3 thoughts on Dana Holgorsen becoming Nebraska football OC

When it was reported last week that Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule hired Dana Holgorsen last week as an offensive consultant, I wondered how that was going to work.

How was Holgorsen going to make an impact on the offense without calling plays? An extra set of eyes can never hurt, especially if those eyes belong to a former head coach and a really successful offensive coordinator.

Yet, on Monday, it all became clear a few seconds into Rhule’s press conference as he announced that Holgorsen is now the Nebraska football offensive coordinator and that he’ll call the plays for the remainder of the 2024 season.

It’s a huge change. There isn’t a move I can compare it to either. There are plenty of examples of the head coach or different staffers taking over play-calling duties during the season, but not a guy who wasn’t even on the staff during the UCLA game less than 10 days ago.

That’s how quickly this all moved. Rhule said he felt it was the “right move” even though it’s “unique.” He also said Marcus Satterfield is coaching tight ends for now and that this is all about trying to beat USC.

It’s a bold move for Nebraska football. There’s no doubt about it and here are three thoughts.

It’s a calculated risk

Don’t let anyone tell you they know this is going to be a home run — they don’t. It could be. Holgorsen is a proven play-caller. He’s got an offensive system and he knows how to produce yards and points.

But Nebraska’s system isn’t his. At least not yet and Rhule said they weren’t going to install the Air Raid right now. It sounds like they are going to try to get Holgorsen as comfortable in the system as possible. I’m sure there will be some new plays installed, etc.

Holgorsen is also a smart dude. Rhule said he respects him and the two go back a long way. They used to be opposing head coaches in the Big 12. This won’t work if Holgorsen isn’t able to adapt and learn quickly.

Better for one coach to learn on the fly than the entire roster. But is that an environment conducive to success? We’ll have to wait and see but it was the right move.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

Give Rhule credit for swallowing his pride, admitting he hired the wrong offensive coordinator, and taking action to fix it as soon as possible.

Maybe if Scott Frost had done that in his second season, things would have worked out differently. You can’t just continue the same course of action when it’s not working and 21 games was enough to know that Satterfield shouldn’t be the OC anymore.

Still, changing offensive coordinators, especially to someone essentially hired off the street, does feel a little desperate.

But Nebraska is desperate.

The Huskers haven’t made a bowl game in eight years. They landed a five-star quarterback and have seen him throw one touchdown pass and six interceptions in the last four games. Things just weren’t working and I’d rather a bold move like this, than continuing down a path that wasn’t going to succeed.

Rhule said it’s not about the future, but it could be

Rhule said this move was about winning games this season and I believe him. I also think it’s about setting up the offense for success in the future.

If Holgorsen is able to get things going, I’d fully expect him to be the full-time offensive coordinator. He’d command a much bigger salary — even bigger than Satterfield’s. I’m guessing somewhere in the $2 million range but if he gets Raiola playing better down the stretch and helps Nebraska football reach a bowl game, then it will be worth every penny.

It’s a smart move for Holgorsen, who is now tying himself to one of the most talented freshman quarterbacks in college football. Raiola has the tools to be a first-round pick. If Holgorsen can get that out of him this season and over the next two (2025 and 2026), he’ll probably be in line for another chance at being a head coach, and Nebraska’s QB room will be in a much better place going forward.

There’s a lot of young talent in that room. Let’s see if Holgorsen is the guy who can get the most out of it.

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