Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini went 100–55 as a head coach, 2003–2019, at Nebraska and Youngstown State. Share
Five seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 2015–19 at Youngstown State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 100–55 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2009 10–4, No. 14
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nebraska interim, bowl game | 1–0 | Alamo Bowl W | 19 | ||
| 2004–07: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2008 | Nebraska | 9–4 | T–1st (North) | Gator Bowl W | ||
| 2009 | Nebraska | 10–4 | 1st (North) | Holiday Bowl W | 14 | |
| 2010 | Nebraska | 10–4 | T–1st (North) | Holiday Bowl L | 20 | |
| 2011 | Nebraska | 9–4 | 3rd (Legends) | Capital One Bowl L | 24 | |
| 2012 | Nebraska | 10–4 | 1st (Legends) | Capital One Bowl L | 25 | |
| 2013 | Nebraska | 9–4 | T–2nd (Legends) | Gator Bowl W | 25 | |
| 2014 | Nebraska | 9–3 | T–2nd (West) | Holiday (not coached) | ||
| 2015 | Youngstown State * | 5–6 | T–6th | |||
| 2016 | Youngstown State * | 12–4 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Championship L | 2 | |
| 2017 | Youngstown State * | 6–5 | 7th | |||
| 2018 | Youngstown State * | 4–7 | T–6th | |||
| 2019 | Youngstown State * | 6–6 | 8th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 25 | 9–16 | 36% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 2–9 | 18% |
| Against rivals | 31 | 21–10 | 68% |
| Conference games | 56 | 39–17 | 70% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 7 | 4–3 | 57% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 29 | 17–12 | 59% |
| At home | 51 | 41–10 | 80% |
| On the road | 33 | 22–11 | 67% |
| At neutral sites | 10 | 4–6 | 40% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 68 | 55–13 | 81% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 26 | 12–14 | 46% |
His own 94 games on file, 2003–2014, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Ferentz 2011–2014 | 3–1 | Iowa | 4 | |
| Pat Fitzgerald 2011–2014 | 3–1 | Northwestern | 4 | |
| Jerry Kill 2011–2014 | 2–2 | Minnesota | 4 | |
| Mark Dantonio 2011–2014 | 2–2 | Michigan State | 4 | |
| Gary Pinkel 2008–2010 | 2–1 | Missouri | 3 | |
| Steve Sarkisian 2010–2011 | 2–1 | Washington | 3 | |
| Brady Hoke 2011–2013 | 2–1 | Michigan | 3 | |
| Bob Stoops 2008–2010 | 1–2 | Oklahoma | 3 | |
| Bret Bielema 2011–2012 | 1–2 | Wisconsin | 3 |
Bo Pelini’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan Stateseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Northwesternseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| Iowaseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| Minnesotaseries | 4 | 2–2 |
| Wisconsinseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Coloradoseries | 3 | 3–0 |
| Penn Stateseries | 3 | 3–0 |
| Kansasseries | 3 | 3–0 |
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on LSU’s 2007 staff (defensive coordinator, part of the season) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Other roles
- Team captain, Ohio State 1990
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Iowa | Graduate assistant and assistant wide receivers coach | |
| 1993 | Cardinal Mooney HS (OH) high school | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1994–96 | San Francisco 49ers NFL | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1997–99 | New England Patriots NFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 2000–02 | Green Bay Packers NFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 2003 | Nebraska | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2003 | Nebraska | Interim head coach | |
| 2004 | Oklahoma | Co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| 2005–07 | LSU | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2008–14 | Nebraska | Head coach | |
| 2015–19 | Youngstown State | Head coach | |
| 2020 | LSU | Defensive coordinator |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Hayden FryIowa
- Pete CarrollNew England Patriots
- Mike ShermanGreen Bay Packers
- Frank SolichNebraska
- Bob StoopsOklahoma
- Les MilesLSU
- Ed OrgeronLSU
Assistants who became head coaches
- Barney CottonNebraska, Hastings
- Carl PeliniFlorida Atlantic, Bowling Green
- Lance LeipoldBuffalo, Kansas, Wisconsin Whitewater
- Scott DowningSterling, Northern Colorado
- Tim AlbinOhio, Charlotte, Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Turner GillBuffalo, Kansas, Liberty
- Shawn WatsonWofford, Southern Illinois
- Tim BeckCoastal Carolina
- Joe MogliaCoastal Carolina, Omaha Nighthawks
- Ross ElsHastings
- Shane MontgomeryMiami (OH), Massachusetts
Worked under (7)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Fry | Iowa | 1991 | Graduate assistant and assistant wide receivers coach | |
| Pete Carroll | New England Patriots NFL | 1997–99 | Linebackers coach | |
| Mike Sherman | Green Bay Packers NFL | 2000–02 | Linebackers coach | |
| Frank Solich | Nebraska | 2003 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Bob Stoops | Oklahoma | 2004 | Co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Les Miles | LSU | 2005–07 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Ed Orgeron | LSU | 2020 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (11)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barney Cotton | Nebraska, 2003: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2008–12: assistant head coach and offensive line coach; 2013–14: assistant head coach, running game coordinator and offensive line and tight ends coach | Nebraska, Hastings | |
| Carl Pelini | Nebraska, 2003: graduate assistant; 2008–11: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; Youngstown State, 2015–17: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2019: defensive coordinator | Florida Atlantic, Bowling Green | |
| Lance Leipold | Nebraska, 2003: assistant coach | Buffalo, Kansas, Wisconsin Whitewater | |
| Scott Downing | Nebraska, 2003: recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach | Sterling, Northern Colorado | |
| Tim Albin | Nebraska, 2003: passing game coordinator and running backs coach | Ohio, Charlotte, Northwestern Oklahoma State | |
| Turner Gill | Nebraska, 2003: assistant head coach | Buffalo, Kansas, Liberty | |
| Shawn Watson | Nebraska, 2008–10: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Wofford, Southern Illinois | |
| Tim Beck | Nebraska, 2008–10: running backs coach; 2011–14: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Coastal Carolina | |
| Joe Moglia | Nebraska, 2009–10: assistant coach | Coastal Carolina, Omaha Nighthawks | |
| Ross Els | Nebraska, 2011: linebackers coach; 2012–14: linebackers coach, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator | Hastings | |
| Shane Montgomery | Youngstown State, 2015–17: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Miami (OH), Massachusetts |
Other assistants under him (6)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Marvin Sanders | Nebraska, 2003, 2008–11: defensive backs coach | |
| Chris Kiffin | Nebraska, 2008–09: defensive quality control assistant | |
| John Papuchis | Nebraska, 2008–10: special teams and defensive ends coach; 2011: special teams and defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator; 2012–14: defensive coordinator | |
| Mike Ekeler | Nebraska, 2008–10: linebackers coach | |
| Charlton Warren | Nebraska, 2014: defensive backs coach | |
| Donald D’Alesio | Youngstown State, 2015: defensive quality control coach; 2016–17: defensive line coach; 2018: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; 2019: defensive coordinator |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000 | $3,077,646 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000 | $2,975,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000 | $2,875,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $100,000 | $2,775,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $550,000 | $2,100,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Nebraska | head coachbonuses up to $550,000 | $1,852,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Nebraska | head coach | $1,100,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Pelini’s teams went for it on 13% of fourth downs and on 22% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 40% of plays and took 25.9 seconds a play, 2008–2014.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 13 g | 13 of 80 16% | 28% | 49% | 27.1 | +0.05 | |
| 2009 14 g | 8 of 112 7% | 16% | 44% | 29.2 | −0.14 | |
| 2010 14 g | 14 of 99 14% | 24% | 34% | 27.9 | −0.02 | |
| 2011 13 g | 15 of 96 16% | 27% | 35% | 24.3 | −0.02 | |
| 2012 14 g | 11 of 97 11% | 17% | 39% | 24.5 | +0.04 | |
| 2013 13 g | 15 of 100 15% | 23% | 40% | 23.4 | +0.02 | |
| 2014 13 g | 13 of 99 13% | 19% | 40% | 24.5 | +0.05 | |
| All 94 g | 89 of 683 13% | 22% | 40% | 25.9 | 0.00 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.