Big Red Roundtable - Back to the Future Edition

Is there still a game this week?

1. Steve Pederson is out as athletic director. Did you see it coming? Good move or bad move?

I did not see it coming, not this early, but it was a move that had to be made. Cornhusker fans no longer feel as if they're being held hostage and that's an improvement right?

I knew I couldn't trust Pederson from day one when his first order of business wasn't getting rid of Lil' Red. It's all been downhill from there.

In fact, after Tom Osborne "works himself out of his job" I would be happy to take the reins as the one-day interim AD solely so I could bring an end to the Lil' Red era. I've imagined it many times. A giant pair of ceremonial ribbon-cutting scissors and thousands of doves dyed red.

After that I would resign in good standing.

2. Tom Osborne has returned as Pederson's interim replacement. Good move/bad move? What should Osborne's priorities be, and what does Osborne need to do?

Lot of different ways to look at this. On one hand Osborne may have been the only move. Who else was out there, readily available and able to immediately bring a sense of calm to the entire situation?

On the other hand, I was concerned that if Osborne was to take the job stick around, maybe find a new coach and then jet, his successor would be left in a particularly difficult position. A coach he didn't hire and one he essentially couldn't fire as he'd been hand-picked by the good Doctor himself. Sound familiar? Luckily, with the open-ended interim tag that seems like less of a concern.

As for priorities--since finding Callahan's successor is more my priority--I'll go with something Osborne mentioned himself: solidifying some sort of recruiting class. (And it won't be the class most have been salivating over for the past few months.) From this point forward, the current coaching staff is basically hamstrung in terms of what they can do based on that "end of the season evaluation" that appears to be on tap.

Oh and fixing the womens soccer team. They're currently 10th in the Big 12.

3. The Huskers have been blown out two straight weeks. What is happening with the football team, and what does the rest of the season look like?

I wish I knew. The most easily identifiable and conveniently generic problem seems to be a lack of fire. Quite simply, the Cornhuskers don't look very excited to be playing football right now. Based on everything we see and read, they lover their coaches and to see them come under fire doesn't make things any easier.

Couple that with the fact that Nebraska's been playing from behind for the better part of a month and that only exacerbates things. At the start of the OSU game it looked like a team hoping something good would happen rather than trying make something good happen. When it didn't, the game was over.

Getting a lead or some early momentum will be the key to this week's A&M game and probably the rest of the season. The people are ready to cheer in earnest again. Hopefully the team can feed off that vibe.

4. firecoz.com and billmustgo.com are getting lots of internet traffic. Steve Pederson is already gone. Tom Osborne says nobody will be fired during the season. What happens with this coaching staff?

Most will receive nice parting gifts--some silverware, a pair of BK Knights and a symbolic wooden headset--and that specifically includes the guys with websites devoted solely to their job prospects.

I've had enough rumors for a few days at this point but even without all that, the writing appears to be on the wall and I'm not talking about the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex.

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