Rhule-Holgorsen Relationship a Work in Progress

It's not often you have two coaches on a staff with the head coaching pedigrees of Matt Rhule and Dana Holgorsen, but it's how the two work together that will determine Nebraska's fate in 2025.

If utilized correctly, the combination of Matt Rhule and Dana Holgorsen on the same coaching staff could wreak havoc on the rest of college football. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The 2025 Nebraska football coaching staff has been packed with story lines all offseason long.

Last year's defensive coordinator, Tony White, left for the same role at Florida State. Someone should ask Alabama fans if that was a good move for the Seminoles.

Florida State DC Tony White’s unit had a masterful performance in the victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

They were able to effectively hold the Crimson Tide to only 87 rushing yards.

-First Drive: 12 carries for 54 yards

-Rest of the Game: 17 carries for 33 yards pic.twitter.com/cGA1kxkCu9

— Norvell Central (@CentralNorvell) August 31, 2025

That departure led to the promotion of John Butler as DC in Lincoln, and through one game, the verdict is still out. There were plenty of things to be both happy with and unsatisfied with in Nebraska’s 20-17 win over Cincinnati.

However, the biggest coaching staff headline for 2025 might be from a decision not to leave in the offseason. Nebraska’s offense was sputtering under Matt Rhule-appointed offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, so in came former West Virginia and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen.

Considered one of the best offensive minds in the game, Holgorsen righted the ship somewhat to end last season, culminating in a Pinstripe Bowl win over Boston College. After the win, Rhule convinced Holgorsen to stay on as OC in 2025, making it the first full season Nebraska’s seen in a while where two of the coaches on staff come with plenty of head coaching experience.

In the latest Daily Drop, @JacobTurnerNC discusses what went wrong in #UNC's loss to TCU and if #TarHeels fans should be worried 📹https://t.co/LDP9fmyLcm

— TarHeel247 (@Heel247) September 3, 2025

The last was former UConn head coach Bob Diaco, who served as defensive coordinator for the Huskers under then-head coach Mike Riley. That didn’t end well then, and it’s not starting off well for Diaco now in his new role as defensive line coach at North Carolina under Bill Belichick. TCU ran for 258 yards against Diaco's defensive front, averaging 7.4 yards per carry in the 48-14 Horned Frogs win Monday night.

Back in Lincoln, though, head coach Matt Rhule is working with a staff that has certainly been around the block, and that’s headed up by Holgorsen. Whenever you have two coaches who have both run programs on the same staff, sometimes it works, and as Nebraska saw with Diaco, sometimes it doesn’t.

What’s interesting about the start of the first full season with Rhule and Holgorsen is the dialogue that’s come out of the opener.

Dana Holgorsen looks down the sideline after a Nebraska touchdown against Cincinnati. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

It’s evident that neither was completely satisfied with the offensive output. Holgorsen admitted 20 points wasn’t enough and lamented the lack of big plays from an offense that’s expected to make quite the leap from year two to year three under Rhule.

What particularly caught the attention of the state media was one point of mild disagreement from the two coaches that made it into their weekly press conferences. Rhule wanted to see more running backs worked into the game, but Holgorsen made the call in the moment to ride with the hot hand of Emmett Johnson.

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson carried the load, and most of the team's total carries against Cincinnati in NU's season opener. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

It’s a heck of a lot easier to discuss player usage after a win, but you could tell the two experienced a philosophical difference against the Bearcats.

“I wasn’t happy with it,” Rhule said. “Dana — he made the call, and I let my coordinators coach. I wanted to get Isaiah (Mozee) and Mekhi (Nelson) in, but once Dana said ‘hey coach, I made that call,’ I was like ‘okay cool.’”

Holgorsen on Tuesday stood firm on his decision.

“I don’t regret that,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win the game. You know, we handed the ball off to Isaiah twice early, and it just didn’t look good. He’s still trying to figure things out.”

The key point both agreed on was that in a close game, to start the year no less, going with the sure hands of Johnson seemed to be the safest bet.

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson proved to be the hot hand against Cincinnati, accounting for 25 of the team's 36 rushes. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“You had two freshmen on the sidelines,” Holgorsen said of Nelson and Mozee. “The way that game was, it was a close, hard-fought game — (Johnson) was rolling. He played his tail off. (He) ran hard, was good in pass protection, was good in the passing game, minus the one drop. I’ve never seen him drop a pass in practice, let alone in a game. Player of the game in my mind.”

“Emmett was hot, and we went with Emmett,” Rhule said Monday. “I wanted to play them more, but Dana was feeling it. He went with what he went with, and that’s his call. I was good with it once he said that.”

What’s important to note about the press conference weavings of Rhule and his OC is the respect the two have for each other, and a public disagreement like that can likely only happen between two coaches who have seen their fair share of criticism and disagreement.

Dana Holgorsen hasn't been shy about working through a running back usage issue in the aftermath of the team's season-opening win against Cincinnati. | Kaleb Henry

They both have seen immense success leading to major promotions, and they’ve both been fired for not meeting their next program’s expectations. So, for two coaches who are feeling themselves out in the early part of the season, it’s almost more of a testament to their relationship than a chink in the armor of the coaching staff.

Their willingness to discuss open game planning with the media is a level of transparency that hasn’t been seen from a Nebraska coaching staff in quite some time. As for where they go from here, they both agree that more hands need to touch the ball in the backfield.

“That can’t keep happening,” Holgorsen said of having to rely on the hot hand in a game. “I don’t care who we play this week, that has to change.”

“I’m just biding my time with those guys,” Rhule said of the rest of the running back room. “We’ll have to play more guys.”

---

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.