Bo Pelini is Nebraska’s new coach

The Mooney graduate comes from LSU where he was an aide for three years.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Bo Pelini is the new coach at Nebraska, leaving the defensive coordinator post at LSU for a job many Cornhusker fans thought he should have been given four years ago.

Interim athletic director and former coach Tom Osborne announced Pelini’s hiring Sunday, after introducing Pelini to the players.

“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.”

It’s the first head coaching job for the 39-year-old Pelini, a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High who spent three years at LSU orchestrating one of the nation’s top defenses. He replaces Bill Callahan, fired Nov. 24 after the Huskers’ second losing season in four years.

Unlike Callahan, a former NFL coach many Nebraska fans never felt comfortable with, Pelini doesn’t come to the football-crazed state as a stranger.

He was interim coach after Frank Solich was fired following the 2003 regular season and went on to coach the Huskers to an Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State. As he walked off the field in San Antonio, Husker fans chanted “We want Bo.”

“It’s something I’ve worked a long time for,” Pelini said Sunday of becoming a head coach.

Expectations are high at Nebraska, where football is king and the Cornhuskers are the only big-name program in the state. Pelini said he won’t concern himself with the expectations, but appeared ready to embrace them.

“One of the unique aspects of this job ... is everything it means to the state,” he said.

“It’s like one big family.”

Pelini said a contract hasn’t been finalized, and he wouldn’t discuss what he might be paid.

Osborne had said that the next coach didn’t need to have Nebraska ties. Pelini was only at Nebraska in 2003, but his no-nonsense style of coaching defense and fiery demeanor quickly made him a beloved figure.

Husker quarterback Joe Ganz said Pelini’s fiery style was apparent in a players-only meeting before he was officially announced as head coach. Osborne consulted with players and coaches who have worked with him and said he found the same thing.

“All of them are very impressed with his ability to inspire people,” Osborne said.

Osborne had interviewed Pelini and Buffalo coach Turner Gill, a former Nebraska quarterback and longtime assistant at the school. Osborne also reportedly spoke informally with Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe.

Pelini had been a candidate for the Nebraska job after Solich’s firing and was interviewed by former athletic director Steve Pederson, who elected to go with Callahan.