Frank Solich
2003 / Announced termination package
$786,693
Nebraska's dismissal announcement states the contractual package. Final cash paid is not verified here.
Financial evidence
The BadAthletic directors.
The people who set the direction
Athletic directors.
Good. Bad. Ugly.
A coach answers for the scoreboard. The person hiring, extending and firing that coach belongs under the same microscope.
Independent editorial analysis · Generated illustration, not archival photography
Individual accountability
Steve Pederson
2003–October 15, 2007
Results window: 2003–2006. Excludes transition calendar years and unfinished seasons; basketball uses ending years and starts one year later. This is a four-sport results lens—not a verdict on every sport or proof that the director caused each outcome.
Editorial results score
68 / 100
Formula chosen by Big Red Truth. Financial judgment stays separate; dollars do not secretly alter the score.
See the weights and limitsThe good.
Nebraska volleyball won the 2006 NCAA title at 33–1. John Cook was inherited from Byrne’s tenure: success during Pederson’s term, not his coaching hire.
EvidenceThe bad.
Pederson dismissed Solich after a 9–3 regular season despite a 58–19 head-coaching record. The official termination package was $786,693. Whether the replacement improved the program is the question—not an assumption.
EvidenceThe ugly.
Editorial judgment: extending Callahan on September 5, 2007, then seeing his successor fire Callahan November 24 exposes the risk of rewarding a coach before a season is resolved. Pederson created the extension; Osborne made the dismissal.
EvidenceThe money attached to the decisions.
Each figure has its own basis. Signing, extending and firing can belong to different directors. A linked dismissal is not automatically a contract that this director created. No additive “waste” total.
Steve Pederson / Solich dismissal
2003 / Official dismissal announcement
Decision on record
Pederson announced the coaching change and the $786,693 package, while acknowledging Solich's 58–19 record. That package is the Solich row above, not a second charge.
Financial evidenceSteve Pederson / Bill Callahan extension
2007 / Five-year agreement announced September 5
$1,750,000 / year
The agreement ran through January 31, 2012, replacing $1.5 million annual compensation with $1.75 million plus up to $425,000 in annual bonuses. Tom Osborne dismissed Callahan on November 24, 2007. This is an annual contract rate, not a buyout payment.
Financial evidenceHow we put a number on it.
Score = 50 × football win rate + 20 × volleyball win rate + 15 × men’s basketball win rate + 15 × women’s basketball win rate, rounded once to the nearest integer. Ties count as half a win. Each sport’s rate pools only its selected sourced seasons; it is not an average of annual percentages. Missing any of the four inputs means no score.
These are editorial weights, not a university ranking. The score omits conference strength, titles, facilities, academics, finances and most varsity sports; it should not be read as a comprehensive AD grade. Inherited coaches count toward tenure-era results without implying credit for hiring them. Different-length windows and cross-era schedules limit comparison. Transition years 2007, 2017, 2021 and 2024 are deliberately not split or assigned to two directors. Dannen’s window includes only completed sourced rows through 2026, not unfinished football or volleyball seasons.
Earlier directors and short interims remain in the leadership directory, unscored while their comparable evidence is incomplete.
See every catalogued director and source gap