Tom Osborne's Success

I had the opportunity to ask Tom Osborne this very question, "what does it take to put a championship team together?"

He kind of smiled and went on to explain. He said first he started with the coaching staff. He liked continuity. He wasn't necessarily looking for the best coaches, but rather the best coaches for him, for Nebraska. Loyalty was big with Tom and his coaches, trainers, medical staff, etc.

Yes I am sure there were times that assistants would come and go, but not all to often as Tom looked for those that would be loyal. More often than not, Tom found those people. When he was considering the HC position in Colorado, he was going to make sure that he and as many assistants that wanted to come with him would be welcome. That was made very clear when he was offered the position.

Hiring the best assistant available might mean the assistants departure to a HC position in a few years. Hiring the best Loyal assistant ment more to Tom than simply the "best" available.

Family! Tom treated his staff like family!

I asked Tom about Irving Fryer as he was one of my favorite players. One I got to meet and talk to. Tom said Irving was an amazing young man. Very religious. Hard working. The years he played for Tom, he knew he was going to grow into a positive member of society. Very pleasant to be around and had a lot of positive energy. He went on a little more, never once mentioning his athletic ability. Finally Tom said and I quote, "Oh yea, and it turns out he was one heck of a football player too!" I just laughed. Tom cared so much about the individuals that came through his system and still does today! It is one of the admirable qualities of Tom Osborne. It saddens me to see individuals who know very little of Tom's life, judge him for a few incidents. Tom is truly a man with character.

Tom looked for those young men that would give 100% for the big red N on the field. They did not always come from Nebraska, but they all had Nebraska in their heart. Tom believed in the words John Wooden spoke, "we are like a father to these kids" and that is what Tom believed. It did not always work out but Tom always stuck to it. He believed his players were better off within the system where he could mentor them, rather than kicking them out of the system where he no longer had a influence on them. Did it always work out for the best? No. But more often than not it did. Tom believed these kids were important. Each and every one of them.

Tom's system fit the area in which he was coaching. This did take him some time to learn and perfect but he did. And with that given system he recruited players that fit. First in the Nebraska area, then outside the 500 mile radius of Lincoln. Local talent Tom believed was a key to keeping the fans, boosters, parents, community and high school kids happy and in turn the desire of the young athletes to play for NU kept the program alive.

Many of you know Craig Bohl and not many think too highly of him while he was at NU. And that's ok. I happen to think differently of him. Craig had taken what he learned from Tom and is applying it at NDSU today. He has got the community behind him using local talent when he can, one player was drafted from NDSU this past weekend and others were expected to possible be drafted. Two years ago they came very close to beating Minnesota, in Minnesota. This year they did! In Minnesota. And it was like a home game for the Bison as it sounded like more NDSU fans than Gophers.

Oh I am just a bit passionate about Tom's success. I believe I got a bit carried away, but know this, Bo is going to use the most valuable resource he has available to him, and that is the knowledge of GREATEST coach in college football history, Tom Osborne!