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In the new NET documentary, 'Tom Osborne: A Legacy Beyond The Game,' the former Nebraska football coach, politician, and youth mentor reflects on his career. NET News reporter Ben Bohall sat down with Gavin Felix, the NET Sports producer/director of the project, to find out more.
NET NEWS: Twenty-five years as a coach. Did he mention ever having problems with fan expectations? The bar is so high with Nebraska.
Find out more about the NET documentary "Tom Osborne: A Legacy Beyond The Game"
GAVIN FELIX: Coach Osborne learned that as an assistant to Bob Devaney. After you win two national championships, I think that raises the bar. Obviously, Bob raised the bar when he came in 1962 to a team who really hadn’t won a lot in 20 years. So he learned just as an assistant coach the level of fan expectation. As he became coach and set that new bar, I think the fan expectation has only grown. You can see that now with Nebraska football. Obviously, nine wins and ten wins sometimes isn’t enough to save a coaching staff.
NET NEWS: There’s a part in the documentary where Tom Osborne talks about his time running the athletic department at UNL. How did the atmosphere change when he took over?
FELIX: Tom Osborne tells a tale of his first day as athletic director. He came into the department and kind of saw – my words here – a dysfunctional place. He really took the traits he learned as a coach, and with that Ph.D., and said, ‘We need to structure this around what you as members of this athletic department want to see,’ and really came up with some core values I think helped turn around the athletic department and the fractured fan base that was circling in 2007. I think that continues on today.
NET NEWS: You go into Osborne’s political career: a three term congressman for District 3 in Nebraska and the run for governor. How does he look back on his time in politics?
Gavin Felix produced and directed the NET documentary.
FELIX: I think - as he talked about in the interview – his time in politics might have been a mixed bag for him. I know after he retired as head coach, he gave it a couple of years, and went back to run for the seat in the House of Representatives. He won. Then he decided he could make more of a difference as governor. He did mention in the interview he kind of felt he lost a lot when he did lose the gubernatorial primary. He also lost that third district. That hurt him a bit. Obviously, he doesn’t like to lose. He carried that coaching mentality throughout the race.
NET News: The name of the documentary is 'Tom Osborne: A Legacy Beyond The Game'. How does he view that legacy?
FELIX: He has a very good quote in the show that builds as the program moves forward. At the end of the program he mentions how you shouldn’t worry about your legacy, you should let it take care of itself. I think those are kind of poignant words. At this stage in his life, having to look back on that stuff is probably kind of difficult and having the mentality of not worrying about some things. Obviously, he has a lot of accomplishments. But to have the foresight and ability to not put his hat on all that stuff. To be able to say, ‘I’m just going to let that take of itself,’ gives us all the opportunity to make up our minds on what his legacy is. I think that’s pretty unique.