Matt Rhule goes in-depth on hiring John Butler as secondary coach

When Nebraska secondary coach Evan Cooper surprisingly resigned from his position in the middle of the summer, Matt Rhule was lucky to find a new and dependable DBs coach this late in the offseason.

But that’s what happened, per Rhule, with John Butler. The longtime Buffalo Bills secondary coach called it quits from that post after the 2023 season, and has previously worked at Minnesota, South Carolina and Penn State, as well as at some smaller schools. He’s certainly experienced.

Plus, Rhule says Butler is a guy he knows and can trust, and is excited to see the new visions the NFL veteran has to share. He said at ACC Media Days about the new staff member:

“John’s a guy I’ve known a long time. I’ve had a chance to coach against John when I was at Temple, he was at Penn State. I think any time that you can hire someone on your staff as a position coach who’s been a coordinator, they come in with another set of eyes.”

As always with guys from the NFL, there’s that aspect of the first-hand experience they offer at the professional level.

“Just think about in recruiting, for those guys who want to go to the NFL and they’re talking to us, you know, I’ve been in those draft rooms, but John’s coached Micah Hyde, he’s coached Jordan Poyer. He’s coached top five secondaries.” Tre’Davious White is another name fans and players may know too.

Overall, Rhule didn’t foresee his ideal offseason including a change with the secondary coach, but now that it has, he’s happy with John Butler’s addition to the staff.

It was unfortunate we had a change that late in the year, but we wouldn’t have gotten John any earlier,” remarked Rhule. “He was at a point where he was ready to get back in and start coaching. It just so happened I was at vacation on the beach two towns away from where he was, so it was all pretty fortuitous. We sat down.”

A lucky break after an unlucky break. You can call that a draw for Matt Rhule, who is now plenty pleased with his defensive coaching lineup and ran through the gamut, reacting to how stacked a staff Nebraska now has on that side of the ball.

“Tony White is one of the best coaches in college football. He’s an amazing defensive coordinator. Terrance Knighton is an amazing defensive line coach. Rob Dvoracek, excellent young linebacker coach. I think John will bring some experience, a second set of eyes, and a guy that the players can trust will make them better.”

Nebraska continues to build towards a promising and vital 2024 season under Matt Rhule.