Suppose Dayton Raiola's decommitting from the Nebraska football team just two weeks before signing day was a hint that his brother might be leaving the Huskers. In that case, Saturday's firing of Donovan Raiola is a massive shoe dropping.
Raiola has been under fire since before Matt Rhule took the helm of the Huskers. He was the offensive line coach under Scott Frost and was the prominent holdover when Rhule came in. As it turned out, it became clear he was kept at least in part because Rhule was about to steal the commitment of Dylan Raiola.
With Dayton looking for another school (he did not sign with anyone during the early period) and now Donovan on the way out, Dylan is headed elsewhere as well.
Statement from Rhule:
— Steve Marik (@Steve_Marik) December 6, 2025
“I informed Donovan Raiola today that he will not be retained as our offensive line coach. We thank Donovan for his contributions to Nebraska Football over the past four years and wish him the best moving forward.” https://t.co/wVlGyCGIgP
Nebraska football fires Donovan Raiola, waits for next shoe to drop
Rumblings did fire up in late November that Raiola was planning on seeing what other schools were out there. That his backup, freshman TJ Lateef, performed well enough, if not spectacularly, beyond the win over UCLA, has added fuel to that fire.
In his four seasons coaching the O-line, Raiola's unit allowed 109 sacks in 49 games. That averages out to 2.2 permitted per game. His unit also allowed a Minnesota school record nine sacks when the Gophers took down the Huskers 24-6 on October 17, 2025.
What's clear about this move is that Nebraska is now looking for replacements for its two least popular assistant coaches in Donovan Raiola and John Butler. The fallout from those firings might not settle for a while.