It's been a busy week and a half for the Nebraska football team as Matt Rhule keeps reshuffling his staff now that the regular season is over. On Tuesday, that reshuffling included firing first-year defensive line coach Terry Bradden, and Rhule might already have his replacement in mind, as NU is rumored to be making a hard charge after Syracuse coach Elijah Robinson.
Robinson, one of the most respected defensive line coaches in college football and a longtime friend of Rhule, has worked under the head coach at several stops in his career. Almost immediately after Bradden's dismissal was announced, talk sparked up about Robinson being the target of NU's search.
The degree of difficulty here is that newly hired LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has designs on Robinson of his own. In fact, until very recently, it felt as though Robinson to the Bayou was a done deal. However, several experts, including On3's Pete Nakos, now believe it's far from an inevitability.
Nebraska accelerates DL coach search as Elijah Robinson emerges
"It’s very much in question at this point that Robinson, who is of interest to more than just LSU, ends up joining the Tigers’ staff. There’s some doubt at this stage that it ends up happening," CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz wrote via X.
Robinson could stay at Syracuse, though that seems extremely unlikely at this point. Orange head coach demoted Robinson from defensive coordinator to defensive line coach and co-DC at the end of this season. That's the biggest reason why many felt he was packing his bags for Baton Rouge.
However, with Nebraska suddenly having an opening for Robinson, Rhule may have relied on his long friendship with the defensive guru to lure him to Lincoln.