Tom Osborne Running for Nebraska Governor

Osborne seeks GOP nomination for governor (ESPN – AP)

Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne plans to seek the Republican nomination for governor instead of a fourth term in Congress. The 68-year-old Osborne made the announcement Saturday in his hometown at Hastings College, his alma mater. “You can tell by looking at me that I’ve got more miles behind me than I’ve got in front of me,” said Osborne, who retired as a coach at the end of the 1997 season. “When you reach that point, if you’ve got some good years left, you want to make sure that you use them wisely.”

Osborne has hinted about seeking the gubernatorial nomination for months. The decision to run took him more than a year, he said. Osborne, who had open heart surgery 20 years ago, said he had a physical and talked with his doctor before making decision, “to make sure I’d be vertical for the next five years.” Retiring wasn’t really an option for him, Osborne told the crowd of about 100 people including family members, well-wishers and the media. “I’m not really good at retiring. I tried that one time and Nancy ran me out of the house,” Osborne said, referring to his wife.

If elected, Osborne said that he intended to serve only one term but would not rule out a second term if he felt it were necessary.

Interesting. One would think Osbourne a shoo-in.

via Jeff Quinton, who is reminded of a bygone era

Correction: Original title had Osborne running for governor of Oklahoma, which would have been a decidedly more difficult proposition.

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James Joyner
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James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.