LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska has hired Dana Holgorsen, the former Houston and West Virginia head coach, as an offensive consultant for the remainder of the season in an attempt to jump-start its sagging offense around freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.
A team source confirmed the news to The Athletic. ESPN first reported the move.
Holgorsen, 53, spent time this year as a consultant and scout at TCU. He was fired at Houston last November and visited Nebraska in early January as coach Matt Rhule looked to shift coaching responsibilities on offense after his first season with the Huskers.
Rhule ultimately hired Glenn Thomas from the Pittsburgh Steelers to serve as co-offensive coordinator and to coach quarterbacks. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield moved from coaching quarterbacks to tight ends but retained play-calling responsibility.
The Huskers have lost three straight games after a 5-1 start, and their offense ranks 99th nationally 354.1 yards per game.
Raiola, who flipped from Georgia to Nebraska last December and won the QB job ahead of his first season, did not throw a touchdown pass in three October games after he threw nine in the first five games. The Huskers are averaging 18.3 points in six Big Ten games.
“Eighteen points a game,” Rhule said Monday, “it’s not good enough.”
Rhule said that he planned to bring in “outside people” this week with the Huskers on bye at 5-4 before they visit USC on Nov. 16 and finish with Wisconsin and Iowa.
Enter Holgorsen, viewed as one of the top offensive minds in college football in his nine seasons at West Virginia and five with the Cougars. He prepped as an OC and wide receivers coach under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, learning the spread offense.
Holgorsen has roots in Big Ten territory. He grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and played for three seasons at Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant. He could be viewed as a candidate to take control of the Nebraska offense after the season.
Satterfield has been criticized as the Huskers have regressed offensively through the season after adding Raiola and a group of wide receivers that included 6-foot-4 transfers Isaiah Neyor from Texas and Jahmal Banks from Wake Forest, plus standout freshmen Jacory Barney and Carter Nelson.
The offense failed in each of the past two weeks, against Ohio State and UCLA, to score with an opportunity to win or tie the game in the final minutes. Under Rhule, who’s 10-11 at Nebraska, the Huskers have not won a game in which their defense allowed more than 14 points.
“I thought we would be playing better on offense than we are,” Rhule said Monday. “I thought we’d run the ball better. I thought we’d have a really good play-action game.”
Nebraska has missed a bowl game in seven consecutive seasons, the longest drought among Power 4 programs.
(Photo: Mike Watters / Imagn Images)
