Nebraska to Add Roy Manning as Edge Rushers Coach

Nebraska football's next assistant addition appears to be near.

Matt Rhule is adding San Diego State edge rusher coach Roy Manning, according to multiple reports. He'll continue coaching that position in Lincoln.

Coaching Experience

Manning has coached several positions in his 16 years at the collegiate ranks. He began as a defensive assistant at Cincinnati in 2010 before moving on to a graduate assistant role at Michigan the next year. He returned to the Bearcats as running backs coach in 2012 before leaving for Ann Arbor again to coach outside linebackers in 2013 and cornerbacks in 2014.

He moved west and coached outside linebackers at Washington State for a few years before coaching that same position plus special teams at UCLA in 2018. After three seasons with the cornerbacks at Oklahoma, he returned to Los Angeles to coach outside linebackers while also operating as the assistant head coach for the defense.

Roy Manning spent several seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, Michigan. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This past season, he coached the edge rushers at San Diego State. He helped the Aztecs to finish in the top five nationally for scoring defense, allowing 12.6 points a game.

As Nebraska tallied just 19 sacks as a team in 2025, SDSU's top four edge rushers combined for 28 sacks. The Aztecs had 32 sacks as a team.

Prior to Coaching

Manning played linebacker at Michigan from 2000-04. In 37 games, including 10 starts in his final season, he totaled 72 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, and three sacks.

After going undrafted in 2005, he was picked up by the Green Bay Packers. He would also spend time with the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cincinnati Bengals over his three-year NFL career.

Over those three years, he saw action in 20 games, finishing with 31 tackles.

Defensive Staff Moves

Manning is the second addition to the Nebraska defensive staff that has seen two coaches let go.

To open the month of December, Rhule released a statement that he had fired defensive coordinator John Butler.

"I informed John Butler earlier today that he will not be retained as defensive coordinator, effective immediately," Rhule said in a release. "We thank John for his contributions to our football program over the past two seasons and wish him the best moving forward in his coaching career."

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule (right) and defensive coordinator John Butler on the sideline during the 2025 game vs. Iowa — Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator John Butler on the sideline during the 2025 game against Iowa. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

At his first media appearance of the bowl season, Rhule also announced the departure of defensive line coach Terry Bradden.

"I let Terry Bradden go as the defensive line coach," Rhule said at the end of his opening statement. on Monday. "We're actively pursuing what we'll do, defensive line-wise."

Butler was replaced by Rob Aurich, who was at San Diego State the last two years, taking over as defensive coordinator in 2025. Manning does not necessarily replace Bradden in full, with Bradden coaching the entire defensive line.

What remains up in the air is if Nebraska will hire a defensive line coach to handle the interior play.

Elijah Robinson has been a hot name over the past several days. He had appeared to be heading to join Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge, but Football Scoop has reported that Nebraska and others are attempting to lure him away.

Robinson is a former Rhule assistant from both Temple and Baylor. Since then, he spent several seasons at Texas A&M before working as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse and handling the defensive line.

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