Ex-Nebraska coach Bo Pelini hired by Youngstown State

Less than three weeks after losing his head coaching position at Nebraska, Bo Pelini has been hired by Youngstown State.

“It is with great passion and enthusiasm that I become the head football coach at Youngstown State University,” said Pelini, who attended high school in Youngstown, Ohio, and played safety at Ohio State, in a release Tuesday. “This is an exciting time for my family and me as we return to the Mahoning Valley.”

Pelini compiled a 67-27 record in seven years at Nebraska. But the Cornhuskers failed to win a conference title or reach a Bowl Championship Series bowl game during his tenure.

That wasn’t good enough for a Nebraska football program that has won five national championships, though its last came in 1997.

“We weren’t good enough in the games that mattered,” Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst said of Pelini’s termination. “I didn’t see that changing at the end of the day.”

The Youngstown State job opened up when the school fired coach Eric Wolford after the Penguins finshed 7-5, their fourth consecutive winning season, but failed to reach the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Pelini served on the staffs of the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers before returning to the college game at Nebraska as a defensive coordinator in 2003.

Pelini spent one year in Oklahoma as defensive coordinator in 2004 before serving in the same role for LSU from 2005 to 2007. He took his first head coaching job with the Cornhuskers in 2008.

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