Bo Pelini had an opportunity to be a head coach for a day after Frank Solich was fired in 2003 and led the Huskers to victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.
Five years later, he gets his shot at the big time as the newest full-time head coach at the University of Nebraska.
Pelini has built a reputation as one of the best defensive minds in college coaching. His experience at the NFL level has served him well as he has been the architect of some outstanding defensive units during the last several years.
Pelini first came to Nebraska as an assistant to Solich, his first college job after stints with the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots in the NFL. He was brought in to resurrect a defense that had struggled in recent years, and he immediately turned the Blackshirts back into the powerhouse that they were during the glory days.
After Solich was fired, Pelini served as interim head coach but was not given a chance by new athletic director Steve Pedersen. He moved south, hooking up with high school friend Bob Stoops and serving as an assistant at Oklahoma for one year before taking the defensive coordinator position at LSU under coach Les Miles.
While at LSU, Pelini built a defense that was among the most feared in the country. The Tigers were at or near the top of the rankings in each of Pelini's three years there and finished the 2007 season as national champions with a dominating effort over Ohio State.
There was some concern when Pelini was hired by new athletic director Tom Osborne back in December about whether or not he could juggle both positions. He did a fantastic job getting things done in short order at Nebraska, which allowed him to focus on building a game plan for LSU's national championship game before returning to Lincoln to devote his energies to rebuilding the Huskers into a national powerhouse.
Pelini kept two assistants from Bill Callahan's staff and has hired a unique mix of fresh talent, seasoned leaders and coaches with past ties to the Husker program. Here is a brief summary of the rest of the coaching staff:
Shawn Watson
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Watson is in his third year on the Husker staff and second as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He has been in coaching for 26 years and was head coach at Southern Illinois from 1994 to 1996.
Under Watson's leadership last year, the Huskers set school records for passing. On three occasions, the single-game record for passing yards was broken and the Huskers threw for a team-best 3,886 yards. Overall, the Husker offense was ranked ninth in the country, averaging 468.2 yards per game, and the Huskers were ranked seventh in passing at 323.8 yards per game.
Watson came to Nebraska after seven years as an assistant at Colorado under Gary Barnett. He was offensive coordinator his last six years there and helped the Buffaloes win the Big 12 title in 2001.
Carl Pelini
Defensive Coordinator/Line
Pelini is the younger brother of the Husker head coach and will be the team's defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.
This isn't Pelini's first stop in Lincoln. He served as a graduate assistant in 2003 under Solich and worked with a defensive line that ranked second nationally in scoring and takeaways and finished 11th in the nation in total defense.
Pelini comes to Nebraska from Ohio University, where he served under former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich. He led a defense that helped the Bobcats win the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division title and earn a trip to the GMAC Bowl, the school's first bowl appearance since 1968. Last year, Ohio's defense ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring and total defense.
Pelini's prior coaching stops included Minnesota State-Mankato and Kansas State, and built a solid reputation as a coach at the high school ranks before coming to Nebraska.
Tim Beck
Running Backs
Beck was hired away from North Division foe Kansas to handle the Husker running backs. He spent the past three years working under Kansas coach Mark Mangino as receivers coach and pass game coordinator.
Beck was part of a Kansas offense that ranked second in the country in scoring and eighth in total offense. He came to Kansas after building a reputation as one of the top high school coaches in Texas. Before that, he spent three years at Missouri State, with one year as offensive coordinator; and was a graduate assistant at Kansas State the same time Carl Pelini was on the staff.
Beck is the third alumni of Cardinal Mooney High in Youngstown, Ohio to join the Husker staff. He and the Pelini brothers are graduates of the school.
Ron Brown
Tight Ends
Husker fans know Ron Brown quite well, as he was an assistant under Osborne and Solich for 17 seasons, serving as receivers coach and also coaching the tight ends.
Brown came to Nebraska in 1987 after spending four years as an assistant at his alma mater, Brown University. He helped develop the Husker receivers into a solid unit during his years at Nebraska and was part of a program that won an unprecedented three national championships in four years.
After leaving Nebraska, Brown has served as a co-founder and co-director of a statewide Christian ministry, Mission Nebraska. The ministry stewards a number of Christian-based radio stations across the state and is involved in the I Can Camps that minister to low-income children across the state. He has also served as state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and, while no longer in that capacity, will contribute a monthly column to the organization's national magazine and host their national weekly radio program.
Barney Cotton
Offensive Line
Cotton is another name familiar to the Husker faithful. He was the Huskers' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2003 and is a graduate of Omaha Burke High School who played for the Huskers from 1975-1978.
Cotton has been around coaching for a while, serving as offensive coordinator at Iowa State for two years. He was also offensive coordinator at New Mexico State for six years, serving under former Husker Tony Samuel.
Before his stint in Div. I, Cotton was head coach at Hastings (Neb.) College, earning conference Coach of the Year honors and leading the Broncos to the NAIA playoffs in 1995. He was also offensive coordinator at Div. II St. Cloud (Minn.) State for five years.
Mike Ekeler
Linebackers
Ekeler spent the last three years serving under Bo Pelini as a graduate assistant and intern at LSU. He was part of a defensive unit that helped LSU win the national title, and also served as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma for two seasons.
Ekeler played his college ball at Kansas State and was a four-year letterman. He is a native of Blair (Neb.) and was an assistant at Omaha Skutt for three years before getting into college coaching.
Ted Gilmore
Assistant Head Coach/Receivers
Gilmore has been a part of Husker football for four years and will continue his duties as receivers coach. He has added the duties as assistant head coach.
Gilmore helped coach some of the best receivers ever to play at Nebraska. Terrence Nunn and Maurice Purify finished their careers among the best in school history for catches, career receiving yardage and touchdowns.
Gilmore came to Nebraska after two years at Colorado, where he worked with Watson as a receivers coach. He also spent two years at Purdue under coach Joe Tiller, and has been an assistant at Houston, Kansas and his alma mater, Wyoming.
John Papuchis
Special Teams
Papuchis was an intern under Pelini at LSU and joined the school during Nick Saban's tenure as coach in 2004.
Prior to that, the Virginia Tech graduate served as a graduate assistant at Kansas for three seasons.
Marvin Sanders
Secondary
Sanders is a former Husker defensive back with 15 years of college coaching experience. He returns to Nebraska five years after serving a single season under Solich.
Sanders spent three years at North Carolina as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, helping the Tar Heels become one of the top defensive units in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Sanders also has experience as an assistant at Colorado State and New Mexico State, where he served under Samuel. He also coached at Minnesota-Morris and Nebraska Wesleyan.
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