“Husker Nation” was shocked on November 30, when Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst announced the firing of head coach Bo Pelini. Some cheered at the announcement, others were disgusted. After all, Nebraska had just finished off their seventh consecutive nine-win season.

Bo Pelini was the first FBS coach in the last fifty years to be fired after winning nine or more games in consecutive seasons. While some people were disappointed in the announcement, I agree with Eichorst’s decision, it was time to part ways.

Nebraska was spoiled in the 1990’s. Back to back national championships, multiple Big XII Championships, among being in the top ten week after week after week made Nebraska a national powerhouse. It was improbable that this reign would last forever, and after Tom Osborne retired, the program took a different turn. Frank Solich was fired after two seasons at Nebraska, he too after winning nine games in a season. The job search was rough for Nebraska, as coach after coach turned down the job offer. Who wants to come to a program where the coach gets fired after winning 75% of your games? Bill Callahan eventually accepted the job and everyone knows what happened there, Nebraska suffered two losing seasons and after the firing of Callahan, the fate of the program was in the hands of LSU defensive coordinator, Bo Pelini.

Pelini turned the program around; posting 9 wins every season for seven years. However, Nebraska hasn’t won a conference championship for fifteen years, and fans are growing tired.

Sure, Nebraska has had its moments, the argument can be made that Nebraska was one second away from a Big XII championship in 2010, but nonetheless, Pelini was pressured to take the final step. It is here where I believe is the reason that Pelini is finding himself looking for a new job. Pelini saved the Nebraska football program, turning it around after a losing season, keeping the sell out streak alive, and reuniting a fan base, but Pelini has taken the football program as far as he can. Sure, he has won nine games every season, but he has won nine games EVERY season. It is crazy to think that Pelini would have turned the program into a national title contender, as Nebraska found itself in the middle of the Big Ten once again.

Collapses in big games are what has come to be the norm for Nebraska, Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin’s running back set a single game rushing record against the Black shirts. It is this that Eichorst used as his grounds for terminating Pelini’s job and moving forward. I would expect that Nebraska will announce the new coach to be hired sooner rather than later, maybe even by Christmas.

As a dedicated Husker fan, I, along with the rest of “Husker Nation,” can only sit and hope that Eichorst made the right decision. Whether he did or not, the next coach at Nebraska has a lot on his plate. I don’t mean he should win a Big Ten title next year, but he will most certainly be pressured to win one, or at least appear in a conference championship game in the first three years. A daunting task for a new coach.