Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Tony White tied to every opening, more

One of the weirdest things about the early coaching carousel is how many schools looking for coaches have ties to the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ DC

The coaching carousel hasn’t been going all that long this winter, but there have already been plenty of openings and already a few fillings. But one of the most interesting things is just how many of the schools involved in coaching searches this year have some sort of tie to Tony White.

Syracuse and San Diego State are the two schools that have gotten the most attention but there are at least two others that could qualify for this category. UTEP just fired their head coach earlier this week.

White played highschool football in El Paso, Texas. That’s a loose tie of course, but if he’s got a special place in his heart for the city, it counts as a decent tie. There’s also New Mexico, who fired their head coach on Saturday night.

The Nebraska football defensive coordinator coached linebackers at New Mexico in 2008. And White’s coaching mentor, the man who showed him the 3-3-5 defense, Rocky Long, has served multiple stints at the school, including 11 seasons as head coach.

None of this means that White is going to leave the Huskers for any of the four programs. But it’s certainly noteworthy how many schools could potentially target him.

Other Nebraska Cornhuskers news

Long-snapper Marco Ortiz is one step closer to taking home an award this offseason. This week, he was named a finalist for the The Patrick Mannelly Long Snapper Award. He, Wisconsin’s Peter Bowden and NC State’s Joe Shimko are the last three finalists. The winner of the award -given to the best long snapper in the country – will be named on December 9.

If you’re wondering what the Big Ten might look like next year without divisions, then look no further than the Mountain West this year. Computers used a complex formula to determine tiebreakers for the Mountain West championship game that will feature Boise State and UNLV. Whether using computers is better than divisions is up for you to decide. I just hope the Nebraska Cornhuskers might factor into the calculations.