“It’s the right thing’: Why Nebraska named Dana Holgorsen offensive coordinator mid-season
LINCOLN — Nebraska has a new play-caller for the rest of the season and potentially beyond: Dana Holgorsen.
Coach Matt Rhule on Monday publicly named the former head coach at West Virginia and Houston as the new Husker offensive coordinator. Holgorsen had been serving as a consultant for TCU and initially came to Lincoln in a similar capacity to offer insight in the days after Nebraska's attack stalled again in a home loss to UCLA.
That situation lasted perhaps two days, Rhule said, before the 53-year-old that Rhule called "brilliant" and "really aggressive" told his new boss he could call the offense with three regular-season games to go.
"It's probably unique," Rhule said. "But it's what's needed. It's the right thing."
After calling plays for the first 21 games of the Rhule era, Marcus Satterfield will only coach tight ends the rest of the season. Satterfield, making $1.4 million this year, has "humbled himself," Rhule said, and been willing to help however possible.
It will start with Nebraska appointing its sixth offensive coordinator since 2017.
Holgorsen will be tasked with livening a unit averaging 18.3 points per game in Big Ten action this season and limited in its home-run ability — five plays of 40-plus yards are fewer than all but five FBS teams. He'll do so this week amid uncertainty at quarterback, with the status of freshman Dylan Raiola unclear as the former five-star prospect recovers from a back injury and backup Heinrich Haarberg offering a different skillset as a dynamic runner.
Does the quick promotion of Holgorsen — whose background is in the Air Raid style — signal a long-term philosophical change for the Nebraska offense away from a ball-control operation run by "positionless" players? Rhule was ready to make no such proclamation. He wants to score points now, he said. The idea is to identify anew what the Huskers do well, who makes plays and do those things with those guys.
There's no guaranteed Holgorsen — reportedly aspiring to restart his coaching career — will be with Nebraska into 2025, Rhule said, though that would be his hope.
"This is not about next year. This is about right now," Rhule said. "This is about us giving our guys the best chance to go out there and win at USC."
That could take on a take on a variety of looks, Rhule said, though personnel likely won't be "drastically different." The head coach would like to see the team be less reactive after riding swings of emotion against both Ohio State and UCLA. The offense this season had been trying to do too many things and get too many players involved.
"I made this move that I made and I'll make any other move I have to make," Rhule said. "And the players have to make moves — they have to play their best football moving forward."
Nebraska won't make coordinators or players available to reporters during a game week for the first time this season. The team's situation is fluid as it determines not only an offensive game plan and its own starting quarterback but scours past film of USC QB Jayden Maiava, who is a mobile threat and UNLV transfer taking over in Los Angeles for former starter Miller Moss.
"We're going to kind of keep our things in house and our cards as close to the vest as possible," Rhule said.
Nebraska last made an in-season coordinator change in 2022 when interim coach Mickey Joseph fired defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. While with the NFL's Carolina Panthers in 2021, Rhule fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady late in the regular season.
Rhule's history with his new hire goes back to listening to Holgorsen speak at coaching conventions as a young assistant. They faced each other twice as Big 12 coaches in 2017 and 2018 with Holgorsen and West Virginia beating Rhule and Baylor by scores of 38-36 and 58-14. They share the same representatives and consider each other friends.
But this move is more about respect than friendship, Rhule said. Rhule also looked at the history of former head coaches serving as OCs — frequently, for example, with Nick Saban's Alabama teams — and saw a trend of production from men who had experience dealing with the pressures of the moment.
A similar pattern in the weeks ahead could still make a meaningful difference in Nebraska's season.
"I think that so many of the things we're doing are right and are trending in the right direction," Rhule said. "This was an area that was struggling. I tried to fix it, I hadn't been able to fix it, so I called someone that I knew could fix it. I think Dana will fix it."
