LINCOLN, Neb. — Glenn Thomas arrived after the tip Saturday night to watch the Nebraska men’s basketball team face Michigan. From the concourse, Thomas heard roars inside as the Huskers raced to a big, early lead.
The atmosphere wowed him. “This place is unbelievable,” he said, a sentiment that overcame Thomas again on Sunday when he returned to see the Nebraska women upset No. 2 Iowa.
“Shoot, I was rocking, let’s go,” said Thomas, the new quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator for Matt Rhule.
In both visits to Pinnacle Bank Arena, Thomas made his way in and out without attracting attention. Soon, in part because of introductions like the one he received Monday with gathered members of the media, Thomas will not so easily escape the spotlight.
Rhule hired Thomas to fix the most important position on a football team that’s aiming to make a leap in 2024. Inefficient play at quarterback loomed large in Nebraska’s seventh consecutive losing season last fall.
Early enrollees Dylan Raiola and Daniel Kaelin and returning eight-game starter Heinrich Haarberg rate among the most high-profile athletes on campus, although the two freshmen have yet to participate in a practice session. Attention and scrutiny come fast for the quarterbacks — and for their position coach.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Thomas said. “That’s just what it is, playing that position. So I don’t necessarily think you address it. We just try to be the best we can possibly be, trying to put them in a position to be as successful as we possibly can. All that other stuff is just a part of being at that position.”
Dylan Raiola is the No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 class, according to the 247 Sports Composite. (Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)
Rhule said he wanted a quarterbacks coach, separate from the offensive coordinator, whose focus remains on the players in his position group.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield shifts from quarterbacks to coach the tight ends. Satterfield will call the plays and run the offense, with input, of course, from Thomas, the other offensive assistants and Rhule.
The head coach made it clear in November and again last week that Satterfield would not lose his power. That distinction rates as a notable storyline in the winter reshaping of the Nebraska offensive staff.
But my chief observation about Thomas, from listening to him and Rhule discuss their plan as the push toward spring starts this week, is this: The new assistant coach fits as Rhule’s kind of guy.
Thomas is a culture hire. There’s nothing flashy about him, just as Rhule likes it best.
The Huskers have tried and failed to make splash hires for big jobs in recent years. Bob Diaco and Mark Whipple were bad fits.
Thomas, while not a full-fledged coordinator, will be paid $800,000 annually, per the terms of his two-year contract. He slots on the salary scale at Nebraska behind $1.6 million defensive coordinator Tony White and Satterfield, who earns $1.4 million, and above Evan Cooper, the secondary coach and de facto recruiting coordinator, and special teams coordinator Ed Foley.
It’s safe to say, Thomas fills a high-leverage role.
In the Big Ten and at top programs nationally, splash hires at the coordinator spots have grown more common. In this cycle, Ohio State hired two former NFL head coaches to coordinate its offense — most recently Chip Kelly, who left a tenuous position at UCLA to work for Ryan Day.
Maryland hired Kevin Sumlin, and Notre Dame tabbed Al Golden in recent years as coordinators. Last week, new Michigan coach Sherrone Moore snagged longtime NFL defensive guru Wink Martindale to run the Wolverines’ defense.
Nebraska could have afforded to travel a similar route with its quarterbacks coach. Rhule had discussions about a role in Lincoln for Dana Holgorsen, the former Houston and West Virginia coach. He remains out of work.
Here’s a rule of thumb for the second-year Nebraska coach: When a coordinator or assistant coach gains notice in this regime, it will come as a result of the work done in Lincoln, not necessarily the resume with which he arrived.
White, the Huskers’ 43-year-old defensive coordinator, found himself as a candidate for several head coaching jobs during the past two months. His defense in 2023 ranked seventh nationally in yards allowed per play and surrendered 18.3 points per game.
Rhule stumped for White to land at Syracuse or UCLA, his alma mater. Ten months from now, expect White to get an opportunity.
Perhaps linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek, 29, or wide receivers coach Garret McGuire, 25, will experience the next rise to coaching prominence at Nebraska.
Maybe it’ll be the 46-year-old Thomas, who came to Nebraska from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has split time in the NFL and at college programs during the past 15 years, working with Rhule and Satterfield for three seasons at Temple and Baylor.
“We talk the same language,” Thomas said of the coaching reunion.
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And he has Raiola, the top quarterback prospect in 30 years to join the Huskers, as a presumptive frontman. So the opportunity appears available for Thomas to capitalize.
Rhule’s methodology in building a staff translates directly to the expectations he has set for the Huskers as they create a leadership structure within this team.
“None of those guys in the locker room care about how highly ranked you were in recruiting,” Rhule said. “And they certainly don’t care about how many touchdowns you threw in high school. They don’t care about how well you played last year.
“They care about what you’re doing right now. They’re very much in the moment.”
The culture built in Rhule’s 14 months at Nebraska, he said, dictates in this period of offseason training that “what was really good last year is now just OK.”
The Huskers know what to expect from winter workouts. Last year, they did not. Knowledge removes the anxiety, Rhule said, which translates to improved performance.
Despite a winless November that ruined Nebraska’s plans for a postseason return, positive energy abounds under Rhule in Lincoln. But the coach wants to ensure that the Huskers returning and new to the program know they’ve not reached a milestone.
“I think we made some real steps last year,” he said. “I think we fixed some things. But we were still 5-7. We’re 5-7 until we kick it off against UTEP.”
Thomas feels the excitement, too. And not just as he makes his way through a basketball venue.
GO DEEPER
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During his limited time in Lincoln, since the Steelers’ season ended in Buffalo last month, Thomas observed a 6:30 a.m. workout on a Monday. He immediately saw an urgency to improve among the Huskers.
“That’s an indication of where the arrow is headed here,” he said. “It’s definitely trending up.”
Recruiting work on the 2024 class is essentially done. Thomas plans to invest time during the weeks ahead in getting to know the Nebraska quarterbacks. In spring practice, set to run from late March until April 27, he said he’ll prioritize the delivery of “as many reps as we can” to each quarterback.
“You’ve got to find that line where they are at and meet them at that line,” Thomas said. “And then raise the ceiling from there.”
Thomas gathered Monday with the rest of Rhule’s staff. In collaborating with Satterfield, Thomas said he draws on their experience from 2015 when Satterfield, as the offensive coordinator at Temple, moved from coaching quarterbacks to running backs and Thomas joined the program from the Atlanta Falcons to coach quarterbacks.
Temple jumped from 6-6 in 2014 to 10-4. Quarterback P.J. Walker threw for nearly 3,000 yards.
A similar surge at Nebraska would wreck Thomas’ relative anonymity.
(Top photo: Mitch Sherman / The Athletic)
