Nebraska coaching shuffle is complete: 3 superlatives and 3 questions for 2025

LINCOLN, Neb. — The end of the 2024 football season at the college and pro levels allowed Nebraska to put the final touches on its coaching staff in transition.

Matt Rhule began to reconstruct the Huskers’ lineup of leadership in early November, making moves that involved 13 coaches.

The last piece falls into place this week as defensive line coach Terry Bradden arrives to work in Lincoln. He recently finished his eighth season with the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl, though he had been filling a limited role for Nebraska since December.

All three coordinators are new to their jobs. Seven coaches have been hired — including four under age 40 — and three have left the program. Three coaches have seen their responsibilities shift in the past three-plus months. The roles of only four remain unchanged.

Grateful for 8 unforgettable years with the @Chiefs. Thank you for the memories, the victories, and the family we’ve built. Looking forward to the next chapter in Lincoln with @HuskerFootball GBR!!! pic.twitter.com/Rw8FImNDWV

— Terry Bradden Jr (@CoachBradden) February 14, 2025

Thirteen assistant coaches fill the spots formerly held by 10. The removal last year of staff size limits allows the Huskers to keep 10 others in coaching spots. Included are senior football assistant Jamar Mozee and director of player personnel Keith Williams, key figures in on- and off-campus recruiting.

“Matt made some changes with his coaching staff in (recognizing) that if we want to get to the top of the Big Ten, maybe we have to do something a little bit different,” Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said in a recent interview with KETV. “Not a lot of coaches are capable or willing to do that. Matt is both.

“To see him do that, I feel really good about how we’ve evolved this staff to compete. It’s not just position players. We have to have a staff that can compete against the best staffs in the Big Ten.”

Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, 53, signed a two-year deal for $1.2 million annually after arriving to coach the final three games of the regular season. Little debate exists that his hire as a play caller rates as the most significant change for the Huskers ahead of next season.

Holgorsen’s offense produced 473 yards and Nebraska scored 44 points, a 25-game high under Rhule at the school, on Nov. 16 against Wisconsin.

Not including Holgorsen’s addition, here are three superlatives within the 2025 coaching shuffle.

The hire most important to the Huskers’ success

Special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler. Ekeler, 53, brings instant energy. More than better players or a revamped scheme on special teams, Nebraska needs attitude, focus and intensity. Rhule seemingly could not have found a better coach for all of that, based on Ekeler’s history at Tennessee and other stops since the Nebraska native left his first coaching stint with the Huskers in 2010.

He’s set to earn $625,000, a $50,000 bump over his 2024 pay at Tennessee — and a bargain for the Huskers if they can flip the special teams trends in performance that have cost Nebraska victories under Rhule.

The hire most important to Rhule’s day to day

Associate head coach Phil Snow. The 69-year-old Snow won’t likely travel for recruiting. And with an NFL-styled staff, he can coach the coaches as much as the players. Rhule’s defensive coordinator at Temple, Baylor and in the NFL, Snow eases the burden on young defensive assistants Bradden and Phil Simpson, who will coach outside linebackers. And Snow provides a sounding board for first-year DC John Butler, elevated from secondary coach.

Snow already ran point in screening candidates for the special teams coordinator job. He’ll assist Bradden, who has not coached in a full-time role at the college level, in running the defensive line.

Most underrated hire

Wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts. At age 30, he’s the youngest assistant coach on staff. But unlike his predecessor, Garret McGuire, Shorts brings experience in coaching wide receivers at this level. He got results in three seasons with Holgorsen at Houston and last year at Kentucky. Transfers Dane Key and Hardley Gilmore played for Shorts last season with the Wildcats. Key arrives in Lincoln as the top candidate for the WR1 spot.

At Houston, Shorts coached Tank Dell, a player to whom Holgorsen has compared Nebraska sophomore Jacory Barney. Shorts played for Holgorsen at West Virginia and was a team captain for the Mountaineers as a senior in 2016. Their long-standing connection carries the potential to pay dividends at Nebraska.

Questions remain about the dynamics of Nebraska’s rebuilt coaching staff. Here are three that the Huskers will begin to answer this spring.

What kind of chemistry will John Butler build on defense?

When Tony White left after the regular season for Florida State, Nebraska lost a defensive tactician and a coordinator who brought an effective scheme to the Blackshirts. It also lost a coach with a unique ability to relate to his players. White is on track to become a head coach in part because players are drawn to him. They want to learn from him and play hard for him.

Butler, 51, had not coordinated a defense before the Pinstripe Bowl since 2013 at Penn State. The Nebraska defensive backs spoke highly of him last season, but how will Butler fare in his bid to motivate and organize a full unit?

What is Glenn Thomas’ role in the development of Dylan Raiola?

Holgorsen is not assigned to coach a position, but he’ll undoubtedly work closely with Nebraska’s sophomore quarterback. Where does that leave Thomas, the 47-year-old quarterbacks coach in his second season at Nebraska after he spent 2023 with the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Thomas is highly qualified. His title at Nebraska (co-offensive coordinator) and his pay ($800,000 in 2025) indicate that he’ll be heavily involved in game planning and the daily coaching of Raiola and other QBs. But Holgorsen holds the cards. He’s like a head coach of the offense with autonomy granted by Rhule.

How does E.J. Barthel fit into the long-term plans?

The Huskers’ 40-year-old running backs coach is the only assistant without terms of a contract revealed for this year. His position group rates perhaps as the most unsettled on the roster. Nebraska returns junior Emmett Johnson as a clear No. 1. Will it look in the portal in April or bank on a pair of early enrolling freshmen to supplement the depth provided by Kwinten Ives and Mekhi Nelson?

For now, the group looks thin with just one experienced runner after two backs transferred out. The spring figures to provide clarity.

(Photo of Matt Rhule: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)