Pelini hired as Youngstown State coach

Dec 16, 2014 - 11:34 PM Youngstown, OH (Sports Network) - Cast off by Nebraska, Bo Pelini wasn't out of work long.

Pelini landed a job at the FCS level as head football coach at Youngstown State, the university announced Tuesday.

The word came 16 days after Pelini was fired as coach of the Cornhuskers after seven-plus successful seasons.

The Youngstown native said in a statement that he was excited to return to the area.

"I am looking forward to getting to know a tremendous group of football student-athletes who are currently part of the program," he said. "YSU football has a rich championship tradition and a standard of excellence which our staff and players will work to uphold both on and off of the field."

Pelini takes over a program that has won four FCS national titles -- all of them while current university president Jim Tressel was head coach.

He replaces Eric Wolford, who was fired on Nov. 25 after going 31-26 in five seasons as coach of the Penguins.

Pelini went 67-27 at Nebraska, winning at least nine games in each of his seven full seasons and leading the Huskers to four bowl victories.

Before that, he was an assistant at LSU, Oklahoma and Nebraska. He was the Huskers' defensive coordinator in 2003 and the interim coach for the team's bowl win over Michigan State that season.

Pelini also has NFL experience as an assistant with Green Bay, New England and San Francisco.

He played safety at Ohio State between 1987-90.