Bill Callahan (football coach)

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Bill Callahan
Date of birth	July 31, 1956
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Position(s)	Head Coach
College	Benedictine University
Career Record	NFL 15-17-0 College 22-14-0
Championships       Won	2002 AFC Championship 2006 Big 12 North
Coaching Stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
2002-2003 2004-present	Oakland Raiders University of Nebraska

Bill Callahan (born July 31, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, is the head coach of the University of Nebraska football team. He was named head coach of the Cornhuskers in 2004. Callahan was formerly the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League.

Contents 1 Early Career 2 College Coaching Career 3 Professional Coaching Career 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers 4.1 Cornhusker Coaching Staff under Callahan 5 External links

[edit] Early Career

Callahan was a four-year starter at quarterback at Illinois State College in Lisle, Illinois, where he was an NAIA honorable mention All-American in his final two seasons.

[edit] College Coaching Career

The Chicago native began his college coaching career in 1980 as a graduate assistant at University of Illinois before being promoted to full time assistant in 1981, coaching tight ends, offensive line, quarterbacks and special teams through 1986.

From 1990-1994, Callahan was offensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been praised by former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez as being one of the primary reasons why the Badgers were able to turn their program around and eventually win three Rose Bowls in the 1990s. Alvarez cited Callahan specifically for his strong recruiting abilities. Callahan previously served a two-year stint, 1987-1988, as offensive line coach at Northern Arizona University.

[edit] Professional Coaching Career

During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. Callahan had spent four seasons as the Raiders offensive coordinator before being named the franchise's 13th head coach prior to the 2002 season.

Callahan led the Raiders to the 2002 AFC Championship Game and a berth in Super Bowl XXXVII in his first season as a head coach, making him just the fourth rookie head coach in NFL history to do so. Unfortunately The Raiders suffered a lopsided defeat losing 48-21 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coached by his former boss Jon Gruden. The Raiders finished with a 13-6 record in Callahan's first season.

Callahan is the third Raiders head coach to win an AFC West title and lead his team into the conference championship game in his first full season. Only Art Shell (1990) and John Madden (1969) had accomplished this feat.

Under Callahan's guidance, the Raiders led the NFL in passing for the first time in team history and led the league in total offense for just the second time in team history.

During his tenure as not only head coach but also offensive coordinator for the Raiders, Callahan earned a reputation as one of the finest offensive minds in the NFL. The Raider offense led the league in rushing in 2000 and led the league in passing in 2002. In 2002, the Raiders became the first team to win games in the same season while rushing at least 60 times (against Kansas City in a 24-0 win) and passing at least 60 times (against Pittsburgh in a 30-17 win). The Raider offense also set many franchise records during this period, including fewest sacks allowed (28) in 2000, a mark that was broken the following year (27).

Despite the success of his 2002 team, the 2003 Raiders had a losing record. After his team got off to a 2-5 start, many of his players, in particular Charles Woodson, publicly demonized the coach, even suggesting that Callahan was deliberately trying to sabotage the season. Apparently, his accusations of strife and mutiny within the clubhouse were corroborated by others, including veteran receiver Tim Brown. Callahan defenders have described such players as being selfish, washed-up prima donnas. Callahan, his supporters claim, had recognized that the team was aging and needed younger talent. To get it, he would have to cut existing salaries, an assertion that did not sit well with many of the team's veterans. After a lackluster 4-12 season, Callahan was relieved of his coaching duties at Oakland with a record of 17-18 in two years.

Prior to joining the Raiders, Callahan coached the offensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995-1997.

[edit] Nebraska Cornhuskers

In his first season at Nebraska, Callahan finished 5-6, giving the Huskers their first losing season since 1961 and earning him much criticism from Husker fans around the nation. However, Callahan supporters blamed the dismal 2004 season on the perceived lackluster recruiting by former coach Frank Solich and believed Callahan would eventually turn the program around. He also introduced the West Coast offense to a program that has traditionally relied on a strong running attack, a difficult transition to make.

The Cornhuskers finished 8-4 during his second season and won the 2005 Alamo Bowl by upsetting No. 20 Michigan, 32-28. The Wolverines were the highest-ranked opponent that Nebraska had beaten since a 20-10 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in October 2001. The Wolverines also were the highest-ranked opponent beaten by Nebraska outside the Cornhuskers' home field in Lincoln since a 66-17 win over Northwestern in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.

In 2006, Nebraska finished 9-5 (including the regular season, the Big 12 Championship loss and a 17-14 loss to Auburn in the Cotton Bowl) and won the Big 12 North for the first time since 1999. Callahan achieved a signature win of sorts with Nebraska's 28-27 win at Texas A&M on November 11. The win over the then No. 24-ranked Aggies marked Nebraska's first ever road win over a ranked Big 12 South team. Most observers concur that Callahan has Nebraska headed in the right direction, citing both an improvement in the team's record every year that he has been head coach, as well as the recruiting abilities of he and his staff, which have helped the Huskers to close the gap between themselves and the nation's elite teams.

Currently, Callahan has a record of 22-16 at Nebraska.

[edit] Cornhusker Coaching Staff under Callahan

Position	Name	Joined staff in
Head Coach	Bill Callahan	2004
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach	Shawn Watson	2006
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach	Kevin Cosgrove	2004
Receivers Coach/Recruiting Coordinator	Ted Gilmore	2005
Defensive Line Coach	Buddy Wyatt	2006
Tight Ends Coach	Joe Rudolph	2007
Safeties Coach/Special Teams Coordinator	Bill Busch	2004
Offensive Line Coach	Dennis Wagner	2004
Cornerbacks Coach	Phil Elmassian	2004
Running Backs Coach	Randy Jordan	2004
Associate AD for Football Operations	Tim Cassidy	2004
Head Strength Coach	Dave Kennedy	2004
Assistant Football Strength Coach	Dave Langworthy	2004
Graduate Assistant Coach	Keith Heckendorf	2006
	Jon Osterhout	2006
Administrative Assistant	Bryan Heard	2004
	Michael Christianson	2004
Administrative Assistant of Technology	Tim McFadden	2006

Former Nebraska assistants under Callahan.

• Jay Norvell, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach 2004-2007
• John Blake, Defensive Line 2004-2006
• Turner Gill, Quarterbacks Coach 1992-2004, Receivers Coach 2005
• Scott Downing, Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends/Specialists 2003-2005
• Dan McLaughlin, Graduate Assistant 2003-2004
• Angus McClure, Graduate Assistant 2004-2005
• Aaron Stamn , Graduate Assistant 2004-2005

Gill, Downing and McLaughlin were retained by Bill Callahan from the staff of former head coach Frank Solich. Gill had previously been assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach but coached receivers under Callahan. Downing and McLaughlin kept their previous duties on the staff.

Most recently, on December 2, 2006 the Huskers lost the Big 12 Conference Championship game to the University of Oklahoma.

[edit] External links

• Coach Callahan's web site
• IMG Speakers

Preceded by Jon Gruden	Oakland Raiders Head Coaches 2002–2003	Succeeded by Norv Turner
Preceded by Bo Pelini (interim)	Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Coach 2004–	Succeeded by Incumbent

Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders Head Coaches
Erdelatz • Feldman • Conkright • Davis • Rauch • Madden • Flores • Shanahan • Shell • White • Bugel • Gruden • Callahan • Turner • Shell • Kiffin

Big 12 Conference Head Football Coaches
North Division: Dan Hawkins (Colorado) • Gene Chizik (Iowa State) • Mark Mangino (Kansas) • Ron Prince (Kansas State) • Gary Pinkel (Missouri) • Bill Callahan (Nebraska) South Division: Guy Morriss (Baylor) • Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) • Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) • Mack Brown (Texas) • Dennis Franchione (Texas A&M) • Mike Leach (Texas Tech)