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Scott Pederson Fired as Nebraska AD After Lackluster Football Success
Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson was fired Monday, two days after the school's once-mighty football team was rocked with its worst home loss in nearly a half-century.
Pederson and head football coach Bill Callahan have come under fire after a disappointing string of performances this season. Heat intensified after back-to-back losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State by a combined 86-20, leaving the Cornhuskers with a 4-3 record.
Callahan's job is apparently safe for now as Perlman said at a news conference later he's not contemplating any other changes in the athletic department staffing.
At the end of the July, Pederson's contract was renewed for five years. It will cost the university more than $2 million to buy Pederson out of his contract, Perlman said.
This season has been a nightmare for the most part. Even in victory, a 41-40 nail-biter against Ball State, the Huskers' defense was far from the force it used to be.
For the first time in its 118-year history, the Cornhuskers have allowed at least 40 points four times in a season.
Perlman said since July he's noticed a decline in morale and growing concern about keeping key personnel in the athletic department. Paul Meyers, a top fundraiser, was among several people who departed.
Several people came forward with concerns about Pederson's management style and his connection with staff, donors and athletes, the chancellor said.
Less than two hours before Pederson's firing, Callahan said he and the athletic director talked almost daily about the program and how they can improve it.
Perlman said he will name an interim athletic director, then begin a national search for a permanent replacement.
Steve Glenn, a Nebraska offensive lineman in the late 1970s, said the firing of Pederson is "the best thing to happen to Nebraska football in 10 years," adding, it "lifts a cloud off the state of Nebraska."
Glenn, who organized a group of former players to call for changes in the program, said speculation former coach Tom Osborne will be named interim athletic director is exciting.
Osborne didn't immediately return a phone message Monday afternoon.
In four seasons under Callahan, the Huskers are 26-18 overall, 14-14 against the Big 12, 3-8 against teams in the Top 25 and 0-6 against the Top 10. They have given up 40 points or more nine times, including four times this season.
After firing Frank Solich as head coach, Pederson had at least four candidates turn down the job before he hired Callahan, who had just been fired by the Oakland Raiders.
The Huskers went 5-6 in Callahan's first season but improved to 8-4 in 2005. They were 9-5 last year, winning the Big 12 North and losing to Oklahoma in the conference title game. They then lost to Auburn, 17-14, in the Cotton Bowl.
Pederson, who grew up in North Platte, Neb., and worked at Nebraska in the sports information office and football program, was athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh when Nebraska hired him in 2003.
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