If he wins enough? I hope enough is at least as much as the guy that we fired for not winning enough.
I'm far from angry over this. I just enjoy debating with you guys. At some point, I am hoping you can justify keeping a coach that is failing miserably at meeting the standards he was hired to accomplish.
Thus far, these debates have been very enjoyable and enlightening. I'm sorry you don't feel the same.
You asked for reasons why Riley should be retained? Unlike dingle I don't think money should be an issue. Because if Riley really is not the right guy he will end up costing us a lot more money with lost revenue and empty seats.
I focus instead on continuity in recruiting and in system. We can't afford yet another lost year in recruiting. And we do have some quality commits this year with probably more on the way, but are waiting to see what happens to Riley. There is also the issue of continuity in our defensive and offensive systems. We have all been pointing out that what makes Wisconsin good is that they have now had the same system for a long time. Well... that takes time and you will never achieve it if you are constantly changing coaches. If we hire Frost and he wants to install an Oregon type offense, does he have a QB for that on our roster? Probably not. So you are talking then of a two year transition at the least.
Ok... all that said, barring a miraculous turn around I favor firing Riley. Why? Because I don't like his offensive system and his teams are not physical enough to coach in the B1G. Those two items are related. Gary DiNardo of the BTN said two years ago that watching a Nebraska practice was like watching a PAC 12 practice. Not very physical. Now I know DiNardo is a bit of an idiot, but his remarks are telling. Add his remarks to Banker's famous slip "Man, Iowa's practices must be a bloodbath" and you get an image of a soft, non physical team.
And that softness showed up last week again. I want Nebraska to return to this one aspect of its past: physicalness. And I don't think Riley is the coach for that style.
This is also why I am intrigued by Scott Frost. It is simply false to accuse those of us who want Frost of a false nostalgia. What I want, as I said, is a return to a very physical style of playing. Does not have to be "power football" per se, just more physicalness and strength and aggressiveness. Frost knows what it takes to be that kind of football team. Or so it would seem. But I would be happy with any coach who knows how to instill that kind of a football culture. Riley just does not have that kind of football in his coaching DNA.