Pelini not concerned about game decisions
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Bo Pelini arrived Tuesday at his first game-week press conference as a head coach dressed in a blue, striped polo shirt.
Remember the fallout the last time a Nebraska coach addressed the media at his weekly luncheon dressed in non-Husker attire?
Pelini seemed a bit perplexed at the subject.
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“Does that mean I’m going to get a lot of heat from you guys?” Pelini said, drawing a roar of laughter.
The laughs later returned when Pelini said to “Ask my wife” if he was generally upset after Monday’s lackluster practice, and again when he addressed his mood from the previous day.
“I didn’t mean to be grouchy,” he said.
Pelini’s debut as Nebraska’s football coach is four days away, so mood swings are understandable — although Pelini said he’s not an overly emotional person.
More laughs.
“It’s just another game for me,” Pelini said. “It’s about the players. It’s not about me. I’m not playing.”
No, but he is coaching — and for the first time as the guy in charge (save, of course, for that interim gig in 2003). While questions throughout fall camp have focused on defensive line depth and backup wide receivers, Pelini’s game management has been a quiet topic.
At this stage in Pelini’s career, a fourth-down call here or a delay of game penalty there will likely cause a greater stir than a blue shirt.
Preparing for those in-game decisions doesn’t seem to be a concern for Pelini.
“Is there something I haven’t thought about? Maybe,” he said. “But I usually think things through pretty thoroughly.”
As an on-field defensive coordinator throughout his coaching career, Pelini said he’s always been in-tune with the various duties of a head coach.
Pelini is coordinating the defense on game day but will have a headset with the offensive coaches, too.
“I’m not going to be calling plays, I promise you that,” Pelini said. “But I’m going to know what’s going on on that side of the football.”
Even as a defensive coordinator, Pelini said he knew what was going on overall within the flow of a game.
“It’s pretty easy now,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in my defensive staff to make the adjustments we want to make. We’re talking things through, right during the series, and things happen pretty quickly. It’s not like real hard for me to tweak things.”
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson will call plays from the press box, and wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore will be on the field to relay Watson’s plays for quarterback Joe Ganz.
There won’t be any separation anxiety for Watson.
“Not with Joe’s maturity, no,” Watson said. “Joe and I are on the same page, and I’ve got a great coach down there in Ted Gilmore. I don’t bat an eye about that because of Ted and because of Joe.”
Second-team quarterback Patrick Witt will signal in plays to Ganz, who again will be wearing a wrist band filled with plays.
Ganz said he will go over to the sideline only if coaches want to run a certain play not already on his wristband.
“That happens every game,” Ganz said. “For the most part, everything will be on the wristband.”
Ganz said Watson will have 10 to 15 plays designed strictly for each opponent’s defense, and that the first 15 plays of each game will be scripted. That number could be more for Saturday night’s game.
The total available plays for each game will be 200 or fewer — down from around 270 plays last season, Ganz said.
“This year, it’s a lot different,” Ganz said, “because Watson’s really good at making the same play but showing it out of six or seven different looks and motions or shifts. The core of the play is the same, but we just show it out of different formations with different personnel.”
Pelini said he’s most concerned with the new 40-second play clock, which begins immediately at the end of the previous play. (A 25-second clock will still be used after change of possessions.)
“Bottom line is, the pressure falls on the guy calling the offensive plays,” Pelini said. “You can’t have a lot of hesitation, because that clock is starting in a hurry. It’s going to be significantly different than it has been in the past.”
That doesn’t mean Pelini feels a need to meddle with those calls. He’s comfortable with his offensive staff — Watson and Gilmore, who were members of the previous staff, and newcomers Tim Beck, Ron Brown and Barney Cotton.
“It’s a new group together. I think they’ve meshed well,” he said. “They know how to present problems for a defense. They do a good job. The offense is in extremely good hands.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
