Nebraska Football: Reviewing The Overall Coaching Bill

B+. 2016 saw a defensive overhaul with John Parrella taking over defensive line duties and Banker aiding in tutoring the safeties. <p>The result was a scoring defense ranked No. 31 overall, but the story goes far beyond that. Nebraska’s rushing defense checked in at No. 34. This was an area of severe concern during the preseason.</p> <p>The Blackshirt passing defense was alright with a ranking of No. 42 but did an excellent job creating turnovers with 16 interceptions. There wasn’t much Banker could do to stem the tide of the Ohio State offense and the effort at Iowa was simply unacceptable.</p> <p>On the whole, 2016 was a big step in the right direction.</p>. Defensive Coordinator. $580,663. MARK BANKER

Major value hire. When Riley brought Parrella on, it was a wait-and-see hire for many. It turned out that the former Blackshirt had all of the passion necessary to instill fire in the front four. While a pass rush was lacking in 2016, running backs didn’t average anywhere near as much yardage as was anticipated. In Parrella’s defense, he was working with a lack of true pass rushing talent on the ends. <p>He had a converted tight end in Freedom Akinmoladun and a walk-on in Ross Dzuris that, despite being a very reliable tackler, was a step too slow. This is another instance of young talent eventually stepping in and providing him with what he needs. On the recruiting trail, he’s impressed by helping to bring in two defensive ends and another pair of defensive tackles in this class alone.</p>. Defensive Line Coach. $250,000. JOHN PARRELLA. A+

B. Another fine recruiter, Bray’s linebackers seemed a bit lethargic this year. Josh Banderas was poised for a major senior season, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time far too often. Dedrick Young appeared to have a bit of a sophomore slump as he didn’t show the same speed he exhibited during his freshman campaign. Michael Rose-Ivey was more or less effective. With Banderas and Rose-Ivey departing, this is another position where redshirted players and fresh recruits should make an impact in 2017.. Linebackers Coach. $300,000. TRENT BRAY

B. A bit of an underrated recruiter, Stewart worked with the secondary as a whole in 2015 before Banker stepped in to help with the safeties and, well, we’ve been over this. The secondary will be a team effort again in 2017 as Stewart takes over work with the safeties in the hopes that they continue their ball-hawking ways. If they can step up yet again (or dare I say improve), that’s money well spent.. Safeties Coach. $425,000. BRIAN STEWART

$400,000. DONTé WILLIAMS. A+. Another ace recruiter with the last name of Williams. Who’d have thought? Interesting side note, Williams was making all of $218,900 at Arizona and $116,296 just two years ago at San Jose State. Someone’s moving up in the world. <p>He hit the ground running as Nebraska enters the home stretch of the 2017 recruiting cycle and is looking to pull in some major talent from the West Coast. The Arizona Wildcats were certainly upset to be losing him as both a coach and recruiter. If he lives up to the hype, both he and his fellow Williams should be getting paid for years to come.</p>. Cornerbacks/Sub-Package Coach