Tom Osborne shares fond memories of his friendship with the late Bill McCartney
Lincoln: The red is feeling the loss of Mac already.
Tom Osborne, the former Nebraska football coach, reminisced about his friendship with Bill McCartney, who recently passed away. “We had some good times,” he said, recalling a vague memory of horseback riding in Colorado.
Back in the day, they were quite the duo in the Big Eight. McCartney, a city guy from Detroit, turned CU into a powerhouse. Osborne, from Hastings, Nebraska, was a country boy who never quite got why McCartney saw Nebraska as a rival.
“We had a good friendship,” Osborne said, reflecting on their bond after McCartney’s passing at 84. He admired how McCartney built CU’s program from the ground up, especially during tough early years.
Charlie McBride, Osborne’s defensive coordinator, also had fond memories of McCartney. He remembered feeling happy for CU after a tough game in 1986, showing the respect they had for each other.
Osborne doesn’t dwell on the rivalry games. Instead, he thinks of the times they ran laps for charity or shared moments with their families. “I never really thought of CU as a rival,” he said, emphasizing the respect he had for McCartney.
While Nebraska players felt the heat during CU week, it was more about respect than hatred. McBride noted how McCartney could motivate his players like no one else.
Osborne hadn’t spoken to McCartney in years, and he never understood why Nebraska became CU’s big game. “We never really had that conversation,” he chuckled, but he always respected what McCartney accomplished at CU.
In the end, it was a rivalry built on respect, not bitterness. Both coaches left a lasting legacy in college football.
