Firing Solich. IMO, he was on pace to be as good as TO, having won more games in his first six seasons than his predecessor. However, then AD, Steve Pedersen, thought the 7, 8 and 9 win seasons Solich was producing were unacceptable and was the start of Nebraska slipping into mediocrity. Pedersen's thinking was if you bring in NFL caliber coaching, you'll have a college football team playing like an NFL team. Enter Callahan and the rest is history.
Pedersen's remaining career as Nebraska AD was largely filled with distrust and controversy following Solich's firing. He is widely regarded around Lincoln and the state as "the man who killed Nebraska football".