Even if the Nebraska football team loses its next five games, Matt Rhule's job in Lincoln is almost certainly safe for one more season. The same can't be said for a second former Husker assistant who has been fired in the last two weeks. On Sunday, former NU offensive coordinator Jay Norvell joined what is now a list of 10 head coaches who have been fired this season.
Norvell was in his fourth season at Colorado State. The Rams were 8-5 in 2024 but fell back in 2025 and rank outside the top 100 in both points scored and points allowed this season. CSU went 18-26 in his time with the school and improved in each of his first three seasons. However, despite a big upset of Fresno State last week, they've lost three of four.
Norvel also joins Trent Bray, who was the linebackers coach for Nebraska under former head coach Mike Riley, on the unemployment line. Bray spent the last year and a half as the head coach at Oregon State.
Former Nebraska OC Jay Norvell joins growing list of fired head coaches
Last season, he led the Beavers to a 5-7 season, but was 0-7 this year before being fired with five games to go. He was once a fan favorite, having been the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator under now Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith. However, there were rumors and whisperings of a program in disarray under Bray's watch in 2025.
Jay Norvell was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Huskers from 2004 to 2006 under former head coach Bill Callahan. Since leaving NU, he's coached at UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona State. He was the head coach at Nevada before being hired at Colorado State.
Oddly enough, Bray was briefly the head coach for the Nebraska football program. When Mike Riley was fired after the 2017 season, Bray was named the interim head coach. His job was to hold down the fort until Riley's permanent replacement (Scott Frost) was named after UCF finished its season.