Huskers Pile on Previous Coaching Staff

A new coaching staff and a new attitude apparently can't prevent finger pointing and placing of blame as Nebraska begins spring practice. With just one day of practice with the new staff behind them, players are already dredging up the past and highlighting the shortcomings of the previous staff and the frustrations of a 5-7 season.

It all began with a whimper from offensive lineman Matt Slauson.

"There was definitely a frustration for the team, one, but for me especially," Slauson said. "Because I kind of feel like I got jacked around a little bit, switching positions all the times, switching playing time all the time, playing a few plays here, a few plays there. I was really frustrated the whole time ... I had no idea what was going on the whole year. I think (it) just messed with my head a little bit. I don't know if there were head games they were doing or what, but I just didn't feel comfortable where I was."

Slauson said guys usually didn't know who was going to start until 10 minutes before the game. He said he wasn't sure who was making the final call on who started.

That doesn't sound good, but perhaps Slauson was an isolated case. Not so, according to running back Cody Glenn, who also weighed in.

The Husker senior running back said his trust in former NU running backs coach Randy Jordan deteriorated markedly last season. Glenn said Jordan would tell Glenn he was going to play in a particular game, then Glenn would remain on the bench.

"The thing about me is, when you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it," Glenn said after practice. "Once you don't, I just kind of don't have any trust in you. We had a few situations like that, and I never got an explanation for it, where he'd come up to me and say, 'I did this for this reason.'

"I was like, 'Man, I can't believe anything he says.'"

Glenn said he did express his frustrations to Jordan.

"He was like, 'Once we get in the game and stuff starts rolling, it's just different,'" Glenn said. "(Jordan) kept saying the same thing, and I kind of got tired of it and didn't talk to him much anymore."

Wow, does this sound familiar? Can it be coincidental that the one common denominator in all of this is one Bill Callahan?

It's hard to ignore what the players are saying and it is certainly easy for fans to assume that the brunt of the blame lies with the previous coaching staff. Husker fans are comfortable with the assumption that Callahan's staff jacked players around, forced them to put on "bad weight," communicated poorly and ultimately drove the team headlong into Suckville. But whatever happened to personal responsibility? Shouldn't someone step up and say "we played horribly a year ago, but we're moving past it and looking forward to this fall?"

As a fan I'm done looking back in anger and I'm over the hand-wringing and search for answers. I just wish the players would adopt a similar attitude. Unfortunately at least one local scribe thinks the swipes at the previous staff will continue.