Bo Pelini: Difference between revisions
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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==='''Badness and Flyness'''=== |
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He is badder than Chuck Norris and more fly than Snoop Dogg. |
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===Playing career=== |
===Playing career=== |
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Pelini was raised in [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]], [[Ohio]], a former center of steel production with a strong athletic tradition. He was nicknamed "Bo" after former [[Cleveland Browns]] running back [[Bo Scott]].<ref>[http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918&u_sid=10525082 [[Omaha World-Herald]] NU Football Notes:Asante in bed early (December 29, 2008)]</ref> After graduating from Youngstown [[Cardinal Mooney High School]] (the same high school as [[Oklahoma Sooners]] Head Coach [[Bob Stoops]]), he went on to play [[defensive back|free safety]] for the [[Ohio State University]] [[Ohio State Buckeyes|Buckeyes]] under [[Earle Bruce]] and later [[John Cooper (coach)|John Cooper]] from 1987 to 1990, as a starter in his last two years. Pelini served as a team co-captain in his senior year, along with [[Vinnie Clark]], [[Jeff Graham]] and [[Greg Frey]]. He earned his [[bachelor’s degree]] in [[business marketing]] from Ohio State University in 1990 while playing for the Buckeyes. |
Pelini was raised in [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]], [[Ohio]], a former center of steel production with a strong athletic tradition. He was nicknamed "Bo" after former [[Cleveland Browns]] running back [[Bo Scott]].<ref>[http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918&u_sid=10525082 [[Omaha World-Herald]] NU Football Notes:Asante in bed early (December 29, 2008)]</ref> After graduating from Youngstown [[Cardinal Mooney High School]] (the same high school as [[Oklahoma Sooners]] Head Coach [[Bob Stoops]]), he went on to play [[defensive back|free safety]] for the [[Ohio State University]] [[Ohio State Buckeyes|Buckeyes]] under [[Earle Bruce]] and later [[John Cooper (coach)|John Cooper]] from 1987 to 1990, as a starter in his last two years. Pelini served as a team co-captain in his senior year, along with [[Vinnie Clark]], [[Jeff Graham]] and [[Greg Frey]]. He earned his [[bachelor’s degree]] in [[business marketing]] from Ohio State University in 1990 while playing for the Buckeyes. |
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Revision as of 16:23, 23 February 2009
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Mark “Bo” Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers. On December 2, 2007, one day after coaching in the 2007 SEC Championship Game, Pelini was named as head coach at Nebraska by athletic director Tom Osborne.
Biography
Badness and Flyness
He is badder than Chuck Norris and more fly than Snoop Dogg.
Playing career
Pelini was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, a former center of steel production with a strong athletic tradition. He was nicknamed "Bo" after former Cleveland Browns running back Bo Scott.[2] After graduating from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School (the same high school as Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach Bob Stoops), he went on to play free safety for the Ohio State University Buckeyes under Earle Bruce and later John Cooper from 1987 to 1990, as a starter in his last two years. Pelini served as a team co-captain in his senior year, along with Vinnie Clark, Jeff Graham and Greg Frey. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Ohio State University in 1990 while playing for the Buckeyes.
Coaching career
Following his playing career, Pelini began his coaching career at the University of Iowa as a graduate assistant from 1991 to 1992 for the Iowa Hawkeyes under Hayden Fry. During this period, he also completed his master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio State University in 1992. In 1993, at the conclusion of his two-year term as graduate assistant at Ohio, he served for one year as quarterbacks coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown.
In 1994, Pelini got his first position in the National Football League when he was hired by San Francisco 49ers head coach George Seifert as a scouting assistant. He was quickly promoted to assistant secondary coach, and by the spring of 1994 he had been promoted again to Defensive Backs Coach. In 1995, in his new position, he coached in his first Super Bowl as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49–26 in Super Bowl XXIX.
In 1997 Pelini was hired by New England Patriots head coach Pete Carroll, again as defensive backs coach, helping the Patriots reach the playoffs twice during his three years there.
In 2000, Pelini became the Linebackers Coach for the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Sherman. Green Bay posted a 33–15 record and reached the playoffs twice in Pelini's three years there as linebackers coach.
Pelini returned to the college ranks in 2003 when he was hired as Defensive Coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers by Head Coach Frank Solich. In 2002, the season prior to his hiring, Nebraska's defense was ranked 55th nationally. In his first year it improved to 11th and led the country in turnover margin. At the conclusion of the regular season, despite posting a 9–3 record, Solich was fired by new Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson. Pelini was named the interim head coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 win over the Michigan State Spartans in the 2003 Alamo Bowl[3]. Pelini interviewed for the Nebraska head coach position, but Pederson instead decided after a 41-day search to hire Bill Callahan, who had just been fired by the Oakland Raiders after a disappointing 4–12 season. The following year, Nebraska's defense fell to 56th nationally.
For 2004, Pelini joined the Oklahoma Sooners as co-defensive coordinator under head coach Bob Stoops, helping the Sooners to a 6th place national rushing defense and 11th place national scoring defense on their way towards winning the 2004 Big 12 Championship Game and a spot in the 2005 BCS National Championship Game, where they were defeated 55-19 by the University of Southern California.
In 2005 Pelini was hired by Louisiana State University Tigers Head Coach Les Miles, again as defensive coordinator. His success continued, as LSU was ranked 3rd nationally in overall defense for each of his three years with the Tigers. At the conclusion of the 2007 regular season, LSU defeated Tennessee 21-14 in the 2007 SEC Championship Game and went on to win 38-24 against Ohio State, Pelini's alma mater, in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.[4] [5]
During the 2007 football season, Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman fired athletic director Steve Pederson, and appointed former Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne as Interim Athletic Director. One day after the Cornhuskers' final game of the season, a 65–51 loss to Colorado and finishing the season with 5 wins and 7 losses, Osborne fired Bill Callahan and announced an immediate search for a new football coach. Pelini was selected after a nine-day search as the next head coach. Two names revealed among five interviewed candidates included Buffalo head coach Turner Gill and Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe.
2008 Season
Nebraska opened up with 3 straight wins against Western Michigan, San Jose State, and New Mexico State. Bo Pelini's arrival saw a renewed interest and optimism in Nebraska football, as evidenced by their record Pay-Per View buys. Nebraska then proceeded to lose a close game to Virginia Tech, while getting blown out by Missouri the next week. Hitting the road for the first time of the season, the Huskers lost to Texas Tech in overtime. Then the Huskers traveled to Ames, Iowa and beat Iowa State University in a dominant fashion. They came back home and won against the Baylor Bears. Pelini's Huskers then lost on the road the following week to the Oklahoma Sooners. This game marked the first time Pelini went up against Bob Stoops who he formerly worked under as defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma in 2004.
On November 8th, Bo Pelini's Nebraska Cornhuskers won against Kansas, making them bowl eligible, something his predecessor, Bill Callahan, was able to accomplish only twice in four years. On November 28, 2008, the Cornhuskers faced the Colorado Buffaloes. This game proved to be a close one, with Nebraska getting win #8, 40–31 with the help of a school record 57 yard field goal by Alex Henery and an interception by Ndamukong Suh which was run back for a touchdown. The 9–4 season was capped by a hard-fought, come-from-behind 26–21 victory over the Clemson Tigers at the 2009 Gator Bowl, played only days after Pelini returned from his father's funeral service in Ohio.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska (Big 12 Conference) (2003, 2008–present) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Nebraska | 1–0 | W Alamo‡ | 18 | 18 | ||||
| 2008 | Nebraska | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–1st ◊ | W Gator | — | — | ||
| Nebraska: | 10–4 | 5–3 | ‡ Coached bowl game as interim head coach ◊ Big 12 North Division | ||||||
| Total: | 10–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- ^ Pelini signs contract; $1.1M annually
- ^ Omaha World-Herald NU Football Notes:Asante in bed early (December 29, 2008)
- ^ 2003 Nebraska Football Schedule Results
- ^ Nebraska Athletics Coach Profile
- ^ LSU Athletics Coach Profile
External links