[3] After graduating from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School (the same high school as Bob Stoops, former head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners), he went on to play free safety for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University under College Football Hall of Fame head coaches Earle Bruce and John Cooper from 1987 to 1990.

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.

Pelini returned to the college ranks in 2003 when he was hired as Defensive Coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers by Head Coach Frank Solich.

At the conclusion of the regular season, despite posting a 9–3 record, Solich was fired by new Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson.

Pelini was named the interim head coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17–3 win over the Michigan State Spartans in the 2003 Alamo Bowl.

[10] Bo Pelini's arrival saw a renewed interest and optimism in Nebraska football, as evidenced by their record Pay-Per View buys.

[11] Nebraska then proceeded to lose a close game to Virginia Tech Hokies, and then suffered the worst home loss in school history to the Missouri Tigers 52–17 the next week.

The first road game of the season produced a loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in overtime despite giving up 8.77 yards per play.

On November 8, Bo Pelini's Nebraska Cornhuskers won against the Kansas Jayhawks, making them bowl eligible.

The 9–4 season was capped by a 26–21 victory over the Clemson Tigers at the 2009 Gator Bowl, played only days after Pelini returned from his father's funeral service in Ohio.

Pelini's 2008 regular season record of 9–4 was the highest among all 28 Division I FBS teams with new head coaches and staffs that year.

Despite having to replace record-setting quarterback Joe Ganz, and the entire receiving corps, Nebraska was expected to contend in the wide open Big 12 North Division.

Nebraska was expecting big seasons from running back Roy Helu and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Castille's absence led to the emergence to true freshman running back Rex Burkhead during fall camp.

Nebraska proceeded to beat the Colorado Buffaloes in the final regular game of the season, clinching the Big 12 North title.

The Cornhuskers came out strong tying it up at 14–14 with four minutes to go in the 2nd quarter, but Wisconsin's offense dominated Nebraska in the 2nd half and ending up winning the game with a score of 48–17.

The week leading up to the game had much of the national focus revolving the firing of coach Joe Paterno and the sexual assault charges in the Penn State sex abuse scandal.

In their second appearance in as many seasons, the Cornhuskers played in the 2013 Capital One Bowl and lost to Southeastern Conference East co-champions Georgia Bulldogs, 31–45.

After a loss to the UCLA Bruins, Nebraska lost starting quarterback Taylor Martinez, the first of many injuries during the 2013 season.

Nebraska would go on to lose to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Michigan State Spartans and Iowa Hawkeyes to finish the regular season 8–4.

[19] Eichorst stated at a press conference that Pelini hadn't won "the games that mattered the most" against top-tier opponents.

Through his final season in 2019, Pelini posted an overall record of 33–28 with one playoff appearance in 2015 during his five-year tenure at Youngstown State.

[23] In April 2021, the NCAA found Youngstown State worthy of probation due for two years with recruiting sanctions, after several rules violations were found to be committed under Pelini's watch, most significantly allowing coaches who had not taken the coach certification test to recruit off campus.

[34][35] Tom Osborne, former coach and athletic director at Nebraska, then announced that he had heard the tape in 2012 (about a year earlier) and talked to Pelini about it but did not tell Perlman about it.

[36][37] Some observers and members of the media believed that Pelini would have a difficult time winning back fan support.

[43][44] Pelini's behavior was again called into question during Nebraska's nationally televised loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes at the end of the 2013 regular season.

At halftime, the coach snapped at ESPN on ABC reporter Quint Kessenich when asked about a pair of Cornhusker turnovers, responding with "What kind of question is that?"

Later, in disagreement with a call made on the field, Pelini swung his hat within inches of an official's face, drawing a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

[45] Pelini remained defiant in the post game press conference, referring to his personal foul call as "chicken shit" and declaring, "If they want to fire me, go ahead...I don't apologize for anything I have done.