Dana Holgorsen’s cure for boredom is to work on turning around Nebraska’s struggling offense
FILE - Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen watches from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Nov. 25, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Dana Holgorsen’s motivation for joining Nebraska as a late-season replacement offensive coordinator boiled down to one thing.
“I was bored,” he said with a laugh Tuesday.
Holgorsen was working as a consultant on TCU’s staff when Nebraska coach Matt Rhule invited him to Lincoln just over two weeks ago to help sort out the Cornhuskers’ offensive problems.
The 53-year-old Holgorsen brought a fresh set of eyes and a reputation as one of the college game’s top authorities on offense. He had worked eight years for Mike Leach at Texas Tech, was offensive coordinator at Houston and Oklahoma State and was head coach at West Virginia for eight years and at Houston for five.
Holgorsen said Rhule called him last December, a few days after Houston fired him, and asked if he was interested in the coordinator’s job.
“I didn’t think it was fair to him, me or the program to do it at that point,” Holgorsen said. “I was tired. I had been through a lot and just didn’t have to do it at that point. I didn’t feel like I was ready to give it my all.”
Holgorsen said he appreciated the chance to work at TCU for Sonny Dykes but that his role was unfulfilling. He said he missed the coaching part on game days.
The Cornhuskers’ offense has struggled in Big Ten play, and Rhule summoned Holgorsen the day after a Nov. 2 loss to UCLA.
“I was grateful to him for saying that, ‘I need your help,’” Holgorsen said. “I think a great deal of him. I think a great deal of this program. I was excited to jump on it.”
Holgorsen’s arrival comes as the Huskers try to show progress in Rhule’s second year and become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016.
“It’s shocking to me that it’s been that long since a program like this has been to a bowl game,” Holgorsen said. “Doesn’t make any sense to me. But it is where we’re at.”
Holgorsen said his original tasks were to break down the offense on video, learn the verbiage and personnel and get on the practice field and offer blunt assessments.
“I didn’t come here with the intention of being the offensive coordinator and the play-caller,” he said. “We didn’t know what it was going to look like. He’s just like, ‘Hurry up and get here.’ So I got here and started digging into it. My job is to wake up and try to make it better every single day.”
Rhule announced Nov. 11 that Holgorsen would replace Marcus Satterfield as offensive coordinator for the rest of the season. Nebraska is paying Holgorsen $66,667 for November. His status beyond this month is undetermined.
Satterfield stayed on as tight ends coach, and Holgorsen said Satterfield and the other assistants have acted professionally under the unusual circumstances and helped him assimilate.
Holgorsen’s first game was last week’s 28-20 road loss to Southern California. The Huskers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) are on a four-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s home game against Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4).
Holgorsen said his initial impressions were that while there is ample talent, running backs need to be more confident hitting holes and the receivers need to do a better job of perimeter blocking.
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, the program’s highest-ranked recruit, gives Holgorsen a good starting point for turning around the offense.
“He’s a very, very bright young man,” Holgorsen said. “How is this kid a freshman? Because how can you process all this information as a freshman? He knows what he knows. He knows the plays. He knows the offense. He knows how to communicate it to the players.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football