Background and career
Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is an American former football coach and player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the younger brother of former Florida Atlantic head coach Carl Pelini, who has frequently worked under Bo as an assistant coach. Pelini served as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from December 2007 until November 2014 and later served as head coach of the Youngstown State University football team from 2015 through 2019. Prior to leading the football program at Nebraska, he was the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Pelini was raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He was nicknamed "Bo" after former Cleveland Browns running back Bo Scott. After graduating from Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, he went on to play free safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team at Ohio State University from 1987 to 1990 under College Football Hall of Fame head coaches Earle Bruce and John Cooper. Pelini started in his last two years and served as a team co-captain in his senior year, along with Vinnie Clark, Jeff Graham, and Greg Frey. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State in December 1990.
Following his playing career, Pelini began his coaching career at the University of Iowa as a graduate assistant for the Iowa Hawkeyes under Hayden Fry in 1991. During this period, he also completed his master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1992. In 1993, he served for one year as quarterbacks coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown. Following the season, Pelini was briefly employed as linebackers coach with the Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League.
In 1994, Pelini got his first position in the National Football League when he was hired by San Francisco 49ers head coach George Seifert as a scouting assistant. He was quickly promoted to assistant secondary coach, and by the spring of 1994 he had been promoted again to defensive backs coach. In 1995, in his new position, he coached in his first Super Bowl as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49–26 in Super Bowl XXIX.
In 1997, Pelini was hired by New England Patriots head coach Pete Carroll, again as defensive backs coach, helping the Patriots reach the playoffs twice during his three years there.
In 2000, Pelini became the linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Sherman. Green Bay posted a 33–15 record and reached the playoffs twice in Pelini's three years there as linebackers coach.
