Nebraska to promote Butler to DC, sources say

Nebraska is set to promote John Butler to defensive coordinator as part of a staff reshaping on that side of the ball, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Butler, who serves as Nebraska’s secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator, had already been named the team’s interim defensive coordinator for the team’s game against Boston College in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl in New York. He will replace Tony White, who left last week to become defensive coordinator at Florida State. Butler served as Penn State‘s defensive coordinator in 2013 and then followed coach Bill O’Brien to the Houston Texans, where he coached the secondary from 2014 to 2017.

Coach Matt Rhule last week said Butler would be considered for the permanent coordinator role and that he “brought [Butler in, knowing that at some point Tony was going to leave, whether it was a coordinator job or a head-coaching job.” Rhule also said he wanted to maintain the 3-3-5 defensive structure under White, which has worked well the past two seasons. Nebraska will have two new coordinators in 2025 as Dana Holgorsen, who took over offensive play-calling late in the regular season, has signed with the school.

Rhule also is set to name Phil Snow as the team’s associate head coach, sources told Thamel. Snow served as Rhule’s defensive coordinator at Temple, Baylor and with the Carolina Panthers. He joined the Nebraska staff as a consultant last month after spending 2023 as a senior defensive analyst for the Chicago Bears.

Nebraska also is set to hire Kansas City Chiefs assistant Terry Bradden as defensive line coach, replacing Terrance Knighton, who moved with White to Florida State. Bradden has spent the past eight seasons with the Chiefs, the past four as the team’s assistant defensive line coach. Sources tell ESPN he’ll finish the season with Kansas City before joining the Huskes. The south Florida native has collegiate experience with Bethune Cookman and Florida Atlantic.