Riley's winning percentage: (all figures rounded)
54% at Oregon State (14 years)
58% at Nebraska (2 years) an increase of about 7%
Bo's winning percentage:
71% at Nebraska (7 years)
63% at YSU (2 years) a decrease of about 11%
What does all this mean? I guess it means a couple of things.
1) Where you coach at does have an impact. We are seeing a 7-11% variance in each direction in this limited data set.
2) It's a limited data set. Hard to draw big conclusions after 2 years.
3) Riley's winning percentage is lower than Bo's (again it's a limited data set)
Recruiting wise, it's easy to see the new staff works at it much harder than the old staff. No question. The type of offense Riley runs will require much more skilled talent, year after year though.
What can't be quantified, is the inter-personal skills. Riley is a much easier person for the media, fans and administration to deal with. I do think Bo was a much easier person for the players to deal with. There is no doubt his players would run through walls for him.
As to the AD, he is either going to be seen as extremely brilliant, or extremely stupid. I don't think he's that intelligent personally, but this does rest on his shoulders because this was the choice he made. You can't blame him for firing Bo though, that was what he was hired to do by Chancellor Perlman.
However, more and more, it looks like the program's success was sabotaged in lieu of having someone easier to work with for the administration. Under a certain lens, this could be viewed as a completely selfish act from the top leadership, tired of dealing with a coach and with little regard to the athletes involved, who then subsequently retires. That fart in the elevator belongs to Harvey.
So, in a nutshell, it is up to the fans of the program. Either they continue to demand excellence of the football program, or they will become complacent and allow Nebraska to become a fat lazy cat doing the minimum required to reap the big money afforded by the B1G.
