Once again, Nebraska football finds itself searching for a new coordinator under Matt Rhule.
The head man fired offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen on Saturday, following Nebraska’s 24-13 loss to Illinois, the fourth straight loss for the Huskers. Quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas will take over play-calling for the rest of the season.
Nebraska’s offense isn’t completely broken. The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten in total offense and rushing offense, and they also rank fourth in offensive touchdowns. However, Nebraska has struggled to finish drives as of late. In losses to Indiana and Washington, the Huskers had two drives of 10-plus plays end in zero points. In Friday night’s loss to Illinois, Nebraska had four drives of 11-plus plays end in zero points.
In addition, the Huskers struggle to move the ball consistently. Considering where Nebraska’s offense stands in total offense and rushing offense, the Huskers are tied for ninth in the conference in average yards per play and 14th in the conference in passing efficiency. In short, while Nebraska has racked up yards, they haven’t done so efficiently.
On Monday, Rhule laid out what he’s looking for in his next offensive coordinator.
“For me, when you think about what it takes to win in college football, you need to have an explosive offense,” Rhule said. “You need to have the ability to score points.”
Based off that statement, here are a few candidates that would make some sense
Rob Ezell
Wake Forest offensive coordinator Rob Ezell leads the one of the most explosive offenses in college football. The Demon Deacons rank fifth nationally in points per game, sixth nationally in yards per play, fifth in yards per pass and rank second in giveaways, averaging just 0.4 turnovers per game. In addition, Wake Forest is second nationally in explosive play rate and tied for third nationally in explosive plays per game. For reference, Nebraska ranks 12th in the Big Ten in explosive play rate.
Ezell joined Wake Forest’s staff prior to the 2025 season after four seasons at South Alabama, one as offensive coordinator and three as tight ends coach. In his lone season calling plays at South Alabama, his offense averaged 34.4 points and 441.8 yards per game. In 2025, Wake Forest scored 30 or more points six times and averaged over 28 points per game. This season, Wake Forest is averaging 43.4 points per game and 497 yards per game.
Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert is expected to be a popular candidate in this year’s coaching carousel but there is no guarantee Ezell sticks around with his current head coach; the two do not have a long history, having only spent the past two seasons together.
Kevin Decker
Memphis offensive coordinator Kevin Decker leads a Tigers offense that ranks eighth nationally in explosive play rate and is tied with Wake Forest in explosive plays per game (11.4). Decker is in his first season at Memphis after three years at Old Dominion. In 2025, the Monarchs went 10-3 while ranking seventh nationally in rushing offense and 15th nationally in total offense. Decker is young, with zero experience at the Power Four level, but his offensive system has had year-over-year success across multiple levels of college football.
Jerry Neuheisel
Northwestern stands No. 6 nationally in explosive play rate. Making a run at offensive coordinator Chip Kelly might be a little too steep, but one of the hottest young offensive minds in college football has played a key role to the Wildcats success this season. That’s quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel, who emerged as a promising young play-caller as interim offensive coordinator for UCLA late last fall.
In a three-game winning streak over then-No. 7 Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland, the Bruins averaged 422 yards of total offense and 33 points per game. Neuheisel has had a season to learn from Kelly, who’s running one of the most creative offenses in college football. Northwestern’s total numbers aren’t gaudy; the Wildcats rank top-40 in yards per game, points per game, yards per play and points per play. However, the Wildcats are efficient (No. 8 nationally in completion percentage, No. 2 in giveaways per game and No. 13 in time of possession percentage) and explosive (No. 6 nationally in explosive play rate and No. 11 in explosive plays per game).
Neuheisel has helped two dynamic, polarizing quarterbacks settle into efficient football. Last season it was Nico Iamaleava; this season it’s Aidan Chiles, who’s posted a 13:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, totaled 23 total touchdowns this fall and ranks fourth in the Big Ten in total offense per game.
Mitch Dahlen
A wild card of sorts, is Oregon State offensive coordinator Mitch Dahlen. He’s in his first season with the program and in his first season calling plays at the FBS level. He’s from Kalen Deboer’s tree, serving as assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach under Deboer at Fresno State (2020-2021), Washington (2022-2023) and Alabama (2024-2025). Dahlen is having immense success in his first season calling plays. Oregon State’s offense ranks fifth nationally in yards per game, 10th in yards per play and first in passing yards per game, and the Beavers rank top-20 in explosive play rate, success rate and EPA per play.
Dahlen likely lacks the balance Rhule is looking for (Oregon State ranks third nationally in pass play percentage). However, Oregon State’s offense ranks second nationally in power success (which measures the percentage of short-yardage plays that result in either a first down conversion or touchdown).
Balance is key in Rhule’s search as he also stated
Christian Taylor
“I want an offense that is physical, that can run the football, that can control the line of scrimmage,” he said in Monday’s press conference. “That doesn’t beat itself with turnovers and penalties and missed assignments, that’s detailed and disciplined. That’s exciting and explosive, that’s elite situationally.”
Based on that answer, Wyoming offensive coordinator Christian Taylor comes to mind. Now, Taylor is in his first season with the Cowboys, but previously served as the offensive coordinator at his alma mater William & Mary, from 2020-2023. He then joining the Buffalo Bills as a defensive quality control coach before transitioning into a role as both an offensive advisor and defensive assistant for the Bills.
Wyoming’s total offensive numbers won’t blow anyone away, but Taylor has led an impressive rushing attack. Wyoming ranks seventh nationally in rush play percentage, running the ball over 63% of the time. The Cowboys rank sixth nationally in yards per rush and No. 12 nationally in rushing yards per game, along with sixth nationally in power success and third nationally in line yards per carry. Safe to say, Wyoming’s offensive line is moving defenders off the ball consistently. The Cowboys are tied for 19th nationally in EPA per rush, rank second in the Mountain West in total yards per play and success rate and first in explosive play rate. In addition, Wyoming ranks top-25 in both penalties and penalty yards per game.
During his time at William & Mary, his alma mater, Taylor was named the 2023 American Football Coaches Association FCS assistant coach of the year, and he was also an FCS coordinator of the year finalist.
Dan Larson
North Dakota State offensive coordinator Dan Larson is another that comes to mind. Now in his eighth season at the program and his second season leading the Bison offense, Larson has extensive experience across multiple levels of football. He was the offensive coordinator for Macalester from 2008-2012. He took over as head coach at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, from 2016-2018 before joining North Dakota State’s staff as running backs coach in 2019. He was promoted to offensive line coach in 2020 before ascending to offensive coordinator prior to the 2025 season.
Larson has helped North Dakota State to a 7-2 record in the Bison’s first season at the FBS level. North Dakota State averages 26.9 points per game and 349.1 yards per game. Those are far from gaudy offensive numbers, but the Bison rank top-20 in rushing play percentage and time of possession percentage and top-30 in red zone scoring (91.3%).
Other names to know
Jason Beck
A ‘buy low’ candidate could be former Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck. Kyle Whittingham relieved Beck of his role just this past weekend amidst a dismal season across the board for the Wolverines. To say Michigan’s offense has struggled this season would be an understatement/ The Wolverines rank among the worst in points per game, yards per game, yards per play and red zone scoring. Beck’s track record prior to his lone season at Michigan is largely impressive though, and given the state of the program under Whittingham this season, other programs could view Beck’s lack of success this fall as an outlier.
In 2024, Beck led a New Mexico offense that ranked fourth nationally in total yards and fifth in rushing yards per game and led the Mountain West in red zone offense. In 2025, Beck joined Utah’s staff as offensive coordinator and brought quarterback Devon Dampier with him. The Utes finished 2025 ranked second nationally in rushing offense, fourth in total offense and fifth in scoring offense. Beck spent time at Syracuse 2022-2023, where he helped the program that finished 108th in pass efficiency rating the year prior to his arrival to 40th nationally. He served as Virginia’s quarterbacks coach from 2016-2021 under Bronco Mendenhall and prior to that, served as Taysom Hill’s quarterback coach at his alma mater, BYU.
Mike Locksley
Another ‘buy low’ candidate could be former Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. It’s been some time since Locksley has been in an offensive coordinator role, but the last time he was, he earned the Broyles Award. Locksley joined the Alabama staff as an offensive analyst in 2016 and moved to wide receivers coach in 2017. In 2018, Nick Saban promoted him to offensive coordinator and he led a Crimson Tide offense that averaged 45.6 points per game and 522 yards per game and finished third nationally in scoring.
Locksley has a long-standing relationship with Rhule but has already taken on a role as a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network, so it’s unclear whether he intends to return to coaching anytime soon.
Gordon Sammis
TCU offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis is another name to watch, though he’s in the midst of transforming the Horned Frogs’ offense. TCU’s offensive numbers won’t blow anyone away, but a transition from the Air Raid scheme TCU ran under Kendal Briles to Sammis’ more pro-style approach has taken time to implement. That said, TCU is top-30 in passing yards per game and third-down conversion rate.
Sammis joined TCU after four seasons at UConn. In his time with the Huskies, he was a two-time nominee for the Broyles Award. In 2025, Sammis’ coordinated the No. 12 scoring offense that finished No. 16 in yards per game and No. 6 in passing yards per game. He’s got an offensive line background and helped develop Christian Haynes and Chase Lundt into NFL Draft picks at UConn.
