Less then one week after leading the Buffalo Bulls football team to a victory over Kent State and a share of the Mid-American Conference East Division title, head coach Turner Gill may be on to his next job: head coach at Nebraska.
Gill was the starting quarterback for three years at Nebraska, and later was an assistant coach for Tom Osborne, who is now the interim Athletic Director at Nebraska. Osborne was also Gill's best man at his wedding.
According to a knowledgeable source close to the situation, "Turner Gill is the number one (candidate), he always has been, and he is now. It's only a matter of time."
While this may be the case, Nebraska's official stance on their head coach vacancy is, "It has always been the policy that we do not comment on coaching situations, therefore we have no comment on Turner Gill at this time," said Randy York, Nebraska athletics' Chief Communication's Officer.
While Gill may be the number one candidate, Bo Pelini, currently the defensive coordinator at LSU, is a strong candidate for the job. Pelini was the Nebraska defensive coordinator in 2003 a season when the Huskers' defense tied a school record with 47 takeaways. According to Brian Christopherson of the Lincoln Journal Star, Pelini has not been forgotten.
"There's a lot of support for Bo Pelini because he...worked wonders with the defense four years ago, and the defense has been so bad since he left; Pelini has kind of become the favorite," Christopherson said about the fan's outlook on Nebraska's next coach. "He's got kind of a fiery persona which people like."
Whether Gill and Pelini's experiences make them good candidates for Nebraska is debatable. Gill's experiences as Buffalo's head coach of two years may make him a better candidate on paper when compared to Pelini, who has a mere one game as an interim head coach at Nebraska. However, Evan Bland, the sports editor at the Daily Nebraskan, feels that neither have adequate experience.
"Obviously (Gill) does have those Nebraska ties. He has done a good job of turning around a previously abysmal Buffalo program and he's only a couple years into that. I don't know if he's ready for that kind of head coaching job. Obviously he knows what it takes to win games at Nebraska and the work that goes into that," Bland said. "It's really a debatable point whether he needs another couple of years as a head coach before making such a jump, but he would certainly have the support in Lincoln to have a chance to be successful."
While both Gill and Pelini both possess Nebraska ties, both Christopherson and Bland believe that Osborne will also look outside of the "Nebraska Family" to fill the vacancy.
"It comes down to winning here, and it doesn't matter where they're from if they can win," Christopherson said. "It's definitely in Turner's and Bo's advantage that they have that connection with Nebraska, but I don't think Osborne is going to hire just based on that."
Christopherson mentioned that other candidates who may be considered are Garry Patterson from Texas Christian University and Jim Grobe from Wake Forest.
Buffalo Athletic Director Warde Manuel is happy that Gill's success at Buffalo has landed him an opportunity of this magnitude.
"I'm happy for Turner and his family about getting the opportunity to talk to Nebraska. He's worked extremely hard and deserves this opportunity," Manuel said.
Although it seems as if Gill or Pelini are the front-runners to be the next Nebraska head coach, Christopherson warns that anything is possible after the season that the Cornhuskers just endured.
"I don't know who it will be. I would guess it would be Bo or Turner...but it's been a surprising season here at Nebraska so nothing would really shock me," Christopherson said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
