LINCOLN, Neb. — Dana Holgorsen is coming back to Nebraska as offensive coordinator after his three-game stint to end this regular season.
Nebraska announced on Monday night that Holgorsen signed a two-year contract with the Huskers to pay him $1.2 million annually.
The news comes late in a busy stretch of several hours at Nebraska. Defensive coordinator Tony White on Monday left for the same position at Florida State after two seasons with the Huskers, two people briefed on the move told The Athletic.
White’s defensive units ranked in the top 20 nationally in 2023 and ‘24. The expectation for Holgorsen is to produce similar results, on par with his success as an OC at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State before he spent eight seasons as the head coach at West Virginia and five years at Houston.
“Dana is one of the elite offensive minds in football,” head coach Matt Rhule said in a statement, “and the progress we made in our final three games provides a glimpse of the potential of our offense under his direction.”
The Cougars fired Holgorsen in November 2023. The 53-year-old native Iowan resurfaced as an analyst this season at TCU and answered Rhule’s call in November to step in as offensive coordinator and play caller after the second-year Nebraska coach demoted Marcus Satterfield.
Holgorsen ran the Nebraska offense for three games. He produced encouraging results, notably on Nov. 16 as the Huskers beat Wisconsin 44-25 and accumulated 473 yards. The point total is the highest that Nebraska has scored in 24 games under Rhule.
Nebraska lost 27-20 at USC in Holgorsen’s debut with the Huskers and dropped a 13-10 game at Iowa on Friday despite outgaining the Hawkeyes 334 yards to 164.
Holgorsen is set to be paid $4.5 million in 2025 by Houston, dictated by the terms of his contract. His Nebraska salary will offset a portion of that figure. He was paid $66,667 by Nebraska for his work in November.
His retention figures to sit well with young offensive standouts Dylan Raiola, the five-star QB signee who started every game as a true freshman, and wide receivers Jacory Barney and Carter Nelson.
Nebraska, 6-6, will learn of its bowl destination on Sunday.
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(Photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)
