Filed by Jon Nyatawa at 10:30 p.m.
Tom Osborne's name has been brought up a lot lately by the NU coaching staff. However, for an athletic director trying to stay out of the limelight, that's not necessarily ideal.
Still, Osborne voluntarily met with reporters this evening, mostly to address inquiries about his recent influence on the NU offense. For the most part, Osborne downplayed his role.
And from now on, it appears Osborne will be doing everything he can to keep the attention off himself. A quote from Osborne toward the end of his 10-minute interview session: “You will not see me again this year.”
Here are a few of the other comments he made:
Q: Do you think offensive coordinator Shawn Watson over-stated your involvement?
A: There's a few things that they've been trying to do that I've had some experience with. So if they have a question, I'll give my best answer. Really, I don't want anybody to feel, as they look out there on the field, that somehow that's something that I've had any major involvement in. I think they've made decisions based on personnel and how things are going. And so it isn't me going in and telling somebody, 'Well you need to change this or that.' Or, 'Change the structure of the offense.' I really haven't done that.
Q: How do you watch game tape, from a coach's perspective still?
A: I guess you always carry your past experience with you. I don't sit down and watch it with the coaches. I don't want them to feel like I'm looking over their shoulder. I never watch it with the players. I've got a little deal up in my office. Usually on Sundays, I look at the game tape. I look at all of it, offense, defense and kicking. I usually look at tapes of the upcoming opponent a little bit, just really for my own interest.
Q: When you're doing that, do you ever get the itch to coach again?
A: Not so much anymore. The first two or three years out of coaching are hard. I think most every coach will tell you that. But I'm now to the point where I've got plenty of other things to worry about. I don't have any great desire to go out there and coach again.
Q: How gratifying is it to see some of those older plays work?
A: They're not necessarily blocking exactly like we did, but I think they have gotten back to a little bit more physical style of football and I think that's been dictated primarily by the circumstance and personnel. You've got to admire Shawn and the offensive coaches. I think they've tried to revamp and adjust as time has gone on. The west coast offense, whatever that is what we were doing, worked pretty good through the first four games. … But then when we began to have some struggles, they've adapted very quickly. So I admire them for that. They work together and it's not just a one-man deal. I think they all have input. And Shawn listens. He does a good job. So I have admiration for all those coaches.
Q: Considering your involvement with the team, do you have to worry about any NCAA violation?
A: As long as you're not coaching players on the field or as long as you're not out recruiting - which I did for one week and fired myself - you're OK. If somebody asked you how you ran a certain play, that's not an NCAA violation. You know, we've got probably a million people in the state that send in plays or are an expert on a play. So they give their input. I give mine.
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