Lame Duck

One of the pluses of working at a news station is that whenever there's a big news event, I always get a front row seat. Yesterday, I was able to sit with several of my co-workers and watch University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman's press conference about the firing of Athletic Director Steve Pederson. And, I've got to tell you, as weird as the whole thing still is to me, I feel a little bit better about the whole thing.

In my last post I admitted that Pederson may come across as an arogant ass and that I hoped the reason that he was being fired was not just about the football team. And maybe it was just lip service, but Chancellor Perlman said that while the football team's poor performance played a small factor (mostly because it emboldened people working under Pederson to step forward), the reason Pederson was fired was because of his poor management style. If you read between the lines, Perlman was saying that Pederson was fired because, well, he was an arrogant ass.

The most surprising revelation of the press conference, for me at least, was that Perlman had made the decision to fire Pederson last Thursday, but wanted to wait until after Saturday's game so as not to negatively affect it's outcome. As it turns out, it wouldn't have made much difference.

I'm sure that most Nebraska football fans are happy to see Pederson go, but I sincerely doubt that it will have much of an affect on the performance of this year's team. If anything, the fact that the coaching staff is almost certainly now a "lame duck" one will probably make them even worse. I know that's almost impossible to imagine for most Husker fans, but a 4-8 season is looking more and more like a reality. In fact, the only plus I see in Pederson being let go now, is that fans will keep coming to games, which up until yesterday was in serious doubt. Nebraska fans wanted to see some sign that steps were being taken to turn this team around, and while it may not have been the exact step they wanted (firing Cosgrove and/or Callahan), it was a step nonetheless. It will probably be enough... for now.

The only possible wrinkle in the whole scenario (and it's a far-fetched one, believe me) would be if Callahan and Co. are actually able to turn their team around and finish 9-3. Again, it's not likely, but it is mathematically possible, and right now, Head Coach Bill Callahan has nothing to lose. And as the old saying goes, "there's nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose." Would all of those people that still complain about Frank Solich getting fired after going 9-3 make the same amount of noise if Callahan were to get the axe after doing the same? We'll probably never know, but I for one, would certainly love to see.