OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson was fired Monday, two days after the school’s once-mighty football team was rocked with its worst home loss in nearly a half-century.
SFN has featured Steve Pederson in some past articles for the manner in which he respects and reveres the Cornhusker athletics program. (You must check this link out!) How fascinating it is to see a University hold its Athletics Director accountable for on-the-field results…particularly in just one sport.
Note where the Nebraska administration immediately went with their first action – to the top of the house. To the man responsible for all programs and makes the decisions. Remember, decisions aren’t just made when the trigger is pulled on a coach. Theoretically, a decision is made every year that you choose to keep a coach as well. As much as we like Steve, one can’t argue that the Cornhusker program has taken another step back (in the short term) after the premature firing of Frank Solich. We said it then…and we re-emphasize the statement now — Nebraska made a huge mistake by not hiring Jim Grobe when they replaced Solich with Bill Callahan.
Here is a quick update from Ivan Maisel. Does any of this sound familiar?
For one thing, as Perlman made clear in his statement Monday, he believed that Pederson had tied his future so securely to Bill Callahan, the coach he hired four years ago, that Pederson couldn’t objectively make any changes.