Nebraska fans should brace for more change after Matt Rhule's comments on Mike Ekeler

If Nebraska fans hoped Matt Rhule would put talk of a potential Mike Ekeler exit to an end, they were very disappointed by his comments in a Wednesday morning interview. If anything, the Husker head coach indicated he's waiting to hear what his special teams coordinator will do, just like anyone else.

The pessimists among NU fans could even say that Rhule's comments seemed more like a "I tried but he's leaving," than "I'll do whatever it takes to keep him." Among the factors driving that vibe is the amount of time he spent assuring the public that if Ekeler leaves, the Cornhuskers will be just fine.

Matt Rhule’s comments hint at uncertainty surrounding Mike Ekeler’s Nebraska future

"I know Mike's in Nebraska, and he wanted to come back and be a part of this," Rhule said when asked about the situation, starting by saying, "I don't know."

"But, you know, people have other things, you know, like Mike's also been a defensive coordinator ... Obviously, we hired Rob to do the defense. Mike's done a great job on special teams. But if people want to take other jobs, all I can do is put them under contract and offer them extensions and hope that they stay."

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Ekeler was hoping he would be given the defensive coordinator job when John Butler was fired. It even sounds like the relationship between the two coaches has soured since Rob Aurich was hired instead.

On the other hand, Rhule also made it clear that they did offer Ekeler a raise as defensive coordinator that would make him one of, if not the highest paid, coaches at his position. Still, Rhule said offered. He didn't say it was accepted. Is that where things started to sour?

Rhule going out of his way to assure people that if Ekeler -who is rumored to be pursued by USC for the same position with the Trojans - does leave, Nebraska will be just fine.

"He taught us a great system of special teams. He taught us a great teaching progression. And I've got some guys here, Josh Martin, Nick Humphrey, who. You know, were his right-hand, right-hand guys. I have a guy, Brett Maher, who kicked in the NFL, who's brilliant. So I hope Mike's back. I love working with him. If a team pursues him and he decides to leave, I do have the guys and the system in place, though, to just do it from within."

"I hope he's a Husker. You know, I brought him here to be here a long time. But you know, what? Just like there's a transfer portal for players, coaches also have that same right. You know, we build buyouts and all this stuff into our contracts. But if a guy... wants to leave and he can leave."

Nebraska fans worried about losing a coach who turned around special teams from an incredible weakness into a strength of the 2026 season should buckle up. It doesn't sound like Mike Ekeler will be in Lincoln much longer.