Nebraska Football: Departure of Mike Dawson will be felt by program
Nebraska Football is losing a tremendous coach in Mike Dawson.
More bad news came Nebraska football’s way on Monday, this time in the form of an assistant coach leaving for the National Football League. Then again, maybe that is good news as we certainly wish Nebraska football connections success and advancement in their careers. However, it cannot be understated that the departure of Mike Dawson will leave a hole in the program.
The former defensive line coach for Nebraska football, Dawson accepted a position with the New York Giants as an outside linebacker coach on Monday.
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Dawson was a friend of head coach Scott Frost’s and had followed Frost to Nebraska. He went to UCF in the 2016 campaign as part of Frost’s staff. He ended up joining Nebraska football last offseason and made an immediate impact. During his time in Lincoln, he was known as one of the best recruiters on the coaching staff.
As a defensive unit in 2018, the Huskers saw tremendous improvement with Dawson leading the way. They flew 27 spots up the defensive ranking boards. In addition, they finished 34th nationally in pass efficiency defense. There was no doubt that Dawson left his mark on the program. Perhaps his biggest impact came on the recruiting trail.
Most recently, he was in charge of recruiting Rahmir Johnson and Casey Rogers. Dawson was known to be a very good recruiter, particularly in the Northeastern part of the country. Johnson will figure to be a big part of the Nebraska backfield in the coming years. Rogers was part of the 2018 class but did not see the field much at all last year. That may change in 2019.
Now, Nebraska will have to find a replacement as spring practices begin. It will not be easy to replace a guy like Dawson. He has tremendous pedigree and stature as a coach and that will certainly be missed from the program. One thing is for certain, the new coach will have to have the same vision as Frost. That is what would be best for the program. Frost has a good thing going in Lincoln, and he does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
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Unfortunately, this is the nature of the business. Dawson should bring tremendous success to New York and he should offer a young team quite a bit as outside linebackers coach. Even with his departure, Nebraska should be very thankful for his services and I think they are. He was truly a tremendous asset while he was in Lincoln.