gave up 50 points in Friday’s loss to Arkansas and looked far from its dominant self down the stretch, but because of the current coaching situation at Nebraska.

Four years ago, after Frank Solich was fired, Pelini was the interim coach for the bowl game, but was passed over for the head coaching job in favor of Bill Callahan, despite the lobbying of many players for him to be named head coach.

It may not have been that bad of a choice at that time, as Callahan led the Raiders to a Super Bowl in his first season as coach, and was the right fit at the time, when Nebraska’s offense needed a lift, and a bit of a modernization.

That part was taken care of, but it just so happens that Pelini’s specialty is the area where Nebraska struggled mightily (understatement ) this season.

Now, Pelini is one of the leading candidates for the vacancy created by Callahan’s firing, along with former Nebraska QB Turner Gill, who’s currently the head coach at Buffalo.

Tom Osborne has said he wants to bring in someone who knows the tradition and will be able to bring back the passion into the program. Because of that, Gill could be a great hire, because if anyone knows those things, it’s the guy who was a part of much of their success in the past 25 years, as a player in the early 80s and a coach in each of the last three decades. His head coaching experience, and the job that he has done in helping turn around one of the nation’s biggest doormats in only two seasons is also big in his corner.

No offense to Gill, but Pelini would be the better choice this time around, because if your issues are mainly on defense, then it might not be a bad idea to go after someone who’s considered as one of the best defensive coaches around. The talent is there on D, with more coming, and Pelini would no doubt attract more, but he’d also be the right person to coach that talent up and bring back pride to the Blackshirts, who are currently the Black and Blue Shirts. .

And, Pelini fits Osborne’s criteria, because he knows first-hand the tradition at Nebraska, and what it takes at the highest level, both in college and in the NFL, and despite his lack of head coaching experience, being a defensive coordinator at the likes of Oklahoma, LSU, and Nebraska and an NFL assistant is nothing to shake a stick at.

As nice as it would be for him to have a little laugh and say, ‘I told you so,’ but if he does get offered the job, it would be his chance to prove that he should have gotten the job the first time around. And frankly, Nebraska shouldn’t even be flirting with the possibility of hiring him, unless they plan on giving him the job.

Regardless of what transpires within the next few days, Pelini’s time will be coming soon, somewhere, even if it’s not in Lincoln. If Les Miles goes to Michigan as many expect him to, he’ll no doubt be on the list of candidates, though the Tigers might aim for a bigger name.

If Osborne and the administration want to snap the right man up before someone else does, they better hurry. And, if for some reason they overlook him again, there won’t be any reason to feel bad for them if it backfires.