Tony White no longer top San Diego State HC candidate

Nebraska football defensive coordinator Tony White was once considered a top candidate for the San Diego State head coaching job. Now, it appears the Aztecs have set their sights on another individual. Pete Thamel reported Tuesday that San Diego State has targeted Colorado offensive coordinator Sean Lewis to be their next head coach.

Lewis served as the co-offensive coordinator for Colorado this past season. Lewis had success prior to Colorado, as he was the head coach for Kent State from 2018-2022. The highlight during his tenure at Kent State was when his offense finished No.1 in yards per game with 606.5, according to a report from Thamel.

Lewis was still highly thought of in coaching circles despite a demotion to co-offensive coordinator at Colorado this season.

Sources: San Diego State has targeted Colorado OC Sean Lewis as the school's next coach, with a deal expected to come together soon. Lewis was a successful head coach at Kent State, where he led the school to its first-ever bowl win and had consistently high-end offenses.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 28, 2023

A good development for Nebraska Football

This is certainly a good development for the Nebraska football program. White has turned around the defensive unit. The Huskers finished the season ranked 14^th overall in total defense. Nebraska finished highly in several categories including eighth in run defense with 92.9 yards allowed per game. They also allowed only 2.95 yards per rushing attempt, per statistics from the NCAA.

Nebraska football will have several underclassmen returning on defense. Defensive lineman Ty Robinson announced his return last week. There has been positive news for the unit over the course of the last couple weeks. On top of this, Nebraska football shouldn’t undergo too much turnover defensively, as the unit will look to build upon what was a successful season.

This defense was fun to watch all season. They were undoubtedly one of the strengths of the program, and they played hard every single week. It’s been a long time since Nebraska football had a defense like what we saw in 2023. To have the chance to see it again is going to be exciting.

There is still an entire offseason of coaching hires to go. White is undoubtedly one of the more sought-after assistant coaches. San Diego State was thought to be one of the landing places for White. This news certainly means that things are trending in another direction.