Kendal Briles checks just about every box Nebraska could want in its search for an offensive coordinator.
If Matt Rhule is looking for an established Power Four play-caller, Briles sits near the top of the board. He has spent more than a decade running offenses in the SEC, ACC and Big 12, and that kind of résumé is not easy to find.
Briles got his start working under his father, Art Briles, at Baylor, where he helped shape the Bears’ explosive spread attack before taking over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2015. From there, he moved through Florida Atlantic, Houston, Florida State, Arkansas and TCU before Shane Beamer hired him at South Carolina last December.
The production has followed him everywhere. Baylor led the country in scoring in 2015 at 48.1 points per game and in total offense at 616.2 yards, with Corey Coleman starring at receiver and winning the Biletnikoff Award before becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
At Florida Atlantic in 2017, Briles helped Lane Kiffin guide the Owls to a Conference USA championship while they averaged 40.6 points and 498.4 yards per game, good for eighth and ninth nationally. Devin Singletary piled up 1,920 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns and was named Conference USA MVP.
His Houston offense in 2018 was even more eye-catching in its own way. D’Eriq King accounted for 50 touchdowns in 11 games, throwing for 36 and rushing for 14. That kind of output is exactly why Briles has become such a coveted name.
His version of the veer-and-shoot leans on wide splits, tempo, vertical concepts and RPOs that stress defenses from every angle. The spacing also opens lanes in the run game, and Briles has shown that formula can work against SEC defenses too.
Arkansas finished seventh nationally in rushing in back-to-back seasons under Briles, averaging 227.8 yards per game in 2021 and 236.5 in 2022. The 2022 Razorbacks also ranked 15th nationally in total offense at 471.2 yards per game, with Raheim Sanders earning Associated Press first-team All-SEC honors and center Ricky Stromberg collecting first-team all-conference recognition and the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
His TCU run showed the passing side of the system can hum as well. The Horned Frogs finished in the nation’s top 10 in passing offense in each of his three seasons. Josh Hoover set a school record with 3,949 passing yards in 2024, and Jared Wiley was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2023.
Briles’ first season at South Carolina has brought a balanced attack. The Gamecocks are scoring 34.7 points per game, which ranks 24th nationally, and averaging 452.6 total yards, good for 21st. They’re also putting up 205.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks 20th, along with 247.1 passing yards, which ranks 41st.
He has also worked with a wide range of quarterbacks, from mobile players like King and Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson to more traditional passers such as Hoover.
The biggest hurdle is money. South Carolina signed Briles to a three-year, $6.3 million deal that pays him $2 million this season, $2.1 million in 2027 and $2.2 million in 2028.
That is well above what Nebraska paid Dana Holgorsen, and the contract includes early-departure language. For Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, bringing Briles to Lincoln would require a serious financial push.
There’s also the reality that Briles is already in the SEC, has major control over his offense and is one of the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the country. Still, he should not be dismissed as a fantasy target. Since leaving Baylor after the 2016 season, he has worked at six schools in 10 seasons, including one-year stops at Florida Atlantic, Houston and Florida State before landing at Arkansas in 2020.
He spent three seasons with the Razorbacks, then moved to TCU for another three years before returning to the SEC with South Carolina this season. That kind of career path says he’s willing to move when the right opportunity comes along.
Given the uncertainty around Matt Rhule’s future, prying Briles away after one year would be a tough sell. But his track record is strong enough, and his nomadic history is real enough, that Nebraska has reason to at least make the call. Why not make him say no?
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