As the smoke continues to clear after what was by and large a terrifying outing against the Arkansas State Redwolves, one narrative seems to be leading the pack. That is one of the Nebraska football’s defensive coordinator not talking to media after his team won the game. The rationale for why Bob Diaco should have been available after the game is rather obvious.
The Husker defense allowed 29 points (and another seven on a punt return) and almost 500 total yards of offense. Considering this was the first game under Diaco’s new 3-4 defense, the media was understandably curious as to what he had to say about what kind of improvements and corrections needed to be made.
While it would have been nice to see Diaco stand at the podium after the game and talk about those things, it appears as though the media wants to talk about what he didn’t say, more than they want to talk about what happened on Saturday night.
Why the Nebraska media has a point
After spending all summer seeing the Huskers offense talk about how good the defense has looked going up against them, there are some obvious questions as to why it looked so bad on Saturday night. The best person suited to answer those questions is, of course the defensive coordinator. The head coach, for his part, just made some comments about how he liked the direction of the defense.
That comment alone was enough to make people scratch their heads and wonder if they were seeing something the coaches weren’t.
It’s why they wanted to see what the defensive coordinator had to say about the subject.
The media has also been burned by a defensive minded coach before. There were plenty of times Bo Pelini was nothing more than a world class jerk after a game. Diaco picking up and leaving, without a single comment seems like he’s acting quite a bit like Pelini in that regard.
Why the media needs to chill and just cover Nebraska football’s performance
A quick look at both the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Stars that every major writer for both papers has made some nod towards Diaco not talking after the game. Some writers have come out and said it is the duty of the defensive coordinator to talk about what happened when things go so wrong.
Others have claimed they are simply looking out for the fans. The fact of the matter is that the media seems to be going after Diaco because he didn’t act as they expected. One has to wonder if this is a good approach to take with a coach who is new to the program and who has his work cut out for him already.
