Matt Rhule Officially Hires Pat Stewart as General Manager for Nebraska Football

A new age of college football includes a new general manager for Nebraska.

Kaleb Henry | Mar 11, 2025

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

A new age of college football is here.

As programs grasp with the expansion of name, image, likeness, the persistence of the transfer portal, and upcoming revenue sharing, general managers are being hired to aid head coaches. Nebraska has officially hired a new one as well in Pat Stewart.

Stewart joins Matt Rhule’s staff after spending the past two seasons as the director of pro personnel for the New England Patriots. He previously worked with the Carolina Panthers from 2020-22, while Rhule was the head coach.

In his role at Nebraska, Stewart will lead the Huskers’ roster management and player acquisition, including high school and transfer portal recruiting, evaluation, and retention.

“We are moving into an era in college football where roster management and retention more closely resembles the National Football League model,” Rhule said. “Pat Stewart will help us manage our roster and operate in a way that will help give Nebraska the opportunity to compete as one of the elite programs in the country. Pat and I have experience working together in the past, and I look forward to him joining our Nebraska Football family.”

In addition to his experience at the professional level, Stewart also worked in college football early in his career working on the same staff as Rhule at both Western Carolina and Temple.

“There are few, if any, institutions as capable of transitioning to this new era of roster construction as Nebraska,” Stewart said. “That is a testament to Director of Athletics Troy Dannen, Coach Rhule and the rest of the administration for their commitment to continuing the build on the proud and storied legacy of Nebraska Football. I’m honored to work with Coach again, as well as the staff he has assembled, and offer my experience in personnel as we build and maintain a roster that the Greatest Fans in College Football will be proud of. The energy and culture of the program has been evident in the short time I have been here, and this is an exciting time for my family and I to join the Nebraska Football Family.”

As part of a front office re-organization, previous GM Sean Padden will move into the role of Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Intelligence. His focus will be on cap analysis and compensation trends, stakeholder engagement, contract negotiations, data analytics leadership, collaboration and implementations and project management.

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Published Mar 11, 2025|Modified Mar 11, 2025

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.