Holy Shnikies! xxlThe late Chris Farley made this his popular tag line during an abruptly ended career as an actor and comedian. It may have also been the reaction of many Nebraska football fans when Bill Callahan was named the successor to Frank Solich as head coach.

As I heard the news, to which I had that same bewildered response, I was lying on my couch flipping through the many channels of nothingness on television.

I happened to find Farley's comedic classic, Tommy Boy, and, as I laughed at the over-the-top humor of the lead character, Tommy Callahan, it began to appear that coach Callahan might have a Tommy-Boy-type job ahead of him in Lincoln.

Tommy Callahan took over a high profile job amid constant questioning and turmoil.

Taking over a position that is under constant scrutiny, Bill Callahan goes into Lincoln with the same baggage. The first head coach not from the Nebraska family since 1962, he was hardly even mentioned before the Jan. 9 press conference in which he was named head coach. Up to that point, Nebraska assistant Bo Pelini, who coached Nebraska in its Alamo Bowl win against Michigan State, was the primary name being floated around. Now, even Pelini is gone after Callahan's gutting of the Nebraska coaching staff yesterday.

Callahan's new start came after serving as head coach with the Oakland Raiders -- a job that went from good to bad as quickly as any in history. Callahan spent just two seasons steering the Raiders ship. After a Super Bowl appearance in his first season, the Silver and Black hit rock bottom with a 4-12 record this year.

He signed his own death warrant not only for the Raiders job, but for his entire future in the NFL on Nov. 30, calling his team "the dumbest team in America" after a loss.

You can't get away with publicly insulting professionals like that, especially with a veteran team like the Raiders.

You can get away with it on college teams, however. That's where Callahan fits much better. He was an assistant with Illinois, Northern Arizona, Southern Illinois and Wisconsin from 1980 until 1994. After his eight-year absence, Callahan is back where he works the best.

Unlike the new head coach, Tommy Callahan's job was to sell a proven product to people who were used to seeing that product in use.

The biggest shocker of Callahan's hiring came when he announced the Huskers would be using an air attack rather than their famous ground attack.

Callahan said he would use the West Coast offense, saying that the running game could become the focus.

That's a pure façade.

It is no secret that Callahan likes to throw the ball. He was an NAIA All-America quarterback at Illinois Benedictine in the 1970s, and he has been known to have his offense throw the ball as many as 60 times a game.

The problem will be that there is not a proven throwing game to utilize at Nebraska.

When Callahan took over the Raiders, he was handed an offense run on the right arm of All-Pro Rich Gannon.

That season his team ranked first in the NFL in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns. This season, Gannon went down with an injury and Callahan was forced to throw the ball with unproven arms.

The result: 28th in the league in passing yards, 32nd in passing touchdowns.

Callahan was throwing passes himself the last time Nebraska ran anything other than an option offense. Both legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and Solich used that offensive system, which has led to the school gaining at least a share of five national titles.

With the expiration of quarterback Jammal Lord's eligibility, Callahan has no experienced signal caller to work his offense.

There is no doubt the quarterbacks at Nebraska can throw the ball, but the fact is that they were recruited to fit into a running system. This may make the installation of an aerial attack that Callahan envisions even more difficult.

He also has no one familiar with the team to provide assistance. Callahan dismissed many of the current coaches, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Barney Cotton.

He did keep quarterbacks coach Turner Gill on hand but moved him to wide receivers coach. Gill may end up needing to pull double duty to get the offense to work.

Tommy Callahan came out on top in the end because he had something Bill Callahan does not -- time.

The biggest question for Callahan, a former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, is why not use the run? And how long will he stick with the passing game if it begins to fail?

He doesn't have the time to install the system.

In a program where championships are a necessity, Callahan doesn't have time to wait for wins.