Post-firing Bo Pelini to players on Nebraska AD: ‘He’s a total c---’

It’s no secret that Bo Pelini butted heads with some people in Nebraska, and he even admitted as much when he was introduced as the new Youngstown State coach on Wednesday, saying that he never had a school president who understood football.

But in a tape obtained by the Omaha World-Herald, Pelini’s animosity for the athletics staff at Nebraska apparently went even further than anticipated. Pelini went on a tirade against the administration when meeting with his players after his firing, with most of the colorful language directed toward athletic director Shawn Eichorst.

Update: The Pelini audio has been released by the OWH:

I’d encourage you to read the entire OWH article, but here are the most interesting quotes.

1. Pelini did not like Eichorst

He talked at length about how the administration did not support him and about how he was left in the dark on his future employment status over the past two years. Here’s what he thought about that:

“I didn’t really have any relationship with the A.D.,” Pelini said. “The guy, you guys saw him (Sunday), the guy is a total p----. I mean, he is, and he’s a total c---.”

Nebraska players were also very critical of Eichorst’s leadership after Pelini’s firing.

2. Pelini thought administrators were rooting for Nebraska to lose to Iowa

Pelini seemed at peace with being fired after getting blown out at home against Iowa last year, but he was retained. Then this year, after his team came back from a 17-point deficit to beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Pelini did end up losing his job. He claims the administration wanted him to lose.

On Dec. 2, Pelini told players he saw anger in administrators’ faces when the Huskers beat Iowa in the regular-season finale. They didn’t want NU to win.

3. Pelini couldn’t stand the work environment in Nebraska

Pelini has had notable issues with the expectations of the Nebraska job before, and was once recorded saying he wanted to tell the Husker faithful “f--- you fans.” In the recording from his meeting with his players, Pelini was introspective, and many of his quotes centered around how taxing his job was.

“I have been at LSU, I have been at Oklahoma, I have been to these other places. The scrutiny, it negativity, it ain’t like that everywhere. But it is what it is and you gotta be strong as hell and you gotta stick together to deal with it. You have to. Because it’s real, I know it’s out there. I’ve seen it.”

Nebraska responded to the recording, and as you might guess, they were not happy!