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Nebraska Officially Announces Hiring of Mike Ekeler as Special Teams Coordinator

The Huskers have made the hiring of Mike Ekeler official.

Kaleb Henry

Tennessee assistant coach Mike Ekeler during a 2022 game.
Tennessee assistant coach Mike Ekeler during a 2022 game. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Nebraska football officially has a new special teams coordinator.

The announcement came Tuesday morning that Mike Ekeler has joined Matt Rhule's staff. The Nebraska native brings more than two decades of college coaching experience back to Lincoln.

"Mike Ekeler brings a history of special teams excellence to Nebraska," Rhule said. "His work with Tennessee’s special teams has been elite. Regardless of what statistics you look at over the past four years, Tennessee’s special teams have been at or near the top in the nation. Mike’s energy and true passion for special teams carries over to the players on his units and that will have a positive impact on our program."

Nebraska Cornhuskers linebackers coach Mike Ekeler (right) celebrates with Tyler Wortman (53).
Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler celebrates with Tyler Wortman after Wortman intercepted a pass against Colorado in 2008. / Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

Ekeler previously coached at Nebraska as linebackers coach from 2008-10, helping the Huskers to a pair of Big 12 Championship game appearances.

"I am unbelievability excited to have the opportunity to come back to Nebraska and join Coach Rhule’s staff," Ekeler said. "I love what Coach Rhule is building at Nebraska, his hard-nosed approach and his vision for making Nebraska’s special teams the best in the nation.

"I was born and raised in Nebraska, my parents live in Fremont, so this is home. I grew up in Memorial Stadium watching my uncle, All-American Bob Martin, play for the Huskers. One of the highlights of my coaching career was being at Nebraska from 2008 to 2010. Each stop in my career since then has molded me into a better coach and I appreciate everyone who has impacted me and prepared me for this opportunity to come back to Nebraska and help get this program back to the top of college football."

This past season, his fourth at Tennessee, Ekeler helped the Volunteers go 10-3 and earn a bid to the College Football Playoff. His other coaching stops include Indiana, USC, Georgia, North Texas, North Carolina, and Kansas. He began his career as a volunteer coach at Omaha Skutt High School.

Ekeler was a linebacker and special teams stalwart for Coach Bill Snyder’s Kansas State teams from 1991-94.

Earlier this week, the Omaha World-Herald reported that Ekeler will make $625,000 per season. That's more than the $550,000 per season Ed Foley was making at the same position.

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Kaleb Henry
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. 

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