Carl Pelini
Encyclopedia
Carl Pelini is the Defensive Coordinator
for the University of Nebraska
Cornhuskers
football team. He is also the older brother of Nebraska Head Coach
Bo Pelini
.
, Ohio
, a former center of steel production with a strong athletic tradition, and graduated from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School
(the same high school as Oklahoma Sooners
Head Coach Bob Stoops
and brother Bo Pelini
, Head Coach at Nebraska
).
in New York City
in 1983 and 1984 as a middle linebacker before returning home to finish his degree.
in Youngstown.
The following year, 1989, Pelini completed his bachelor’s degree in English Literature
from Youngstown State University
, and later in the same year was brought aboard the staff at Kansas State University
by Bill Snyder
as a Graduate Assistant
. Two years later he moved up from Graduate Assistant to a position on staff as a Restricted Earnings Coach, while he simultaneously completed his Master's Degree
in Journalism
at Kansas State. Coincidentally, Pelini's last year on the Kansas State coaching staff was also the first year future fellow Nebraska Assistant Mike Ekeler
played for the same team.
Pelini then spent two years out of coaching while finishing his third degree, a Master's in Education
, from the Ohio State University
in 1993, and then promptly returned to the coaching ranks as the Defensive Coordinator
for Blue Valley High School
in Overland Park
, Kansas
for the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
In 1995, Pelini was appointed Head Coach
for the first time, while also assuming the role of Athletic Director
, at Winnetonka High School
in Kansas City
, Missouri
. During his four year tenure at Winnetonka, he orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for a program that had achieved a winning season only once in the previous 11 years, and his 1997 squad finished 8-2 and led to Pelini being named Suburban Conference Coach of the Year. Pelini spent five seasons at Winnetonka, with an overall record of 18-32.
In 2000, Pelini was once again tapped to revitalize a suffering high school program and welcomed the opportunity to return to his roots for a short time when he was hired as Head Coach at Austintown-Fitch High School
in Austintown, Ohio
, Ohio
, a suburb of his hometown of Youngstown. Again, Pelini started the resurrection of an unsuccessful program that had gone without a winning season in the previous eight years. Today, Austintown-Fitch High School boasts one of the top high school programs in Northeast Ohio.
Pelini moved back into the college ranks, again as a Graduate Assistant, when hired by Frank Solich
at Nebraska
, where he worked side by side with younger brother Bo Pelini
who had also just been hired by Solich as Defensive Coordinator. At the conclusion of the regular season, despite posting a 9-3 record, Solich was fired by new Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson
. Bo Pelini was named the interim head coach and with the rest of the coaching staff still on board led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 win over the Michigan State Spartans
in the 2003 Alamo Bowl
. Bo Pelini interviewed for the Nebraska head coach position, but Pederson instead decided after a 41-day search to hire Bill Callahan, who had just been fired by the Oakland Raiders
after a disappointing 4-12 season. Both Pelini brothers departed Nebraska.
Jeff Jamrog, another Nebraska assistant let go following the dismissal of Frank Solich, was hired as Head Coach at Minnesota-Mankato
for the 2004 season. Jamrog brought Carl Pelini over as well, hiring him as Defensive Coordinator and Secondaries Coach
. Minnesota-Mankato finished 6-5 that year, a major improvement over their winless season the year prior.
The following year, in 2005, after taking a year off to study the game, Frank Solich rejoined the ranks of head coaches when he was hired at Ohio
to turn the Bobcat program around, and Pelini accepted a position under his former boss at Ohio, as Defensive Line Coach. 2006 was the year of resurgence for the long-suffering Ohio program, as they finished with nine wins and won the East Division Mid-American Conference
title. The 2006 Bobcats also played in the GMAC Bowl
against Southern Miss, Ohio's first bowl appearance since 1968.
At the conclusion of the 2007 season, a coaching change again influenced Pelini's career. Bill Callahan, Frank Solich's successor at Nebraska, was fired after four seasons. Carl Pelini's brother Bo was named Callahan's successor and brought Carl with him upon his return. Carl returned to Nebraska, this time in the role of Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach.
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
football team. He is also the older brother of Nebraska Head Coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
.
Early life
Carl Pelini was born in YoungstownYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, a former center of steel production with a strong athletic tradition, and graduated from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School
Cardinal Mooney High School
Cardinal Mooney High School is a coeducational Catholic high school in Youngstown, Ohio.-History:Cardinal Mooney was founded in 1956 and is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. In the early 1950s, the Diocese of Youngstown recognized the need to expand Ursuline High School and to build...
(the same high school as Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
Head Coach Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
and brother Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
, Head Coach at Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
).
Playing career
Pelini had a relatively short playing career, putting in just two seasons at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1983 and 1984 as a middle linebacker before returning home to finish his degree.
Coaching career
Prior to finishing his first degree, Pelini began his coaching career with a two year stint beginning in 1987 as an assistant at his alma mater, Cardinal Mooney High SchoolCardinal Mooney High School
Cardinal Mooney High School is a coeducational Catholic high school in Youngstown, Ohio.-History:Cardinal Mooney was founded in 1956 and is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. In the early 1950s, the Diocese of Youngstown recognized the need to expand Ursuline High School and to build...
in Youngstown.
The following year, 1989, Pelini completed his bachelor’s degree in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
from Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
, and later in the same year was brought aboard the staff at Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
by Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
as a Graduate Assistant
Teaching assistant
A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...
. Two years later he moved up from Graduate Assistant to a position on staff as a Restricted Earnings Coach, while he simultaneously completed his Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at Kansas State. Coincidentally, Pelini's last year on the Kansas State coaching staff was also the first year future fellow Nebraska Assistant Mike Ekeler
Mike Ekeler
Mike Ekeler is a Co-Defensive Coordinator and the Linebackers Coach for the Indiana University Bloomington football team...
played for the same team.
Pelini then spent two years out of coaching while finishing his third degree, a Master's in Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, from the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1993, and then promptly returned to the coaching ranks as the Defensive Coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for Blue Valley High School
Blue Valley High School
Blue Valley High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Stilwell, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. The school currently operates in the Blue Valley Unified School District. The principal is Scott Bacon, the associate principal is Bob Whitehead, and the assistant...
in Overland Park
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
for the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
In 1995, Pelini was appointed Head Coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
for the first time, while also assuming the role of Athletic Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
, at Winnetonka High School
Winnetonka High School
Winnetonka High School is a high school in the North Kansas City School District.The school is located at 5815 NE 48 Street in Kansas City North, Missouri. Winnetonka opened in 1971. Originally built to hold 2,000 students, it now has approximately 1,600...
in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. During his four year tenure at Winnetonka, he orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for a program that had achieved a winning season only once in the previous 11 years, and his 1997 squad finished 8-2 and led to Pelini being named Suburban Conference Coach of the Year. Pelini spent five seasons at Winnetonka, with an overall record of 18-32.
In 2000, Pelini was once again tapped to revitalize a suffering high school program and welcomed the opportunity to return to his roots for a short time when he was hired as Head Coach at Austintown-Fitch High School
Austintown-Fitch High School (Youngstown, Ohio)
Austintown Fitch High School is a public high school in Austintown, Ohio, near Youngstown. It is the only high school in the Austintown Local School District. The school nickname is the Falcons, with mascots being Freddie and Frieda Falcon...
in Austintown, Ohio
Austintown, Ohio
Austintown is a census-designated place in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,627 at the 2000 census...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, a suburb of his hometown of Youngstown. Again, Pelini started the resurrection of an unsuccessful program that had gone without a winning season in the previous eight years. Today, Austintown-Fitch High School boasts one of the top high school programs in Northeast Ohio.
Pelini moved back into the college ranks, again as a Graduate Assistant, when hired by Frank Solich
Frank Solich
Frank Solich is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Ohio University, a position he has held since the 2005 season...
at Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
, where he worked side by side with younger brother Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
who had also just been hired by Solich as Defensive Coordinator. At the conclusion of the regular season, despite posting a 9-3 record, Solich was fired by new Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson is the athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh. He held the same post there from 1996 to 2002 and at the University of Nebraska from 2002 to 2007.-First Pittsburgh tenure:...
. Bo Pelini was named the interim head coach and with the rest of the coaching staff still on board led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 win over the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
in the 2003 Alamo Bowl
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...
. Bo Pelini interviewed for the Nebraska head coach position, but Pederson instead decided after a 41-day search to hire Bill Callahan, who had just been fired by the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
after a disappointing 4-12 season. Both Pelini brothers departed Nebraska.
Jeff Jamrog, another Nebraska assistant let go following the dismissal of Frank Solich, was hired as Head Coach at Minnesota-Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
for the 2004 season. Jamrog brought Carl Pelini over as well, hiring him as Defensive Coordinator and Secondaries Coach
Defensive backs coach
A defensive backs coach or secondary coach is a coach in charge of the safeties and cornerbacks in gridiron football. This position is very common in the CFL, NFL and college football programs. Some common titles are: safeties coach, cornerbacks coach, secondary coach, secondary/safeties coach,...
. Minnesota-Mankato finished 6-5 that year, a major improvement over their winless season the year prior.
The following year, in 2005, after taking a year off to study the game, Frank Solich rejoined the ranks of head coaches when he was hired at Ohio
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
to turn the Bobcat program around, and Pelini accepted a position under his former boss at Ohio, as Defensive Line Coach. 2006 was the year of resurgence for the long-suffering Ohio program, as they finished with nine wins and won the East Division Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
title. The 2006 Bobcats also played in the GMAC Bowl
GMAC Bowl
The GoDaddy.com Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. It currently matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference, and...
against Southern Miss, Ohio's first bowl appearance since 1968.
At the conclusion of the 2007 season, a coaching change again influenced Pelini's career. Bill Callahan, Frank Solich's successor at Nebraska, was fired after four seasons. Carl Pelini's brother Bo was named Callahan's successor and brought Carl with him upon his return. Carl returned to Nebraska, this time in the role of Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach.