The Hypothetical Coaching Search

Bill Callahan is still the head coach at Nebraska but some day, maybe on or around November 26 of this year, he won't be.

I don't want to jump the gun here, but I figured we'd spend the second installment of Hypothetical Week looking at some of the names that have been thrown out there as potential head coaching candidates, both pros and cons. At least my pros and cons.

For the record, I really could care less if Nebraska's next head coach is a Nebraska man or if he runs the option. Those are bonuses, items of secondary importance to getting a winner. Why?

Because winners get do what they want.

Hypothetically.

Bo Pelini (All the following statistics are through 2006)

Pros: The guy eats opposing offensive schemes and craps nationally ranked defenses; he's fiery, perhaps the best candidate out there to return that Blackshirt swagger; he's coached here before and reportedly loved it; Nebraskans love him based on his lone season in Lincoln and few candidates could compete with the excitement he'd bring right from the start; he fits the Oklahoma Reclamation mold.

Cons: He is fond of wearing a white ballcap, but maybe that's an LSU thing; he has no head coaching experience; the guy eats stoicism and craps attitude, potentially alienating some; to hire him five years after turning him down basically wipes the last four years off the map...that's painful for a fan; he fits the Oklahoma Reclamation mold.

Verdict: This is the splash hire, but also a gamble. Last time Nebraska went for the splash without gambling. I'm willing to roll the dice.

Paul Johnson

Pros: Adaptable, Johnson has helmed Top 20 offenses at both Navy and Hawaii; has a National Title (1-AA Georgia Southern) under his belt; took a service academy team that was 1-20 in the two years prior to his arrival and has won at least 8 games in his past four seasons; career winning percentage of .739 as a head coach.

Cons: Has yet to coach at the highest level of college football; remains to be seen if he can recruit to a big time program, but it's gotta be easier than it was at Navy.

Verdict: As you can see, I'm stretching for negatives here but this would be a surprising hire which makes me think more and more that it could be the right one.

Barry Alvarez

Pros: former Cornhusker; name recognition.

Cons: The twilight of his career is already here; career winning percentage of .615 (Callahan is at .595) and we all know that's not good enough; nobody is actually taking this notion seriously.

Verdict: If we're going to hire someone to simply plant the wheat before the custom harvesters come in I'd take Osborne at 70 over Alvarez at 60.

Joe Glenn

Pros: Knows the lay of the land, Glenn is from Lincoln, played at South Dakota and has coached in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming...that's plains pride; won national titles at both the Division 1-AA and 2 levels; symmetry, Bob Devaney came to Nebraska via Wyoming

Cons: While Wyoming has undoubtedly improved, the Pokes have only posted a .445 WIN% under Glenn; has yet to win a conference title at this level.

Verdict: While there's a lot to like, I'd have to talk myself into being truly excited about this hire at this point. After four years of convincing myself that up was actually down and bad was really good I just want some real emotion.

Turner Gill

Pros: Led the Scoring Explosion; last of the old regime of coaches to leave; has taken Buffalo from horrifically bad to somewhat decent.

Cons: Only one season of head coaching experience; still has yet to show enough to warrant a big time hire such as this.

Verdict: Based on resume alone, Gill wouldn't even be considered for the job if he weren't a former Cornhusker. That is absolutely, without a doubt, the wrong reason to make a hire. That said, I'd be surprised if we didn't see it somewhere down the line.

Jim Grobe

Pros: Big on personality; if you can win at Wake Forest you should be able to win anywhere.

Cons: Nebraska isn't big on personality; has yet to lose fewer than three games in any season; miraculously, he didn't beat this year's Nebraska team at home (albeit with his back up QB).

Verdict: Another hire that would require some selling. To borrow a phrase from the Daily Racing Form: Like others better.

The above is just a preliminary list of some of the most popular and logical names out there. Maybe later we'll look at some of the longer shots like Rodriguez, Schiano and Leavitt or, as the season progresses, perhaps there will more reasons to consider some up and comers like Mendenhall or Kelly. Or maybe none at all?

No, you're not fooling me Tom.