Pelini balances dual coaching roles at Nebraska, LSU

Bo Pelini has one final task as defensive coordinator at LSU: Shut down the Buckeyes in the BCS title game. Chris Graythen/Getty Images

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He has an office in Lincoln, Neb., one floor below a coaching-legend-turned-congressman-turned-athletic director, with a nameplate reading "Bo Pelini" sitting on the desk. Nearly 1,000 miles away in Baton Rouge, La., Pelini has desk and another office, this one with a view of LSU's practice field.

Pelini is charged with restoring a proud program that's coming off a season in which it seemingly hit historic lows on a weekly basis. At the same time, he is preparing a defense to battle Ohio State for the national championship. He could land himself a spot on Heroes for his ability to be at two places at the once but the man who is currently both Nebraska's new head coach and LSU's defensive coordinator says there's nothing superhero about this juggling act.

"If you set out and know what you have to accomplish and what time frames you have, it's not that difficult," Pelini said. "It's not like [getting the Nebraska job] was a surprise. I was able to plan for it and get prepared and I feel good about it."

The day after LSU beat Tennessee for the SEC championship, Pelini was on Nebraska's campus, standing at a podium in front of a banner with a massive red "N" behind him as he was announced as the Cornhuskers next coach. He spent the next two weeks putting together his staff and on the recruiting trail. But the day after the NCAA's mandated "dead period" in recruiting that runs from Dec. 17 to Jan. 1 began, he returned to LSU with the blessing of Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne and the school's administration to help the Tigers prepare for the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7.

For a guy who preaches character, it was the right thing to do.

"I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for these guys," Pelini said. "We're close and we started something together and we're aiming to finish it together. "I owe it to them. I would never have felt right [if I left them before the game]. It would have felt like I was walking out on them."

He is back to finish the job and two-time All-America defensive end Glenn Dorsey, the most decorated defensive player in school history, says the team is thrilled. "It means a lot because on defense he's the commander-in-chief," Dorsey said. "You always feel like you're going to play your best game because you've got a great coach who can put you in places to make the right plays."

It's that ability to build a defense that made Pelini the logical pick to take over a Nebraska team that was 112th in total defense in 2007 and gave up 37.9 points per game, including 76 to Kansas, the most points the Cornhuskers have allowed in their 117-year history. The performance was so uncharacteristic of Nebraska that players and coaches made a joint decision to strip the Blackshirts off their iconic practice jerseys. The first thing Pelini will try and do is rekindle the unit's fire.

"There's a lot of things that goes into it, but the first thing is about the attitude and the effort that is necessary to have success on defense and when we build that we'll be able to move on," he said.

Pelini's staff will look familiar to Cornhuskers fans. The coach who led Nebraska to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the '03 Alamo Bowl after Frank Solich was fired has hired four members of Solich's staff, including Pelini's older brother, Carl, who will serve as defensive coordinator. Also returning are Ron Brown (tight ends), Barney Cotton (offensive line) and Marvin Sanders (secondary), though he has yet to hire a running backs coach.

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