Osborne makes point of being there if needed
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By STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
As Nebraska’s athletic director, Tom Osborne says he strives to follow the lead of the late Bob Devaney.
“I don’t remember Bob ever saying, ‘You need to run this play or you need to play this guy,’” said Osborne, Nebraska’s football coach under Devaney from 1973 until Devaney retired as full-time athletic director in 1992.
“But he was always there if I wanted to run something by him,” Osborne said.
Osborne, in his third year as athletic director, sought to clear the air Wednesday during a post-football practice session with reporters. Many people are wondering exactly how much he’s helping the football staff in the wake of recent glowing comments by Husker head coach Bo Pelini and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who praised Osborne for his wisdom and guidance.
“The sad answer is: Very, very, very little,” Osborne said. “When you see the offense out there, it’s Shawn Watson and the offensive coaches. And Bo certainly has some input there, too. And obviously, defensively, those guys know what they’re doing.”
Osborne, who won 255 games and three national titles at NU from 1973 to 1997, said his main job as athletic director is to help all of his coaches be successful through financial support, facilities, academics, et al.
However, Pelini said Tuesday he regularly consults Osborne about various coaching matters, including X’s and O’s, staff issues and practice philosophy, among other topics. They were Pelini’s most extensive comments to date regarding his relationship with Osborne.
Bo discusses improvment, Osborne's input
After Saturday’s win at Kansas, Watson credited Osborne with helping the offensive staff as it transitioned to more power sets in the past two games.
Said Osborne: “Once in awhile, somebody may ask me a question, but probably not near as much as what you’d think. I try not to interject.”
Nebraska has gotten back to “a more physical style” on offense of late, Osborne said.
“I think that’s been dictated primarily by circumstance and personnel,” he said. “You have to admire Shawn and the offensive coaches, because I think they’ve tried to adapt and adjust as time has gone on.
“The West Coast offense — whatever that is, and what we were doing — worked pretty good through the first four games,” he added. “We kicked some field goals back (Sept. 19 in a 16-15 loss) at Virginia Tech, but we moved the ball really well and probably could’ve and maybe should’ve scored a little bit more. But then, when we began to have some struggles, they’ve adapted very quickly. I admire them for that.”
Osborne often watches practice and on Sundays watches video breakdowns from the Saturday game. He said he watches it alone — not with the coaching staff. He also watches video of the upcoming opponent, “just really for my own interest.”
Does he ever get the itch to coach again?
“Not so much anymore,” he said. “The first two or three years out of coaching was hard. I think most every coach will tell you that. It’s very difficult. But I’m now to a point where I have plenty of other things to worry about, so I don’t have any great desire to coach again.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com
Discussing Osborne's input, team's progress
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