Solich on Nebraska return: ‘Great to be back’

LINCOLN, Neb.– It took a long period of time for Frank Solich to put aside the bitterness he felt towards Nebraska following his controversial firing.Twenty years and some prodding by athletic director Trev Alberts later, Solich was back at Memorial Stadium on Friday to begin a weekend of events honoring him for his contributions as a player, assistant and head coach.After he left Nebraska, Solich ended up being the Mid-American Conference’s all-time wins leader at Ohio. And he remained mainly estranged with the Lincoln school given that some of the decision-makers responsible for his shooting were still around– despite his strong ties to the state and friendship with his predecessor, Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated”Initially, I felt it was best for me simply to stay entirely away,” Solich stated at a news conference,”and after that it got to

the point I

felt like, hi, maybe it’s time to look at this through a different lens and take a look at all the terrific individuals that are here, people I know and worked with, the fans. I was in some ways just hurting myself in continuing to keep away, so I’m thankful to be back.”Solich went 58-19 over six seasons at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers won the Big 12 champion and completed No. 2 in the surveys in 1999, and they played in the 2001 Bowl Champion Series title game against Miami despite a 62-36 loss to Colorado in the regular-season finale.The Huskers lost three straight to end 2002 and completed 7-7, the very first time given that 1968 they had not won a minimum of nine games. Solich fired three assistants and gave up offending playcalling duties, and the

Huskers won nine games the following routine season.But a 16-12 record over his last 28 games triggered then-athletic director Steve Pederson, with ex-chancellor Harvey Perlman’s blessing, to fire him. In describing his choice, Pederson notoriously stated,” I refuse to let the program gravitate into mediocrity. “Some fans agreed the program was showing signs of slippage; others argued Solich was worthy of more time with his reorganized staff. Solich was gutted. “Coaching is really difficult on households, and it was extremely hard on our household in a lot of different

ways,”he said.The 78-year-old local of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Cleveland and came to Nebraska to play fullback for Bob Devaney

from 1963 to ’65. Solich coached high school football in the state for a years before returning to the Huskers as an assistant for 19 years under Osborne.Nebraska was coming off national championships 3 of the previous 4 years when he became head coach in 1998. Solich’s child, Cindy, still lives in Lincoln, so he has actually been back in town lot of times. But he hasn’t been to a Nebraska game given that 2003, and coaching at Ohio didn’t allow him lots of opportunities to enjoy the Huskers on tv, though he has actually made it a point to do that because he retired in 2021 and transferred to Boise, Idaho.”Obviously, deep down inside I was actually pulling for Nebraska,”he stated, “so it was difficult to see what had truly transpired in terms of wins and losses as things unfolded over the years. “New coach Matt Rhule is the fifth to follow Solich at Nebraska. There has actually been no conference championship given that the 1999 title, no bowl considering that 2016 under Mike Riley and six straight losing seasons.Solich and his household will be introduced Saturday at halftime of the yearly Red-White spring game, which Solich states will mark the restart of his association with the program.”It makes a great deal of sense to be back, “he said. “I spent a great deal of time on that field out there. Family spent a great deal of time here. We consider it our home, so it’s excellent to be back.”