DZENIS: Penguins invested in Pelini brothers

Youngstown State is all in with the brothers Pelini.

The football team returns to the Watson and Tressel Training Site on Monday with its head coaching situation settled for the immediate future. Put on a tinfoil hat and see the word Pelini next to the title of head coach for a long time.

Any day now, word will come that Bo Pelini has finally gotten around to signing that contract extension to end what was a pretty boring silly season in Youngstown. His current deal expires Thursday.

Word came out shortly after the new year started that there was understanding between Pelini and the university that they’d keep working together and nothing has happened to suggest otherwise.

The only surprise twist of the offseason was the return of older brother and former assistant Carl Pelini.

Football Scoop first reported Carl’s departure on Jan. 19 as Bowling Green’s defensive coordinator to come back to YSU as a defensive coordinator with “the understanding that he is now head coach in waiting.”

Bo has previously said that Carl is not going to be the defensive coordinator — his title has to be determined — but it’d be foolish to think he won’t have some role with the defense, which ranked no worse than 20th in total defense in his three years in Youngstown.

But that second Football Scoop item, it’s crazy to think that’s the case on its face. If YSU is that enamored with Carl as a head coach, why not hire him as head coach this offseason with Bo’s deal running out?

OK, let’s all take the meatloaf out of the tin foil, put it on our heads and let’s get weird with it. Let’s go back to April 17, 2018. Ex-Bowling Green head coach Mike Jinks had just brought aboard Carl as his defensive coordinator. Jinks had this to say about vetting the older Pelini in the Toledo Blade.

“I had a lengthy conversation with Bo, [athletic director Ron Strollo and president Jim Tressel] and they told us if we didn’t hire him, he would be their next coach,” Jinks said.

After Jinks was fired this fall, Carl ended up being the next head coach at Bowling Green, going 2-3 on an interim basis. According to USA Today’s coaching salary database, Carl had a salary of $165,000 in one season with the Falcons.

According to an appointment for employment obtained by The Vindicator, Pelini is set to have an annual salary of $102,355, which can be renewed by the school on a year-to-year basis. There is no language regarding a coach-in-waiting status. Even though Bowling Green was willing to retain Pelini when Scot Loeffler was hired as the head coach, Carl took a pay decrease of $62,645 to come to YSU.

That’s a lot of money to leave on the table. Did he miss MVR? Is Bowling Green going to be a disaster under Loeffler? Maybe an understanding was reached.

While it’s fun to wonder if a Pelini dynasty will come to pass and about the merits of such an arrangement, there’s the matter of bouncing back from a 4-7 campaign.

One thing is certain, YSU is trusting the brothers Pelini to be the guys to right the ship.

Brian Dzenis covers YSU for The Vindicator. Write him at bdzenis@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Brian_Dzenis.