LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Bo Pelini appears set to become the next coach at Nebraska.
A day after the LSU defensive coordinator declined to discuss published reports he was taking over for the fired Bill Callahan, interim athletic director Tom Osborne scheduled a news conference Sunday to announce the Cornhuskers’ new coach.
“We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days,” Pelini said shortly after the Tigers defeated Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference championship.
Osborne denied an ESPN report Friday that he had picked Pelini, a former Huskers assistant, but told The Associated Press that “it won’t be too much longer” before he made a decision.
“There are so many rumors and so much speculation,” Osborne said. “We’ll announce it when we’re ready and everything is in place.”
A Baton Rouge, La., newspaper reported that a member of the Louisiana State University system’s board of supervisors confirmed Pelini will take the job.
“I think it’s pretty clear and it’s our idea that Bo will be the next coach at Nebraska,” Charles Weems told The Advocate for a story on its Web site Saturday.
LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said he spoke with the 39-year-old Pelini before the SEC title game about the reports.
“Pelini doesn’t know anything about that, at least that’s what he told me,” Bertman said. “I’ll tell you this, he would deserve a head job. He’s an excellent, excellent coach.”
Osborne had said when announcing Callahan’s firing that the next coach didn’t need to have Nebraska ties. Pelini was only at Nebraska in 2003, but his no-nonsense, hardworking style of coaching defense quickly made him a popular figure.
Pelini was interim coach after Frank Solich was fired following the 2003 regular season, coaching the Huskers to an Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State. As he walked off the field in San Antonio, Huskers fans chanted “We want Bo.”
Osborne has interviewed Pelini and Buffalo coach Turner Gill, a former star Nebraska quarterback and longtime assistant.
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