COLUMN: Pederson extension should be boon for Callahan
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By Curt McKeever / Lincoln Journal Star
SAN ANTONIO — In this city that has treated Nebraska football to nothing but good times, Bill Callahan sipped from the winner’s cup again Monday.
His athletic director, Steve Pederson, the one who 31/2 years ago rescued him from an unpleasant parting with the Oakland Raiders and allowed him to try and resuscitate his career at a storied major college program, was given a five-year contract extension.
For Callahan, that’s a bigger jolt than the momentum-building win against Michigan in the 2005 Alamo Bowl that left the Huskers
5-0 all-time here.
Now that Pederson’s on board through 2013, the next big item on his agenda should be to address the long-term care of his football coach.
“Pederson hired him? Yeah, that’s a good day for Bill,” said Baylor coach Guy Morriss, believed to be one of just two coaches in the Big 12 Conference who aren’t under contract beyond 2009.
Callahan, entering his fourth season at NU, is the other. But it won’t be long before you can cross him off that list.
How soon? It could be even before the Huskers start camp next month, or perhaps not until after the 2007 season.
Callahan doesn’t seem to care when that occurs — good news for Nebraska.
Coaches who might secretly be questioning how long they can sustain any success would be bending their agent’s ears to work the lines of communication with the AD in order to strike a more lucrative deal. To that end, Callahan said Monday neither side has begun the process and that he’s only concerned with taking care of his responsibilities.
Of course, he’s happy for Pederson, who’s survived a public backlash that followed his handling of the situation that led to Callahan’s hiring.
Just don’t try and get Callahan to buy into a belief that Pederson’s extension makes the coach’s job any easier or affects how he goes about the business of trying to keep the Huskers climbing the Big 12 ladder.
“I don’t look at it like that,” he said, bringing up the fact that for the majority of his career, he’s been an assistant coach not afforded a lot of job security. “Contracts — I mean, from a recruiting standpoint, I know they’re important as a head coach. But I operated so many times on a one-year contract — it never bothered me. It still doesn’t. I’ll just do the best job I can.”
Callahan’s agent, Gary O’Hagan, had no comment Monday about Pederson’s extension. But it doesn’t take much to imagine him screaming like Tom Cruise, “Show me the money!”
Finances aside, it’s good to be Callahan these days. In a relatively short span, Nebraska has made enough strides to get back to the Big 12 Championship Game and now appears adequately equipped to handle the likes of Texas and Oklahoma.
If he can beat those monsters, Callahan just might beat long odds of becoming a fan favorite. If he can’t, oh, well. Nebraska followers are more apt to vent more of their negativity on Pederson.
Think about that. Had NU chancellor Harvey Perlman decided to move in a different direction and not extend Pederson’s contract. …
Maybe Callahan feels a lot like Kansas coach Mark Mangino did when AD Al Bohl was replaced by Lew Perkins.
“The experience was rather dizzying, because I hardly knew the gentleman that hired me, and he was gone before I really got to know him. And then we brought in a new athletic director that I did not know,” Mangino said. “But it worked out great, because Lew wants our football program to be good.”
Pederson needs Nebraska to be even better. The good news, regardless of whether his style meets your approval, is that he’ll stop at nothing to bring that about.
The fact that he’s been given more time to achieve that is an added bonus for Callahan.
“It makes a big difference to a coach,” Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops said of being matched with an AD who has compatible beliefs. “It matters a lot in how they support you and what their vision is for the future.”
If that’s the case, Callahan left here Monday thinking Nebraska football is now 6-0 in this city.
“If I’m an athletic director, my No. 1 priority and my No. 1 agenda is going to be taking care of my football coach,” Morriss said. “I might not spend as much time with women’s tennis or the golf team, but I’m going to take care of football.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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