Fire Steve Pederson

Dr. Tom's Letter to Former Players

2007-10-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

It looks like ex-players will no longer be stuck up in the nose bleeds. Now THAT is restoring some order.

The University of Nebraska Football Program was built by you and other players like you who made a lifelong commitment to play for and support the Big Red. Because of you, Nebraska has enjoyed a tradition of excellence over the past five decades that is unprecedented and unmatched by any other team or program.

On behalf of the University of Nebraska and the Cornhusker Athletic Department, I want you to know that we appreciate your commitment and owe you our gratitude.

Whether you were a walk-on or scholarship player, from Nebraska or another state, you are a valuable member of this family and a key factor in our school's storied history of tradition of excellence. We want you to know you are always welcome in your home.

Please feel free to come visit us -- anytime. Just walk in our front door and say you are a former player and I promise you, you will be welcomed with open arms. My office is on the third floor, and as you know, my door is always open. The football coaches are on the second floor and the weight room and athletic medicine are just inside the front doors of the new north stadium complex. You are welcome to come see us at work, attend practice and join us for home games.

Beginning immediately, a limited number of tickets and sideline passes will be made available for former football players. Additional tickets for guests will be available for purchase, but there will be no charge for these single-game tickets/passes for former players. Next year, we intend to again make available a limited number of season tickets for players to purchase with no donation required. Please contact Chris Anderson at canderson@huskers.com or at 402-472-7771 if you are interested.

I know I speak for everyone here in the athletic department when I say we hope to see you soon.

Best Wishes

Tom Osborne

Mission Accomplished!

2007-10-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Perlman announces Pederson asked to leave athletics post

Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 15, 2007 -- University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman today announced he has asked UNL Athletic Director Steve Pederson to step down from the post he has held since January 2003. Perlman said he believes Pederson is no longer positioned to move the Athletic Department forward.

"We are of course disappointed about the progress in our football program. Steve has done many positive things for Husker athletics during his tenure but I think only new leadership can objectively assess the state of our program and make the decisions necessary to move us forward," Perlman said.

Pederson's contract was renewed for five years at the end of July.

"You make the best decision you can with the information you have," Perlman said. Since then, Perlman says he has noted a decline in morale in the Athletic Department, and growing concern about retention of key personnel.

Perlman said he will immediately initiate conversations to identify an interim athletic director with full authority to assess the state of the Athletic Department and its athletic programs and to make any decision necessary to advance those programs. He also indicated his intention to consult with a national search consultant to begin the process for selection of a new permanent athletic director.

"It is not clear how long such a process will take or its precise form. It is important it be done expeditiously but thoughtfully," Perlman said.

"The selection of Steve Pederson in 2003 as athletic director was widely thought to be the only clear choice because of his experience, his roots and his knowledge of our traditions. I know Steve made the decisions he thought best for the interests of the program and the university. I am disappointed that I had to come to this decision."

posted by The Independent at

PEDERSON OUT!

2007-10-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

1620 AM, the zone in Omaha is reporting that Steve Pederson has been fired and a press conference is coming up shortly.

Is Steve Sent Packing?

2007-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Chancellor Harvey Pearlman is having a press conference at 2:15est

Pederson just left his office.... had a "no comment" for the press

Save the Program

2007-10-15T11:48:00.001-07:00

Sign the Petition

http://www.savetheprogram.com/

97 team had a Great View of the Track&Ron Brown was Closer to Heaven than the Field

2007-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here is an email about where the lovely administration put the 97 team for the Okie St game. Even Will Farrell and Marcus Allen got sideline passes for the opposing team(USC) earlier this season. We are going to blame Steve Pederson. Rumors are flying that Pederson was about to get fired today, however, we do not believe it at all.

Ok, I just got season tickets last year in the expanded seating area, so needless to say we have pretty bad seats. We are about 8-10 rows from the top of the stadium. We were in our seats waiting for the kickoff when we saw some players(15 or so) from the 97 championship team walking past us. The tickets they were provided with were higher than ours were. Some even on the last row. Nobody around us could beleive it.

Than to make matters worse I saw Ron Brown walking up the stairs as well. They had him sitting about 5 rows behind us as well. I have no clue how anybody in their right mind could be thinking that we are honoring these guys and putting old coaches in the worst seats in the stadium. A friend of mine shuck Ron Browns hand and said we miss you coach, they got you sitting up here with us? His reply, "thanks, yeah I guess so" and the look on his face told the whole story. It was a sad sad day for all Huskers fans, but the score was not the worst part. The AD must go.

There goes Okie St for another TD

2007-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Pederson's favorable ratings in Nebraska are Osama Bin Laden like.

Who has time to study academic classes when you have the Husker playbook to master?

Sipple calls for Pederson's removal

2007-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Pederson’s public-approval rating is dismal at this point, rendering him ineffective as a leader. Many fans will never forgive him for brazenly uprooting so much of what made Nebraska football unique. What makes NU football unique at this point?

Pederson has alienated too many people. Paul Meyers’ sudden and somewhat shocking Oct. 3 resignation obviously didn’t help matters, especially with the big-money boosters. Pederson’s lieutenants keep jumping ship.

Pederson botched the firing of Frank Solich and then the hiring of Callahan. The Callahan era simply isn’t working. The head coach and his staff gave it a good run. They’re good men. Honorable men. Hard-working men. But the repeated Saturday embarrassments can’t continue.

Meanwhile, common sense dictates that Pederson’s tumultuous five-year reign as athletic director must end soon.

Pissed Off Husker Fan

2007-10-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

This husker fan has some not safe for work language in this video describing the state of Husker football but we do not blame him.

The state of Husker Nation

2007-10-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

Remember the Blackshirts?

2007-10-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when the Skers had an actual top notch defense? This video will shake up those cobwebs and Dr Tom doing the skull cross bones just sent chills through my spine.

See Steve Pederson, this was and is Nebraska football. However, this rotten athletic program is in far more trouble than just replacing a football coaching staff. This is about eliminating the stink of this current Athletic administration and examining the cozy relationship with University leadership.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Pearlman, we are coming after you next. Ultimately, this mess is your responsibility. Regents, be on notice. You both work for the tax payers of Nebraska.

Billy C's unnecessary contract extension exposes the lack of true oversight and high measurable standards into the football program's success. Billy C should have been evaluated after the season and not extended during it. A bar tender on O St could have told you that. We need some accountability for these truly awful decisions.

Looking the other way and hoping for success can not escape the reality that is displayed every Saturday.

Whether you like it or not, Nebraska football is the identity of the state and people take great pride in it's success. As Husker fans, we should and will not tolerate this type of performance on the field. Period. We are tired of being lied to, hyped up by 2 used car salesman, and continually let down when the car we were sold, breaks down on every Big 12 road trip.

So we built a new scoreboard and got some new weights, Who the F Cares? We are getting pounded by schools that we dominated for the past 40 years(remember the Big 2 and little 6? guess what program is near the bottom of the 0ld little 6 right now?) and we will be lucky to finish 500 this season. We have the worst Husker defense that I have seen in my 30 years of life. We can not run the ball at all and the west coast offense is more complicated than the farm bill. And it is not even cold yet!

This is not about the players as they are playing their A$$es off and I will still root for their success. I do not want them to fail. No fan does, no matter how much they hate this staff.

If Nebraska football was a stock, there would be a sell rating and investors would be looking to replace the people in charge. Instead at UNL, they get raises and bonuses.

Pederson and Billy C are both arrogant and condescending. They rub people the wrong way and this is magnified, when the DO NOT WIN!

WE WANT BO! WE WANT BO!

2007-10-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Frustrating as his final days at Nebraska might have been, Pelini will probably never forget the chants of "We Want Bo! We Want Bo!" that rang throughout the stadium during his one and only game as a college head coach.

It was only four years ago, you might remember, when Cornhuskers fans were pulling for Pelini to replace Frank Solich, who was fired after a 9-3 season in 2003.

Pelini – despite being on staff for less than a year – was named interim head coach for Nebraska's bowl game. For the next month, the team would be all his.

Not bad for a guy in his first college season after spending the previous eight years in the NFL.

"I think that's when the light bulb went off," said Pelini's wife, Mary Pat. "That's when he realized that college coaching was something he wanted to do for a long, long time."

That sounded good to Nebraska's players, who had come to respect Pelini through the course of the season. Under Pelini’s guidance, the Blackshirts finished second in the nation in takeaways while moving from 55th to 11th in total defense.

Pelini used a fiery persona to inspire the Cornhuskers and win over fans. After Kansas State defeated Nebraska 38-9 in Lincoln, Pelini chased down Wildcats coach Bill Snyder at midfield and lashed out at him for running up the score. Months later, during Nebraska's bowl game, Pelini drew a 15-yard penalty for leaving the sidelines to argue a call.

"Guys were ready to run through a wall for him," said Ruud, a junior on that Nebraska team. "He was such a great motivator. He'd print out cards with different quotes and leave them in our locker to fire us up before games, and when it came to X's and O's, he definitely had the 'it' factor.

"He was the total package."

With Pelini leading the way, Nebraska annihilated Michigan State 17-3 in the Alamo Bowl, prompting fans to chant his name as he left the field. In just a few short months, Pelini's blue-collar approach had won the support of a rabid fan base that didn't even know his name a year earlier.

In the end, it didn't matter.

Pelini said Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson "stopped talking" to him in the days leading up to the bowl game and, following the victory, Pederson didn't fly back to Lincoln with the team.

Pederson eventually spoke with Pelini about the opening, but Pelini said it was clear he had no chance of landing the job.

"It was just a token interview," Pelini said. " (Pederson) brought me in because he had to bring me in. He told me I was being considered, but I don't think I ever was. He wanted to hire a name guy. He would've hired anybody that had a big name."

That person turned out to be Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan, who has yet to win the support of Nebraska fans. The Cornhuskers went 5-6 during Callahan's first season in 2004 – their first losing campaign since 1961. They're struggling again this year, too, following last week's 41-6 loss at Missouri.

Pelini, though, doesn't take any delight in Nebraska's demise. He's too consumed with his role at LSU to play the what-if game.

"I didn't feel any sense of entitlement to that job," said Pelini, who spent a year as an assistant at Oklahoma before moving on to the LSU job in 2005. "I don't completely agree with how it was handled, but that's not for me to say.

"It's only the right job if it's a mutual thing, if both sides see it as the right fit. That obviously wasn't the case at Nebraska."

But what if the Cornhuskers had offered Pelini the job? At 36 and with only one year of college experience on his resume, was he ready to become a head coach?

"Oh yeah, I was ready," said Pelini, tilting back in his office chair and propping his feet up on his desk. "But I'm even more ready now."

Deja Vu, 2004 all over again

2007-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Dirty Laundry breaks down the rest of the Huskers season and it is not pretty. No arguments here at Fire Steve Pederson.

Omaha World Herald has upped their pressure with this column by Lee Barfknecht where he says, "How many times have fans heard Callahan say, 'I don't have a clear-cut answer for that.' Isn't finding answers to NU's problems why he's paid $4,800 per day???"

REALITY

2007-10-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

BREAKING NEWS

2007-10-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

NEWS BREIF:
The Nebraska Cornhusker's football practice was delayed nearly 2 hours
after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on
the practice field.

Head coach Callahan immediately suspended practice while Lincoln Police
and Federal Investigators were called in to investigate. After a
complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white
substance unknown to the players was the goal line.

Practice was resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely
to encounter the substance again.

High School D

2007-10-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

Williams’ foot, mouth motivate Missouri

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff

Published Tuesday, October 9, 2007

...

● RUSH PARTY OF THREE: On nearly every one of Missouri’s offensive snaps Saturday, Nebraska was content rushing quarterback Chase Daniel with a three-man front. The Huskers consistently dropped eight defenders into coverage, daring Daniel to thread passes between their zones.

Neither end of the strategy worked. Daniel wasn’t sacked on 47 pass attempts and recalled just one time he was hit. He completed 33 of those attempts for 401 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Two days later, Huskers defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove’s strategy still puzzled the Tigers.

"I was a little bit surprised that they went just about the entire game getting pressure on us with a three-man rush," Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen said. "Obviously, it didn’t work very well. I don’t foresee Oklahoma doing that or at least making a living doing that."

Daniel was less subtle in his reaction to Nebraska’s game plan.

"They’re very stubborn," Daniel said. "Cosgrove’s a very stubborn guy. It’s always been that way. … That’s just how he is, that’s how they are. They’re a bunch of confident guys in what they do, and they felt they had the best chance doing that, so they stuck with it."

"You can’t just play one defense the whole entire game," Daniel added. "That’s like high school stuff that I faced in high school, so it’s nothing new for me."

Great Time Line

2007-10-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this message board thread of Stevie Ps time line at UNL.

9/4/2007 Pedey gives HC Bill Callahan a three-year, 1.75 million per year contract extention with additional $425,000 annual bonus potentials that will take the Cornhuskers football coach through the 2011 season. This done despite a less then impressive 23-15 record in 4 seasons and fuels speculation that the contract extention would be difficult to justify if the team began to lose, which they did, dropping 2 out of their 4 next games starting what appears to be a free-fall implosion.

Pedy's comments about the extention:

"In terms of what he's done for the program, he has certainly met or exceeded my expectations at this juncture".

Timeline

Make Your Voice Heard with Your Checkbook

2007-10-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

This article makes great points that the only way things will change with the current Husker football program is if fans stop shelling over money to these jokers in charge.

In short: Stop tithing 10 percent of your take-home pay to Athletic Director Steve Pederson and the NU football program. Shut off the money supply and force Pederson to make some tough choices. Your absence will speak much louder than your curses, threats and idiotic "fireanybody.com" Web sites.

We disagree on the Fire website as they provide a forum for people to express their discontent towards the idiots running this program into the ground.

Steve Pederson has been the Grim Reeper for the Husker Football Program

2007-10-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

"I refuse to let this program gravitate to mediocrity. We will not surrender the Big 12 Conference to Oklahoma and Texas."

-- Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson (11/30/2003)

Pediocrity is alive and well in Lincoln Nebraska. This blog will exist until Steve Pederson is canned. This program is rotten at the core. Firing the DC is not going to change things and it is not Callahan's fault alone. He never should have been hired and he sure as HELL never should have had his contract extended.

Nothing positive will take place until Steve Pederson is no longer controlling athletic decisions at the University of Nebraska. Period.

The Husker football program is stuck in a rut and it's name is Pediocrity.

Pediocrity