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Osborne gives Callahan boot after 4 seasons

LINCOLN, NEB. - After watching Bill Callahan's Cornhuskers for five games, interim Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne decided it was time for change.

By Eric Olson, Associated Press

Last update: November 24, 2007 - 7:45 PM

LINCOLN, NEB. - After watching Bill Callahan's Cornhuskers for five games, interim Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne decided it was time for change.

He fired Callahan during a five-minute meeting Saturday.

"We used to be a team people hated to play," Osborne said during a news conference, "because they felt it for two or three weeks."

Callahan left the football complex without speaking to reporters.

The move was expected after the Huskers finished 5-7, blowing an 11-point halftime lead in Friday's 65-51 loss at Colorado. Callahan had a 27-22 record in four seasons.

Osborne said he had told Callahan in late October that the coach would lose his job if he didn't have a winning record this season. The Huskers kept losing, and losing big, with five defeats by at least 18 points.

LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini and Buffalo coach Turner Gill are the names mentioned most often as a replacement.