LINCOLN, Neb. — In all of 10 days since former Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White left for Florida State, the Huskers have added two assistant coaches and lost two others, elevated interim offensive and defensive coordinators to permanent positions and made moves to hire two more assistants, including an associate head coach.
Why the hurry?
Perhaps you noticed, December moves at warp speed in college football.
GO DEEPER
Tony White’s departure is just the first domino to fall in a long month ahead for Nebraska
On Tuesday, the Huskers announced the promotion of John Butler, who coached the secondary in 2024, to replace White as DC. Butler held the interim role for a week, enough time for him and coach Matt Rhule to get comfortable with an arrangement to bring Phil Snow to Lincoln as a top lieutenant and Terry Bradden from the Kansas City Chiefs to coach the defensive line.
Deals for the 68-year-old Snow — Rhule’s former longtime DC — as the associate head coach and Bradden, 34, were not yet complete as of Tuesday afternoon.
What a whirlwind.
Over the same 10 days since White left, 21 Nebraska players entered the transfer portal or declared their intention to enter.
The main takeaway is this: No time exists to sit around. If you’re not working to get ahead in December, you’re falling behind. And Nebraska could not afford to lose ground as Rhule focuses his rebuild of the roster around youth and the transfer portal to fill several holes.
Portal visitors are headed to Lincoln. Nebraska has less than two weeks to impress potential transfers before it departs for New York and the Pinstripe Bowl, then 12 days for visits in January until the start of the spring academic semester.
And with some Huskers on edge about open spots on the defensive coaching staff, the time for Rhule to show that he’s holding a strong hand is now.
ALL N pic.twitter.com/Bg67UM4Bg2
— Vincent Shavers Sr (@VinceShay1) December 10, 2024
A few big questions remain.
First, how will the coaching dynamic work on defense?
Snow will provide a sounding board for Rhule alongside offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. When Holgorsen landed at Nebraska in November, Rhule said he missed the voice of wisdom on his staff that Holgorsen provided because of his 13 years of head-coaching experience.
“This is a lonely job sometimes,” Rhule said in November.
Snow first worked with Rhule at UCLA in 2001. Snow coordinated the Bruins’ defense for Bob Toledo and later worked as the DC for Rhule in all of his time as the head coach at Temple, Baylor and with the Carolina Panthers.
When Rhule took the job at Nebraska two years ago, Snow moved toward retirement. He worked for the Chicago Bears as an analyst in 2023 and consulted for Nebraska in 2024, showing up in Lincoln when Rhule sought outside help in November after a three-game losing streak.
Snow has served as a defensive coordinator at the FBS or NFL level for 25 years, including stints at Boise State, Arizona State, Washington and Eastern Michigan. He most often coached the secondary.
Butler, 51, coordinated Penn State’s defense in 2013. Otherwise, he’s coached special teams, linebackers and the secondary for 18 years in college and 10 in the NFL.
Seemingly, Butler will run the Nebraska defense. But Snow’s input and experience matter. Rhule will listen to Snow and encourage Butler to listen to him, too. They’ve got nine months to get together philosophically — a luxury that Butler and White did not enjoy last season after Butler was hired less than four weeks before the start of preseason camp.
GO DEEPER
Ranking Nebraska’s top 5 positions of need in the transfer portal
Another question: Is this it for staff change? A period of coaching movement in January after the NFL season follows the December coaching carousel. Last year, the Huskers nabbed quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas from the Pittsburgh Steelers in that time.
Defensively, Nebraska looks set with Bradden, Phil Simpson and Rob Dvoracek to coach players in the box, plus Snow and Butler. Another assistant could help with the secondary, though it’s not a given that the Huskers will stick with the multiple, 3-3-5 scheme that White installed.
Butler coached in a 4-3 scheme with the Bills. Snow has experienced working with three- and four-man defensive fronts.
Coaching reinforcements appear needed with special teams after execution trouble bit Nebraska repeatedly.
On offense, Holgorsen possesses some autonomy. He said he’s worked well with Marcus Satterfield (tight ends), Glenn Thomas (quarterbacks), Donovan Raiola (offensive line) and E.J. Barthel (running backs). Nebraska hired former Holgorsen wideout and assistant Daikiel Shorts from Kentucky this month to coach wide receivers.
Still, it’s hard to see everyone staying put. Satterfield took a demotion to make way for Holgorsen in November. If an opportunity arrives for Satterfield to move, he’ll consider it. And much like Snow and Butler on defense, Holgorsen and Thomas would need to marry philosophies on QB coaching.
It’s been busy, perhaps unprecedented, at Nebraska in times that didn’t include a head-coaching change. But business continues. December is only one-third complete.
(Photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)
