Tom
Osborne said his eight-day search for a successor to Bill Callahan was based on
analyzing the qualities of individual coaches and balancing them with the needs
of the program.
“We
need a head coach with strong defensive credentials and great leadership,”
Osborne said. “We were also looking for someone who can inspire confidence and
get players to play with great effort. And, of course, we also wanted our new
head coach to understand our traditions, including the importance of our walk-on
program and the importance of football in this state.”
Osborne
said Bo Pelini “fit the bill in all respects.”
According
to Osborne, Pelini “made a significant difference when he was defensive
coordinator of our (10-3) team in 2003, especially after we struggled
considerably on defense the year before. I was particularly impressed with the
way we beat Michigan State (17-3) in the Alamo Bowl. As interim head coach, Bo
motivated the team on both sides of the ball, and we played with a great deal of
passion and intensity in that game – both on defense and on
offense.”
In
2004, Pelini was co-defensive coordinator for an Oklahoma team that won the Big
12 championship and lost to USC in the national championship game. For the last
three seasons, he has been defensive coordinator at LSU, helping the Tigers to
three consecutive years of a top-three national ranking in total
defense.
“It
takes good coaching and good leadership to have a defense ranked either at or
near the top of the national charts,” Osborne said. “I thought LSU’s defense
played well yesterday and was important in that Southeastern Conference
championship game.”
Osborne
acknowledged an aggressive timeframe for hiring a new coach. “We wanted to get
this done as quickly as possible, so Bo can put together his new staff and
concentrate on recruiting,” he said. “These next two weeks are really critical
to the recruiting process.”