The youngest of eight kids learned how to "do things the right way," which is camouflaged by his sometimes surly approach on the field and in interviews. Come talk to the people in Lincoln about how he treats them, he says. He promises positive results.

"The way the media wants to portray you, the way they want to exaggerate things -- let me tell you, I ‘ve been coaching a long time and I've been around sports for a long time, anybody who walks onto the field when competition begins is different than they are off the field," Pelini said. "You're not like that all the time. I think people in this community and mainly around the state recognize that. They understand who I am and what I stand for and I live it every day. I'm not somebody who's going to go out there and put out a false front. That's who I am. I am who I am. I think people who really know me respect me for that. That's the way I believe it should be."