Huskers’ Callahan refuses to resign
If Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osborne wants Bill Callahan out as football coach, he’ll probably have to fire him.
Callahan said Tuesday he would not resign before the season ends, even if he were offered a buyout worth more than he is entitled to by his contract.
“That term ‘resignation’ is not in our vocabulary,” Callahan said.
The Huskers (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) go into Saturday’s final home game against Kansas State on their first five-game losing streak since 1958. They’ve been outscored 226-98 in those five games.
Last week’s 76-39 loss at Kansas marked the most points allowed by a Nebraska team and ratcheted up the fans’ outcry against Callahan.
Osborne has not asked for a resignation and doesn’t plan to, said athletic department communications chief Randy York. Osborne has said he’ll evaluate Callahan at the end of the season.
Callahan’s new contract, signed in September, calls for him to be paid $3.125 million if he’s fired this month. He said he wouldn’t be tempted to step down if he were promised more money to resign now and remove the uncertainty surrounding the program.
“You need to understand this isn’t about money. I didn’t get into coaching for money, for buyouts, or anything like that,” Callahan said.
The fallout of the season hasn’t changed his feelings for Nebraska, he said. Callahan has often said he wants to finish his career at Nebraska.
“I sincerely want to be here,” he said. “I think I indicated that when I signed a contract extension. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have signed the extension.”
Callahan said it’s embarrassing for a program such as Nebraska to lose five straight and no one feels worse about it than he.
The Huskers led Texas 17-9 in the fourth quarter before losing 28-25 two weeks ago. Otherwise, they haven’t been competitive in their losses this season. They have one of the nation’s worst defenses, allowing 35.9 points and 477.6 yards a game.
“Gosh, I don’t think we wanted to do this,” he said. “These coaches didn’t purposely tell these kids, ‘Hey, don’t go out there and tackle today,’ or ‘Don’t go out there and rush the passer.’ “
Callahan said much of his fan correspondence has been supportive. Of course, there has also been lots of negative.
“It’s a game,” he said. “I understand here in Nebraska it’s more than a game. It’s life. It’s the most important thing to Nebraskans, and I share that passion.
“There is a message if you do resign, that you’ve quit on your football team.”
On the field
At Kalamazoo, Mich., quarterback Dan LeFevour scored on a keeper from 1-yard out with 12 seconds left, giving Central Michigan (6-4, 5-0) 34-31 victory over Western Michigan (3-7, 2-4), clinching the Mid-Amercan Conference West title.