Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini Throws Down the Gauntlet: Go Ahead--Fire Me.

Bo Pelini has had a good record since he has been in Nebraska. However, there comes a time when 'good' is not good enough. When that time comes is up to the decision makers of course, but thanks to his antics on and off the field Saturday his bosses may have find it pretty easy to make a decision--one that he will not like.

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Bo was in rare form during and after the Iowa game Friday, confrontational and defiant as ever. At one time an apparent swipe with his hat in the direction of an official got his team a 15-yard penalty. His reaction to it later: "It was a chicken*hit call."

Dude, you screwed up there. Admit it. You probably didn't intend on actually hitting the ref, but you were trying to vent a little frustration with the move--otherwise you wouldn't have done it in his face.

His scene with a reporter at halftime has gotten a lot of press as well, but to be honest I don't really find him at fault in this case:



Yeah, he could have said some of the same generic crap that every coach does, but that is not his way. you can call this unprofessional, but he could have done worse.

The final straw may (should?) come with what he said in the post-game press conference. All season long he has been on the hot seat so after losing 38-17 to Iowa he was asked what he thought of his chances to hold on to his job:

“It’s hurt our football team. Let’s call a spade a spade… our record since I have been here speaks for itself,” Pelini said, before offering up the coup de grâce. ”If they wanna fire me, go ahead.”

Hmmm.

The loss has the team at 8-4. He will need a win in whatever bowl game the Cornhusker go to in order to avoid his first season with fewer than nine wins (they've lost their last three bowl games). This will likely be the first time since his first year that Nebraska will finish outside of the top 25 as well.

So why is this guy on the hot seat? He wins. Maybe he hasn't won quite like Tom Osbourne or Frank Solich, but he is better than Bill Callahan.

The only possible reason I can see for getting rid of him is he appears to be a pain in the behind to work with. He's bee seen screaming in the face of his players, he's had issues with the media (not unlike many coaches, but the final straw may be the challenge that he threw out during Saturday's presser.

I don't know any job where an employee can outright challenge his bosses to fire him and not get fired. There are plenty of good coaches out there that will not act the way he does and win just as many--if not more--games.

Will the university go to that level and get rid of him? We'll find out...

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