If John Butler is the guy . . .
We should probably get to know a little about Nebraska's new secondary coach, presuming he is the guy.
Well, you can’t say Nebraska Athletics is ever boring.
On Friday, a report surfaced from ESPN’s Pete Thamel that Nebraska secondary coach Evan Cooper resigned.1 Cooper's departure was cited "for personal reasons," and it did come as a shock to most. He was one of head coach Matt Rhule’s key talent evaluators, and he helped Nebraska finish with the No. 14 pass efficiency defense in college football in 2024.
But there’s no rest for the weary. While specifics surrounding Cooper’s departure remain undisclosed at this time, Rhule and the Huskers are already moving forward with plans to fill his role.
In fact, Thamel reported Saturday that the name Nebraska was targeting as its next secondary coach was John Butler. He will also serve as the Huskers’ defensive passing game coordinator — if he ends up being the guy, of course.
So, how did we get here? First, let’s get to know a little more about Butler.
Who is John Butler?
Butler brings a wealth of experience and a notable track record from his time with the Buffalo Bills, where he most recently served as the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. Under his guidance, the Bills' defense consistently ranked among the top in the NFL. From 2018-23, Buffalo’s defense ranked:
Second in the NFL in points allowed
First in passing yards per game
First in yards per completion
First in yards per attempt
First in touchdown passes allowed
Sixth in completion percentage
Second in interceptions
Second in receiver fumbles lost
First in opponent passer rating
First in passing first downs
First in average depth per target
Second in air yards allowed per completion
Fifth in yards after the catch
Not bad.
Butler decided to voluntarily leave the Bills after the 2023 season when head coach Sean McDermott overhauled the staff and promoted the linebackers coach to the defensive coordinator role.
Butler told The Athletic in February that the decision to leave — even despite the remaining year on his contract — came because he was ready to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL or at the college level.
“People are probably wondering why a guy who’s had so much production and so many great things to say about the organization is leaving,” Butler said. “There doesn’t have to be a crazy story behind it. I just want to run a defense in the NFL or college football. I want that opportunity, and I don’t want to wait.”
Wait a minute. You just said he wants to be a defensive coordinator, but this sounds like a lateral move.
It’s no secret that Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White was highly sought after this past offseason. It feels like his move to becoming a head coach is coming sooner rather than later. If that pans out, a move to Nebraska would be a smart play for Butler.
It’s also very possible this was a negotiation point for Rhule. If Butler is the guy for Nebraska — the Huskers had not made an announcement by the time this newsletter was scheduled2 — the potential to take over as defensive coordinator following White may have been enough to seal the deal.
Does he have Big Ten ties?
He does. He served as the special teams coach/linebackers coach at Minnesota from 2007-10, and was at Penn State from 2012-13 (where he was the defensive backs coach in 2012 and the defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach in 2013).
Following Penn State, he went to the Houston Texans and then to the Buffalo Bills.
Sounds good, but the timing seems less than ideal.
It’s not. Nebraska is only a few weeks out from fall camp3, so there’s a lot of catching up to do. If Butler is the guy, he’ll have to learn White’s 3-3-5 system quickly while also getting to know his players.
The good news is that if Butler joins Nebraska, he will inherit a robust secondary. Nebraska's defense, which finished seventh nationally in average yards allowed per play last season, returns 14 defenders who started at least one game, including nine players who started at least five games.
There’s some uncertainty — who starts opposite corner Tommi Hill? — but enough incoming talent that it shouldn’t be too hard to address during camp.
But all of that is secondary — no pun intended — until we get official word that Butler is the guy. More to come, it seems.
This and That
>> Rhule recently appeared on The Joel Klatt Show, where he shared insights about the upcoming season. Klatt is also high on Nebraska for 2024, having previously said he thinks “Nebraska is going to be a pretty darn good football team.” You can watch the full interview here.
>> Speaking of being high on the Huskers, On3’s Andy Staples predicted a 7-0 record for Nebraska in 2024.
>> We probably need to do a bigger deep dive on recruiting, but a quick note that the Huskers have made significant strides in recruiting over the past month. With the addition of Winner (S.D.) offensive lineman Shawn Hammerbeck on Wednesday, the Huskers have secured seven new commitments to their 2025 recruiting class since June 5. This includes three new offensive linemen: Hammerbeck, Brian Tapu, and Houston Kaahaaina-Torres.
Nebraska now has 15 known commitments for 2025.
A Nebraska spokesperson confirmed this news not long after to local media.
Just wait. An announcement will come hours after this hits your inboxes, because that’s always how it works. Read fast!
Fall camp officially kicks off Wednesday, July 31.
I have 7 wonders, I'm n no particular order.
I wonder if the curious case of Terrence Knighton's Twitter changes are somehow related to this?
I wonder if he's open to D coordinating a 335 or if he'd change it?
I wonder if this, or something like it, will happen every year.
I wonder if Tony White, or any other coaches are having to come back from vacation?
I wonder how much input Tony White really had into this?
I wonder how long they knew ahead of time, is that they could respond this fast?
I wonder if Rhule made the decision on Cooper or if Yogurt boy did?