Tony White is a hot commodity in the coaching carousel and Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule isn’t going to stand in his way.
At Monday’s press conference, Matt Rhule let everyone know what we all suspected to be true. Tony White is a hot coaching commodity, and the phones are ringing for him.
Rhule has always made it clear that he is happy for assistants to work up the coaching chain and to find head coaching opportunities at other locations, he said as much at his Monday press conference.
"One of the sad things for me in my career is not many of my guys have gotten head coaching opportunities. I just feel like the way we do things, the attention to detail, the way we care about our players, the way we recruit would be really good for a lot of places."
In his mind, if an assistant is with him, he’s there for the players, loves football, and is knowledgeable in their capacity. Being that this is why they were hired onto the staff, it makes giving public approval as a head coaching candidate very easy.
His strong words did come with a stern warning for the current defensive coordinator. In any aspect of life, it is important to make sure expectations, commitment, and vision align, especially in the world of football.
Adversity will strike during the season, if you have people on the same page it is easier to navigate together. If athletic departments, and other important decision makers have differing philosophies, and mindsets as to how to achieve success, that will spell doom for a program.
People will naturally become defensive, and factions will break off into their corners insisting that the blame is somewhere else, outside of their control. This reality is what led Matt Rhule to say the following:
"Don’t take a job where the expectations outweigh the commitment."
With the Nebraska football program showing that it is willing to invest in the program. You have to wonder if Rhule is talking to the powers that be in Lincoln.
Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White has been linked to multiple vacant head coaching positions.
— Kevin Sjuts (@kevinsjuts) November 20, 2023
Here's Matt Rhule on White & his candidacy:
"Go get a job. I told Tony (White) don't take the wrong one." pic.twitter.com/93pe7zlVrJ
Is he asking for more funding in certain areas behind the scenes? Or is he asking for Nebraska football administrators to open up the checkbook to secure White? Or is it just simply good advise for White and other aspiring coaches?
One way or another, it looks like the Matt Rhule coaching tree is going to blossom a little more this spring.