Nebraska coach Pelini: 'If they want to fire me, go ahead', Friday wasn't the most pleasant day for Nebraska coach Bo Pelini.For starters, his Cornhuskers fell to Iowa 38-17. En route to the loss, he was also at the center of a series of less than cordial exchanges with a halftime reporter, a referee and a media member at the postgame news conference.
The first messy interaction occurred with Nebraska trailing 14-3 at halftime. Bo Pelini was approached by an ESPN reporter asking for his
thoughts on Ron Kellogg III's two interceptions in the first quarter.
Pelini's response: "What do you think? What kind of question is that?"
To his credit, Pelini did answer the reporter's follow-up questions with more politeness. Here's the full video from ESPN:
If Pelini was able to cool off any during the break, a potential refreshed state of mind didn't last long. Following a pass interference call against Nebraska, Pelini received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after he got up close and personal with the referee. During the confrontation, Pelini ended up whipping his hat in the official's face and was promptly docked another 15 yards.
Asked after the game to explain what had happened, Pelini said, "He [the referee] said I got too close to him. I thought that was a chicken-[expletive] call." He went on to point a finger at Kirk Ferentz on the opposite sideline, saying he saw the Iowa coach on worse behavior.
To top off the day, Pelini was asked to discuss the future of his job at Nebraska during his postgame presser.
"I don't coach to make a case," the coach responded to the reporter's question. "You guys have chosen to make a story of it all year. It's impacted our football team, and it's hurt our football team. Let's call a spade a spade."
And then he attacked the question head on:
"If they want to fire me, go ahead. I believe in what I've done. I don't apologize for what I've done. I don't apologize to you, I don't apologize to anybody, myself or this staff. My record, our record since I've been here speaks for itself, and this program is heading in a good direction."€
