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Tom Osborne: The Fateful Promotion
Nov 1987; Lincoln, NE, USA; FILE PHOTO; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne during the 1987 season at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Tom Osborne: The Fateful Promotion

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By TJ Birkel  |  Last updated Jun 23, 2025 11:07 AM ET
  • If you wanted to make the case that God’s a Cornhusker, there might not be a better place to start than here: Tom Osborne arrived on Nebraska’s campus as a young graduate student in pursuit of a PhD within a month of Bob Devaney taking over as the Huskers’ head football coach.
  • Osborne would spend several years straddling the fence between doctoral studies and helping out in various roles as an assistant on the football team.
  • Thankfully for all of Husker Nation, he ultimately chose to pursue football full time. 
  • After two sub-par seasons in 1967 and 1968, Devaney completely overhauls the program. Among many other changes, TO is installed as offensive coordinator. 
  • That one decision arguably did more to impact the future of Nebraska football than anything else. 
  • Osborne would play a central role in reimagining Nebraska’s offense, creating Husker Power (the nation’s first ever collegiate strength and conditioning program), emphasizing coast-to-coast recruiting, and ultimately turning the program around. 
  • A direct line can be drawn from the changes Devaney implemented after 1968 (with TO’s promotion arguably being the most consequential) to Nebraska’s first two national championships in 1970 and 1971. 
  • All this and much more about Osborne’s days as an assistant to Devaney in this first episode of our summer series about TO!

Thanks to Omaha World Herald writer Henry Cordes along with Brandon Vogel of the Counter Read newsletter for joining us for this conversation. GBR for LIFE! 

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This article first appeared on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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