Nebraska AD touts Pelini’s qualities

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini's high-profile sideline tantrum against Iowa and subsequent comments directed at officials cost his school $10,000 and further cemented his reputation as a hot head.

Since that late November eruption, Pelini rehabbed his image in near 180-degree fashion. During the national title game, Pelini responded to Faux Pelini, a parody Twitter account that uses his picture with a cat. It was retweeted more than 10,400 times. At Nebraska's spring game, Pelini brought a cat to Memorial Stadium.

It's quite the turnaround in perception for the fiery coach. Instead of a coach with waning support after six four-loss seasons - subpar by Nebraska's historic standards - Pelini now makes a favorable impression. That's something for which his athletics director, Shawn Eichorst, won't take credit.

'I haven't done anything relative to that,” Eichorst said. 'Bo is the same guy I met when I arrived on campus. So I see those kind of qualities from him on a day-to-day basis. What's out there in the community and the perception is certainly hard to control.

'He's a good ball coach, a good person, he's serious about his craft and very disciplined in his approach. We're lucky to have him in Nebraska.”

Meow.

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