Osborne's legacy crosses multiple generations

There are certain things in life that have a “you can’t mention one without the other,” feeling: Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, John Stockton and Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Alabama. I could go on all night but I won’t.

 

While we’re at it, include Tom Osborne and Nebraska. When the calendar hits January 1, 2013, Osborne will no longer have an active role in Nebraska athletics.

 

Osborne put together one of the most successful coaching runs in college football history before serving in Congress and taking the reins as Nebraska’s athletic director five years ago, is retiring. The 75-year-old Osborne announced at a news conference Wednesday that he would step down Jan. 1, though he will stay for an additional six months to assist in the transition to a new athletic director.

“At some point, whether you’re able to function or not, just the perception that you're getting old can get in the way,” Osborne said. “I don’t want to be one of those guys everybody is walking around wringing their hands trying to figure out what are we going to do with him? That happens sometimes.”

Osborne, who had double-bypass heart surgery in 1985, said he has no health issues that led to his decision.

“I’m probably healthier today than when I was a member of Congress. That takes a big toll on you,” he said.

Osborne’s on the field legacy alone makes him great but even though his stoic sideline demeanor told otherwise, he was a true competitor. Osborne's tenure as Nebraska's football coach, and later as its athletic director, defines multiple entire generations of Husker fans.

 

As a head coach, his record speaks for itself. He was 255-49-3, an .853 winning percentage. He won conference titles and multiple national titles. He was the conference coach of the year, the national coach of the year, he was the coach of the decade (1990s), and he is in the Hall of Fame.

 

There are many defining moments in his career. The first came in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Miami. The Huskers, who were unbeaten entering the game against one-loss Miami, rallied from a 31-17 deficit to pull within 31-30. Osborne could have kicked the extra point, tied the game and been National Champions. Instead, Osborne went for the two-point conversion and the lead. However, quarterback Turner Gill’s pass was knocked away. Granted, that play happened in the pre-overtime era but most every coach today would kick the extra point and play for overtime with no guarantee of winning or losing. Whereas Osborne (though viewed as conservative) took the approach of “to be a competitor is to play for the win.

 

Fast forward a decade later when Nebraska was consistently winning nine games a year but also losing seven straight bowl games. The same Husker fans that think he can do no wrong now wanted him run out of town on a rail. Then, from 1993-1997, Nebraska went 60-3 record and three national titles from 1993-1997. Even more than winning it was “the process” that included academic support, offseason training, nutrition, accountability, sports psychology and nationwide recruiting.  

 

As a coach, Osborne went out on top, winning three national titles in his last four seasons before retiring in 1997. Osborne may have left coaching but he served his country in the House of Representatives only to later return to athletics. In 2007, the Husker football program was not only struggling on the field but there was an obvious lack of trust with then athletic director Steve Pederson. Chancellor Harvey Perlman then fired Pederson and hired Osborne, who was like the family patriarch that you could turn to in difficult times.

 

Osborne later fired Bill Callahan after a 5-7 season and hired Bo Pelini. While Husker fans are getting restless now that the team has yet to go from good to great under Pelini, simply being good appeared light years away. Osborne and Chancellor Perlman then steered the entire program in a bold new direction with the choice to join the Big Ten conference. Those are massive, legacy building, choices. Could anyone else have navigated Nebraska to those points? Who else had the credibility?

 

Unlike other legends such as Bowden and the late Joe Paterno, Osborne exited the stage before things began to languish. He didn't want people “wringing their hands” over what to do with him. Of all the aspects of leadership, knowing how and when to exit might be the hardest for people to do.

 

It’s easy to wonder what might have happened if Osborne had stayed in coaching just a bit longer. Could he have won at the same rate and therefore eclipsed the victory counts of his contemporaries like Bowden and Paterno? It’s impossible to know but considering how both exited with some amount of acrimony, it's easy to appreciate Osborne’s choice.

 

The same could be said of his decision as the athletic director. Though Osborne is still fully capable of doing the job, maybe it’s better that he steps away before his body or mind fails him. Who will succeed him? What will their legacy become?

That remains to be seen but no one can doubt Osborne’s legacy.