On Sept. 16, Nebraska did something it never does. It lost at home to a MAC team, dropping its record to 1-2. The upset sent Nebraska fans into a tailspin, where even Larry the Cable Guy was calling for change. And on Thursday, the university acted, firing embattled athletic director Shawn Eichorst.
We wanted to get a better idea of the pulse of Nebraska fans, so we filed an Open Records Request for all emails sent to University President Hank Bounds, UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green, or Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst from Saturday through Monday, September 25, regarding the football team.
Nebraska sent us 60 pages of emails, which nearly exclusively called for Eichorst to be fired, with many others calling for Cornhuskers football coach Mike Riley to be dismissed as well.
Here are some of the better responses.
Here’s one sent to not just the university president and chancellor, but to all of the regents.
we are left with a SOFT program
You hire coaches who have NO BUSINESS leading this team and state. You try to usurp the very essence of what makes Husker football great and unique (toughness, leadership, accountability). Look no further than Wisconsin to see how our program was once run. It’s a shame you made all these stupid decisions these last few years and then sat back and did nothing. Almost 20 years of mismanagement by you all, yes YOU has caused this once proud program to sink to these unthinkable depths.
So here we are—left with a SOFT program. SOFT. That’s the only word that comes to mind. It’s soft from the top down and from the core out. Players seem to not care, coaches too comfortable with losing, an absolute lack of leadership on and off the field.
Now the average fan has no choice but to not care anymore. Enough is enough, you can’t count anymore on the good graces of the greatest fan base in college football.
Here is another, from a potentially bad doctor:
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I would have the game on my phone when I was setting bones in the emergency room. I listened to it on the radio when I wasn’t able to watch. I took my in-training exam on a Saturday morning trying to focus long enough to have a respectable score all while knowing I was going to the Big House to watch my Cornhuskers in action against Michigan.
Then, Nebraska hired Mike Riley. I remember being in the operating room and the anesthesiologist telling me who had been hired. My heart sank. Not because I thought he was a bad coach. I think he is a good coach. It sank because he is an OLD coach. I know Nebraska football needed a cure. Unfortunately, that cure is not a quick cure, and I knew he wouldn’t have the time or energy to see it though.
Okay, setting aside this remark about Riley’s age here aside for a second, how on earth is it legal for a doctor to be listening to a football game while he’s setting bones?!? I just blog about college football for a living, but that seems like an activity that should demand one’s full attention.
Let’s not forget, Riley just got a contract extension.
One fan fired off this email:
Let’s see, there were obvious reasons to give Mike Riley an extension:
1) Oregon (that’s all I can think of right now)
That must mean he’ll get another extension for the fine game we played against N.Illinois. Shoot, by the end of the year, with 11 losses, we will have him until 2030.
Thanks, Shawn, you’re a peach.
To which Hank Bounds, the university president, responded:
Prior to sending emails, perhaps you should understand the facts. The extension was in January. Nobody is happy about this.
Another:
Nebraska football....
is Oregon State. I hope you’re satisfied.
That’s all.
Well, that’s not totally fair. Oregon State is 1-3, not 1-2.
NIU???
Mike Riley?? Seriously???
Some fans want Nebraska to hire Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork
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Then, {after firing Eichorst}, go conduct an open search. Not some bull crap Harvey Perlman search. A real search. Maybe even go back to Mississippi and talk to their AD. He’s a midwest guy, he’s a tireless worker, and he’s a leader!! He would fit in here. Trust me, I know him personally. Played baseball with him in junior high and high school in Dodge City.
Okay, so Bjork is a Heartlander. He’s from Kansas (which isn’t Nebraska, but close), has a masters from Western Illinois, and has worked in the Midwest a little bit. But he’s also one of the most embattled athletic directors in the country, given the degree he stood behind disgraced Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze. I don’t think that would be a popular hiring decision.
Apparently Fox News was dunking on Nebraska football too, and this fan was not having it
You gentlemen must be extremely proud of the fact that Fox News channel, on its Sunday morning show “Fox and Friends” announced to the country you fools paid $850,000 to NIU to come play in Memorial Stadium and kick your and Riley’s collective butts! That on the heels of the $1.02 million dollars you paid them to cancel a 2015 game in Chicago! Oh, should I mention the contract extensions?
You fools are better at making financial blunders than Washington DC politicians. What makes you think you can bring a losing Oregon State program to Lincoln and make it a winner?
We weren’t the only ones to notice Larry the Cable Guy was mad
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Last night, Larry the Cable Guy tweeted to get rid of Shawn {Eichorst}. You’ve lost your most famous fan. He’s a big donor and a huge supporter and you lost him. Think of Joe Fab from North Platte, Valentine, McCook and Scottsbluff. They’re spending a great deal to be here for games. Oh, and look at the empty seats during games. Do you really think this program is headed in the right direction?
It’s clear whoever Nebraska hires to replace Eichorst will have his work cut out in repairing relationships with Nebraska fans.