Nebraska’s search for its next offensive coordinator is already taking shape, and the list starts with a familiar face.
In the wake of Saturday’s firing by head coach Matt Rhule, Glenn Thomas is handling the play-calling duties for now. Thomas, Nebraska’s quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator, has been an offensive coordinator before at Arizona State, UNLV, Baylor and Temple. The Baylor and Temple jobs both came with Rhule as head coach, which gives Thomas an obvious connection in this process.
His track record with Rhule includes some productive offenses. Temple’s 2016 team averaged 32.4 points and 413.6 total yards per game, with 176.1 of those yards coming on the ground. At Baylor, Thomas and Jeff Nixon helped lift the Bears from 404.9 yards and 24.3 points per game in 2017 to 421.5 yards and 33.6 points per game in 2019.
That familiarity matters because Rhule has often leaned toward people he knows. The tradeoff is that Thomas would likely represent less of a philosophical shakeup than an outside hire, meaning the offense in 2027 would probably look a lot like it has during the Rhule era.
If Nebraska wants a different direction, there are several other names to watch.
Rob Ezell has Wake Forest humming. Through eight games, the Demon Deacons are averaging nearly 40 points and more than 450 yards per game, both top-15 marks nationally. Ezell took over as offensive coordinator in 2025 after serving in the same role at South Alabama, where the 2024 Jaguars put up 441.8 yards and 34.4 points per game.
Ezell’s background also includes a long run as an offensive analyst and grad assistant at Alabama from 2015 through 2020. During that stretch, he worked under Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley and Steve Sarkisian, along with head coach Nick Saban.
Mike Bloesch brings a different kind of résumé, and one that should appeal to anyone who wants the ground game emphasized. North Texas is averaging 539.6 yards and 43.8 points per game, ranking first and second in the country in those categories. The Mean Green also average 190.8 rushing yards per game.
Bloesch is in his second stint with North Texas, this time as run game coordinator. Before that, he spent two seasons at Cal, where he was offensive coordinator in 2024 and run game coordinator in 2023. He previously served as North Texas offensive coordinator from 2020 through 2022.
At Cal, he coached current Husker wideout Nyziah Hunter and future Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza in 2024, though that offense managed just 380.2 yards and 25.1 points per game. In 2023, his North Texas offense at the Group of Six level averaged just under 500 yards a game and scored 34.5 points per contest.
Slade Nagle is another name with an explosive offense attached to it. In his first season at Houston, the Cougars are averaging 470.5 yards and 36 points per game while operating under Willie Fritz. Nagle arrived there after a 2024 stop at LSU, where he served as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.
Before that, he led Tulane’s offense in 2023 and then became interim head coach when Fritz left for Houston. That Green Wave team finished 11-3, averaging 370.1 yards and 26.3 points per game.
Boise State’s Nate Potter also deserves a look. He has been with the Broncos since 2022, moved up to co-offensive coordinator in 2024, and became offensive coordinator in 2025. Boise State rushed for 240.4 yards per game with Ashton Jeanty in 2024, and even without that kind of star, the Broncos have still averaged 179.1 rushing yards in 2025 and 222.8 so far in 2026.
This season, Boise State is scoring 35.9 points per game and averaging 449.2 yards. For the “run the damn ball” crowd, Potter should be at the top of the list.
Mitch Dahlen rounds out the group. He is in his first season as Oregon State’s offensive coordinator, and the Beavers are averaging more than 500 yards and north of 40 points per game. Their spread scheme is also producing 134 rushing yards a game.
Before Corvallis, Dahlen worked as an assistant offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2024-25, Washington from 2022-23 and Fresno State from 2020-21, with each of those stops coming under Kalen DeBoer.
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Glenn Thomas, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, will handle play-calling the rest of the way, giving Nebraska a fresh voice in the booth at a critical moment. Holgorsen now has to look ahead to his next opportunity, with the program choosing to reset its offensive direction in the middle of a season that has already tested everyone involved. [Read more 🡒]
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