LINCOLN, NEB. (AP) - Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says if Tommie Frazier doesn’t like how he’s running the football program, he doesn’t need his support.
Frazier, who quarterbacked the Cornhuskers’ unbeaten national championship teams in 1994 and ’95, ripped the direction of the program on Twitter hours after Nebraska squandered an 18-point lead in a 41-21 loss to UCLA on Saturday.
Frazier called for the firings of Pelini’s defensive assistants and bemoaned what he saw as a lack of adjustments made in the game. He had been honored at halftime for his selection this year to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Pelini said at his Monday news conference he heard about the tweet but had not read it. The sixth-year coach said the staff and administration are doing all they can to win games and help the players.
“Since I came back here, I’ve embraced the former players, and if he feels like that, then so be it. We don’t need him. That’s a shame,” Pelini said. “Until you’ve sat in this seat and done it, anybody can have an opinion; anyone can do that. It’s easy to point fingers and stand outside and throw stones, so I just take it for what it is.”
Frazier did not respond to messages from The Associated Press but issued a response via Twitter on Monday afternoon: “He’s right, he doesn’t need me. I’m not the answer but he needs someone to help define success for this program. Nebraska fans deserve more.”
The Huskers led the Bruins 21-3 in the second quarter. UCLA scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half and totaled more than 500 yards of offense.
Nebraska allowed more than 600 yards in a win over Wyoming in the opener. That was after defensive meltdowns in a 70-31 loss to Wisconsin in last year’s Big Ten championship game and in a 45-31 bowl loss to Georgia.
In his Saturday tweet, Frazier wrote: “It’s time to get rid of the defensive play caller, the Dc, lb dl and db coaches. I hate saying this but this crap is getting old. How in the hell do you not make adjustments or put your players in the position to compete? If this is what is going to happen for the remainder of the season, count me out. I don’t care if we lose a game but the way we are losing is just not what Nebraska fans deserve. I have fought, bled, and cried over this program. I didn’t do all that for the program to become what it has today. Time for change!”
After his playing career ended, Frazier was an assistant coach at Baylor and later the head coach at Doane College in Crete, Neb. He was 3-17 in two years at Doane. He now works in Omaha for a health foundation.
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