Nebraska football team to hire former NFL assistant for secondary vacancy

The Nebraska football team may be close to finding a replacement for its suddenly vacant assistant coaching position.

Evan Cooper resigned as secondary coach and passing game coordinator Friday. He had worked 11 consecutive seasons under Matt Rhule.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Rhule is expected to hire John Butler as his new secondary coach.

Butler left the Buffalo Bills in February after six seasons as defensive backs coach and two as passing game coordinator. He also spent four years with the Houston Texans before that.

Before joining the NFL, Butler gained solid experience as an assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference at Penn State (2012-13) and Minnesota (2007-10). During his final year with the Nittany Lions, he also served as defensive coordinator.

Butler also had coaching stints at South Carolina, Harvard, Southwest Texas State (now Texas State), Midwestern State (Div. II) and Texas as a graduate assistant. His experience beyond the high school includes linebackers and special teams.

The Nebraska football team is 18 days away from participating in Big Ten Media Days and 56 days away from starting the 2024 season against UTEP.

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