As part of his planned week of introspection following three consecutive defeats, Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule announced Monday that he will take outside advisors’ advice into consideration.
Two days following NU’s 27–20 loss to UCLA, Rhule remarked, I have a lot of friends in the business. Some outsiders sort of came in and said, ‘Tell me what you see. Having a new perspective on it is definitely one of the best things you can do, at least in my experience.
I’m going to have a few trusted individuals examine our attack and defense. They will observe our actions and proceed accordingly.
Two of those pals are longtime Rhule confidant Phil Snow, who served as defensive coordinator for Rhule at Temple, Baylor, and the Carolina Panthers, and former West Virginia and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen, according to a source who spoke to the World-Herald.
Before taking a position as head coach-in-waiting at West Virginia, Holgorsen coached Brandon Weeden at Oklahoma State and Case Keenum at Houston. After taking over the team, Holgorsen swiftly elevated Geno Smith, who was likely his most well-known quarterback, to the status of a superstar. During his last two years at Morgantown, Smith passed for 8,490 yards and 73 touchdowns.
Snow was Rhule’s defensive coordinator for ten years. In 2001 and 2002, Snow also oversaw UCLA’s defense for two years, which coincided with Rhule’s one-year tenure as a Bruins assistant.
Snow created defenses that gave up less than 20 points a game at Temple in 2014 and 2016. In 2019, he repeated the action at Baylor. He decided to enter semi-retirement rather than accompany Rhule to Nebraska.
According to Rhule, his pals would be inside NU’s football complex watching films and making suggestions. Over the years, Rhule has “always” sought his friends’ opinions. Rhule mentioned that following Nebraska’s 56-7 loss to Indiana, he gave the renowned Husker coach Tom Osborne a call. The next week, Osborne went to one of NU’s practices.
As Athletic Director, Osborne was watching film with coaches at the beginning of Bo Pelini’s tenure. In the 2009 Missouri game, NU’s first score was aided by a tip to then-offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who was moved to tears when he recalled it.
Osborne and previous coach Frank Solich have been mentioned by Rhule as reliable persons. Rhule reads a lot and takes in a lot of leadership and coaching materials.
Rhule stated, “I’ll always ask people — that’s pretty consistent for me.” It’s possible that I wouldn’t typically bring folks here. Every week, we have a few consultants that we pay to conduct advance work for us. Zoom is how we communicate.
However, I believe entering the building is beneficial. Ultimately, everyone must experience this. I need everyone to feel the same way. Everyone must have the mindset that “hey, we need to get this thing going.
Following a bye week, Rhule made the infamous decision to fire offensive coordinator Joe Brady from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, his previous coaching post. After the Panthers’ bye week was up, Rhule made the choice.
It was purely football, Rhule claimed in December 2021 when he fired Brady, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. It was best for us to do this going ahead. We can play more effectively offensively, in my opinion.
Nebraska’s offense is having trouble in 2024 as well. Marcus Satterfield, Rhule’s offensive coordinator at three prior stops, has been the target of social media criticism during Big Ten play, when NU averaged 18.3 points per game.
Rhule remarked, I don’t have a lot of problems with ‘oh, why’d we call this, why’d we call that,’ because those things are gameplanned during the week. Are we making the proper game plans for the week? That might be one of the questions that we have to talk about, look at it.
You will face criticism if you score eighteen points per game. That’s just the way things are. Satt is the OC, and I am the head coach everywhere. However, I believe it’s crucial that our players accept responsibility for it as well. We don’t call any plays that they are unable to perform.
It’s to the players’ credit when a Husker makes a big play, Rhule said. When something goes wrong, Satterfield cannot be held solely responsible.
He stated, “I just want everyone in the program to take accountability together.