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Nebraska Football's Cold, Quiet Offseason Hits Melting Point

The quiet offseason for Nebraska football has ramped up in recent weeks. What happened? And what's the truth heading into year four of the Matt Rhule era?
Kaleb Henry|
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

The calmest offseason in memory just couldn't go on forever.

Halfway through an offseason between a second straight 7-6 campaign and year four of the Matt Rhule era, heated conversations are back on the menu about Husker football. The ice caps of a quiet offseason are melting quickly.

How did we get here and where does the truth lie for this program?

Why was it so quiet?

Nebraska limped into the offseason with a 1-4 stretch to close out the 2025 campaign. That included three straight losses by a combined score of 121-48.

In the middle of that stretch, several coaching changes were made. Nebraska has new coaches at defensive coordinator, defensive line, special teams, edges, safeties, and offensive line.

Offensive line coach Geep Wade during the 2026 Nebraska football spring game
New offensive line coach Geep Wade during the 2026 Nebraska football spring game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Then came the transfer portal. There's no doubt that Nebraska made much-needed improvements at several positions. There's a new starting quarterback in Lincoln and upgrades on both sides of the line. But there wasn't exactly a game-breaking, high-end addition that sparks the kind of excitement to carry an offseason.

Spring ball was then moved up, culminating in a Red-White Spring Game that was played before April even arrived.

All of this was going on while Nebraska men's basketball was putting together the greatest season in program history. There simply wasn't time for an apathetic fan base to spend time diving into the latest news from a spring football press conference when Fred Hoiberg had his team finishing second in the Big Ten and then pushing on to the Sweet 16.

What changed?

About a month after that spring game, the NFL draft came and went with just a single Husker being taken. The 2025 Big Ten Running Back of the Year, Emmett Johnson, wasn't taken until the fifth round.

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson was selected 161st overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson was selected 161st overall by the Kansas City Chiefs. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Conversations about Rhule's developmental program began to sprout up again.

Was Rhule successful at his Temple and Baylor because of his ability to develop, or was it because he did more with returning players and then moved up the ladder to his next job? Was there a problem with identifying talent to come to Lincoln? Were "his guys" just not old enough yet to be draft eligible as he's entering year four?

Those questions continued, and then Rhule spent nearly an hour with Hurrdat Sports Live discussing everything from the spring calendar to toughness to NIL. That opened the floodgates for the microscopes to come out and the criticisms to crank back up.

Let's be clear, this wasn't simply a talking point among the media and talk shows. This was everywhere on social media for Husker fans to chime in on, and they did just that.

On the media side, John Bishop asked about toxicity in the 21st century. Ravi Lulla decried nobody ever being able to be happy. Mike Schaefer put together one of the best rants of the offseason. And Mike'l Severe asked an awkwardly worded poll about belief in Rhule.

This led into a former Husker going on a local radio show and making his opinion on Rhule clear. Now, former Huskers have always had their voices rise above the rest when it comes to opinions on the team. Jason Peter's Friday segment on 93.7 The Ticket became fodder throughout the weekend.

Prior to that appearance, Peter voiced his opinion on social media about Rhule's interview on Hurrdat Live Sports, noting his belief that Nebraska's toughness is not up to standards right now.

All of these questions follow volleyball winning the Big Ten and getting a 1-seed, men's basketball's run to the Sweet 16, women's basketball back in the NCAA Tournament, wrestling finishing top four at the national championships, baseball having a solid season, and softball having just won the league outright for the first time in 22 years, just to name a few.

Plenty of Husker teams are holding up their end of the deal as football continues to struggle.

The truth

Going into year four, a lot of people have decided that they're already out on Rhule. A lot, but not everyone.

There are still plenty of fans, and media, who acknowledge that college football in 2026 is different than it was in 2016 or 2006 or 1996. The transfer portal, NIL, revenue sharing, and constantly updating rules make comparisons to many teams of the past moot.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule huddles with the offense during the 2026 Red-White Spring Game.
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule huddles with the offense during the 2026 Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Did the year three Matt Rhule bump happen? Not in the wins and losses. Is the program better going into the back half of the 2020s than it was to open the decade? Undoubtedly.

Of course, the schedule this fall is also projected to be of a tougher nature. That means Nebraska could theoretically put out its best team in a decade and still finish 6-6. Is that improvement for the naysayers or simply another datapoint against a career .500 head coach?

Here's the biggest truth of the matter. Even if you've decided already that Rhule is not the guy, he can't get Nebraska "back" - whatever "back" means to you - and he won't continue to make incremental progress as he's done over the first three seasons...he isn't going anywhere.

Rhule signed his contract extension after the 6-2 start last fall. That takes him out through the 2032 season. If Nebraska posts a record that is a step back from the previous two seasons, and you want to fire him, he would be owed $63.36 million. That number steadily declines to $33.2 million after the 2029 season, $21.96 million the next year, and $10.7 million after the penultimate season of his current deal.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule smiles during the 2026 Red-White Spring Game.
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule smiles during the 2026 Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

In a day and age where every dollar is more valuable than it was a decade ago, the cycle of hiring and firing coaches for large sums of money can be more hurtful than giving them additional time to get a program rolling.

This isn't to say that programs won't make those decisions and pay the buyouts, but Nebraska isn't too far removed from the Go Big Project's $155 million price tag and is rolling into Memorial Stadium renovations that will run at least $600 million. This doesn't include renovations to the Devaney Center or Haymarket Park or Bowlin Stadium or any other increases in costs around the athletic department.

Is Rhule the coach who is going to get Nebraska back to eight or nine wins consistently? Can he consistently beat the teams in Nebraska's current neighborhood so that the next step is just about taking on the Ohio States and Oregons and Michigans and Indianas of the league? Can he get the Huskers into the College Football Playoff?

I'll be honest: I don't know.

But I will say this, I'm also not going to let how I feel about the first three seasons or any off the field distractions stop me from wanting the program to take another step in 2026 and then continue to do so in 2027 and beyond. If anything, the run for Nebrasketball and what the bat and ball sports are doing this spring has made me more optimistic in wanting a product that unites Husker fans around success. No fan base deserves it more.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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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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