LINCOLN, Neb. — In hindsight, this is how it had to be. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule didn’t have a choice if he wanted effective change.
Unless Rhule’s move last week to add Dana Holgorsen as a presence with the Huskers during the final month of this season had been made solely for appearances, he had to be in charge. Holgorsen will coordinate Nebraska’s offense and call plays for the final three games of this season, starting Saturday at USC.
If Rhule wanted to instigate a shift in offensive philosophy and performance with the Huskers, he couldn’t hire the former Houston and West Virginia coach of 13 years to stand in the back of a meeting room and consult.
It simply would not have worked with Marcus Satterfield, the other Nebraska assistant coaches and the players.
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
Rhule had to be transparent about what he was doing here — or he would have risked losing the trust of the coaches, players and staff members alongside him. He had to run his program like the big business it is.
Credit to the chief executive of Nebraska football for recognizing that truth.
I did not see it. I expected Rhule on Monday, in his first public comments since Holgorsen arrived in Lincoln, to downplay the move and try to keep his intentions private until December.
Years of watching dysfunctional operations at Nebraska clouded my view. We’ve come to expect the untenable with the Huskers.
Rhule, 10-11 at Nebraska deep into his second season, saw the urgency at hand. It’s make a bowl game or bust for this team. So he took unusual action to replace a coordinator midseason. It last happened in 2022 with Erik Chindander. Even more unusual was the choice to bring a replacement from the outside.
“I felt like we needed some help,” Rhule said.
Still, it’s a gamble. If Holgorsen’s leadership doesn’t take under circumstances difficult to navigate, Rhule’s move will smell of desperation. On the flip side, what’s worse — a disappointing finish in which Rhule took a leap and went for it or one in which he stood pat amid offensive failures?
Because the status quo wasn’t working.
“It’s just about everything moving forward,” Rhule said. “So many things that we’re doing are right and trending in the right direction. This was an area that was struggling. I tried to fix it. I hadn’t been able to fix it, so I called somebody that I knew could fix it. I think Dana will fix it.”
Rhule emphasized Monday that he’s making decisions with this season in mind.
His task for Holgorsen? To identify what the Huskers do well and refine it. Simpler is perhaps better for Nebraska this month, especially as it deals with uncertainty at quarterback. Freshman starter Dylan Raiola is working to get healthy after he suffered a back injury Nov. 2 against UCLA.
And no, Rhule said, Nebraska will not install the air raid on short notice.
“I think coach Holgorsen will adjust his offense to our people,” he said. “I don’t know what three weeks from now holds. I have no idea. The offseason is the offseason. This is not about next year. This is about right now. This is about giving our guys the best chance to go out there and win at USC.”
Here are four more points from Rhule that might have slipped under the radar:
• “It’s not a friend thing.” Speaking about their relationship, Rhule said he and his wife, Julie, visited in recent years with Holgorsen “quite a bit” and that Matt and Dana are represented by the same agency. But Rhule was quick to note, too, that he didn’t select Holgorsen for this position because of their history.
Among Rhule’s original staff at Nebraska, seven of 10 full-time assistants played or coached for Rhule at multiple stops. Holgorsen and Rhule have not coached together. Rhule’s comments suggest he’s aware of skeptics who’ve questioned his commitment to finding the best candidates, regardless of their coaching background.
• On the road back? Nebraska has never served as a spot to rehabilitate coaching lives. But Rhule mentioned Monday that he paid attention as legendary former Alabama coach Nick Saban pumped life back into the careers of Lane Kiffin, Bill O’Brien, Steve Sarkisian, Mario Cristobal and Butch Jones.
It’s too soon to wonder whether Rhule could assist Holgorsen in such a way. But Rhule sees value, as Saban did, in working next to a former head coach.
“This is a lonely job sometimes,” Rhule said, “and to have someone in the building who’s (coached at the same level), you have someone to bounce ideas off.”
• Rhule said he has earned Raiola’s trust. Don’t blame media members or fans for wondering about Raiola’s reaction to the offensive coordinator hire. Blame the system that led up to 75 percent of four- and five-star quarterbacks in the recruiting classes of 2017 to 2020 to hit the transfer portal. “Dylan trusts me and trusts the program,” Rhule said of the five-star QB.
Raiola took the coaching shift in stride, Rhule said. The coach said he has not heard from any Huskers during the past few days who expressed that Holgorsen’s hire was “a good or bad move.” But Rhule did acknowledge that in the locker room, he expects “seismic conversations” have occurred about the offensive coordinator situation.
• He’s not expecting miracles, but … don’t look for Rhule to set the bar low. “If we can get 15 more points a game,” Rhule said, “if we can (convert) a few more third downs, the hope is that we find what we do well and build on that.” Fifteen points per game? He’s talking about this season, not in 2025. That’s a big jump in production. The Huskers are scoring 23.6 points per game, 99th nationally, and 18.3 points in Big Ten games, 15th in the league.
Fifteen additional points per game to this point in the season would rank Nebraska 11th nationally, equal to Ohio State, and third against Big Ten competition.
(Top photo of Dana Holgorsen: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
