Bo Pelini has been verbally offered (formal offer pending) and plans to accept the head coaching position at Youngstown State, sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday evening. An announcement is expected on Thursday.
Sources we have spoken with tell us they do not expect his offensive coordinator (Tim Beck) or defensive coordinator (John Papuchis) from Nebraska to join him at this time. On Monday, Scott did an update on the situation at Youngstown State, laying out where things stood with Pelini. The appeal for both sides is clear. For Pelini, it's a chance to go home and run his own team again. For Youngstown State, it's a coach that was leading a Big Ten program less than two weeks ago. Those types of free agents don't come around often in the Missouri Valley. Born and bred in Youngstown, Pelini went 67-27 in seven seasons at Nebraska. Though he never won a conference title and was ultimately swallowed by the outsized expectations at Nebraska, Pelini never led Nebraska to less than nine wins, was beloved by his players, and his teams continually performed well in the classroom. Youngstown offers him, obviously, a chance to return home, and a place where he can win, and win big. The Penguins own four national championships and 37 playoff appearances to their credit. At Youngstown, Pelini would work under famed Youngstown State and Ohio State head coach-turned-Youngstown State president Jim Tressel. Quite a difference from Harvey Perlman. Pelini left Youngstown for Ohio State in 1987 and has only returned for one year since, serving as quarterbacks coach at his alma mater Cardinal Mooney High School in 1993 before landing the defensive backs job with the San Francisco 49ers. He remained in the NFL until 2003, when he became Nebraska's defensive coordinator for the 2003 season. From there he bounced to Oklahoma and LSU before returning to Nebraska as head coach following the 2007 season. Pelini is owed a $7.65 million buyout by Nebraska, which will be off set by his Youngstown State salary.
As always, we'll keep you updated with the latest at The Scoop.