.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Nebraska Football: Reviewing The Overall Coaching Bill
Nov 12, 2016; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley before the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
If you’re going to put together a top notch football program in today’s modern age, there’ll probably be quite a bit of money spent. Nebraska football‘s attempt at a revival is no exception.
USA Today recently released its annual database of college football assistant’s salaries, so why not take a look at what the Big Red’s paying for?
Danny Langsdorf
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach, $527,875
While the Nebraska offense doesn’t look phenomenal on the 2016 stat sheets, the offensive gameplans didn’t just have to be drawn up for the opposition. The shortage of depth across the offensive line meant that the margin for error was slim, especially when it came to getting the running game going.
Overall, Langsdorf did essentially take the same 2015 offense and helped guide Tommy Armstrong (and even Ryker Fyfe) to win games. A nine-win season is one heck of an improvement from six and ten is still a very realistic possibility.
We haven’t seen what Riley and Langsdorf want to do just yet. However, the work getting the most out of Tommy Armstrong, Jr. was definitely worth the check.
Reggie Davis
Running Backs Coach, $350,000
B-Davis had four main running backs to work with in Terrell Newby, Devine Ozigbo, Mikale Wilbon and Tre Bryant. Newby did a fantastic job going from jitterbug to carrying the team on his back for long slogs at a time. Ozigbo started out well as a bruiser but faded later in the season in no small part thanks to a nagging ankle injury. Wilbon was mostly used for work on flare screens and Bryant showed flashes of elite speed. Fullbacks like Luke McNitt were mostly used for run blocking duty.
Keith Williams
Wide Receivers Coach, $400,000
A+One of the staff’s best recruiters, Williams is worth every penny. Not only is his coaching style a sight to behold, he gets results. Despite Armstrong’s erratic passing at times, four receivers averaged at least 35 yards per game. Of course, he had Jordan Westerkamp for two years which made things a little easier, but more fun is coming in 2017. Nebraska already has legacy Keyshawn Johnson, Jr. in the bag. There are some other potential big-time wide receivers that could commit to Nebraska who would get in the rotation immediately including five-star Joseph Lewis. Oh and there’s the little matter of NFL wide receivers coming back to train with him in the offseason.
Mike Cavanaugh
Offensive Line Coach, $450,000
?I don’t think we know the whole story about Cavanaugh just yet. He’s done an excellent job at developing left tackle Nick Gates and left guard Jerald Foster. There’s a lot of young talent that will see playing time soon such as Bryan Brokop, Michael Decker, Matt Farniok, John Raridon and others. He did a quality job developing walk-ons Sam Hahn and Cole Conrad who filled in for extensive stretches over the 2016 season. 2017 should shed some real light about whether this money is going to good use.Next: Defense
Mark Banker
Defensive Coordinator, $580,663
The result was a scoring defense ranked No. 31 overall, but the story goes far beyond that. Nebraska’s rushing defense checked in at No. 34. This was an area of severe concern during the preseason.
The Blackshirt passing defense was alright with a ranking of No. 42 but did an excellent job creating turnovers with 16 interceptions. There wasn’t much Banker could do to stem the tide of the Ohio State offense and the effort at Iowa was simply unacceptable.
On the whole, 2016 was a big step in the right direction.
John Parrella
Defensive Line Coach, $250,000
He had a converted tight end in Freedom Akinmoladun and a walk-on in Ross Dzuris that, despite being a very reliable tackler, was a step too slow. This is another instance of young talent eventually stepping in and providing him with what he needs. On the recruiting trail, he’s impressed by helping to bring in two defensive ends and another pair of defensive tackles in this class alone.
Trent Bray
Linebackers Coach, $300,000
BAnother fine recruiter, Bray’s linebackers seemed a bit lethargic this year. Josh Banderas was poised for a major senior season, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time far too often. Dedrick Young appeared to have a bit of a sophomore slump as he didn’t show the same speed he exhibited during his freshman campaign. Michael Rose-Ivey was more or less effective. With Banderas and Rose-Ivey departing, this is another position where redshirted players and fresh recruits should make an impact in 2017.
Brian Stewart
Safeties Coach, $425,000
BA bit of an underrated recruiter, Stewart worked with the secondary as a whole in 2015 before Banker stepped in to help with the safeties and, well, we’ve been over this. The secondary will be a team effort again in 2017 as Stewart takes over work with the safeties in the hopes that they continue their ball-hawking ways. If they can step up yet again (or dare I say improve), that’s money well spent.
Donté Williams
Cornerbacks/Sub-Package Coach, $400,000
He hit the ground running as Nebraska enters the home stretch of the 2017 recruiting cycle and is looking to pull in some major talent from the West Coast. The Arizona Wildcats were certainly upset to be losing him as both a coach and recruiter. If he lives up to the hype, both he and his fellow Williams should be getting paid for years to come.
Overall, a quality menu of coaches that Nebraska football fans should be proud to have mold the newer crops of Cornhuskers.
Oh and as far as Bruce Read goes, he actually brought in $475,088. He’s no longer a necessary topic of discussion now that Williams is in the picture, of course.
More from Husker Corner
This article originally appeared on 
