Former Nebraska football defensive coordinator Tony White is getting the band back together. Since White was hired at Florida State earlier this week, he’s staffed up the assistants in a way that has a decidedly Husker feel to it.
First, he took defensive line coach Terrance Knighton with him. That move was rumored from the first moment that White was hired away. It became official on National Signing Day. Now he’s hired away another former NU assistant.
On Saturday morning, the Seminoles named former Nebraska football defensive backs coach Evan Cooper to the staff. Cooper was let go from the Huskers’ staff just ahead of the 2024 season for reasons that have never been divulged. Whatever it was, it appears it was more offensive to head coach Matt Rhule than his defensive coordinator.
Nebraska football fans left scratching their heads over Evan Cooper
The shoving out of the door of Cooper was a great mystery for a few weeks this past summer, primarily because of how close to the regular season it came. The change at the position became a big more irritating as the season went on, and the Huskers’ secondary was seen as underachieving, especially from November on.
Former Buffalo Bills assistant John Butler took over for Cooper once he was gone. While Butler has a reputation for being an elite secondary coach, NU’s defensive backfield struggled mightily in games against Indiana, UCLA, and USC, routinely leaving receivers wide open.
Despite those struggles, Butler is considered the odds-on favorite to become the Nebraska football defensive coordinator, though such a move hasn’t been announced yet.