Nebraska Football: Has the Tony White 'Mystery' Been Solved?

Nebraska Football: Has the Tony White ‘Mystery’ Been Solved?

Posted by Admin December 12, 2024 Football

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Every Husker fan I know is puzzled by defensive coordinator Tony White’s announcement last week that he was leaving Nebraska to take a similar position at Florida State.

Why would a coach whose defense helped get the Huskers bowl eligible ditch his team just weeks before the game was to be played?

And why would any coach leave a bowl-bound team for a 2-10 Florida State program? If FSU head coach Mike Norvell has another losing season next year, will he even be around?

Tony White said the reason for his leaving was so he could be closer to his family. Maybe. White was born in Key West, Florida. His excuse seemed a bit flaky, but most of us were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Until now.

After connecting the dots, it becomes clear to me that White’s decision to leave Nebraska wasn’t his.

Huh?

First of all, I don’t have any inside sources to quote. There is no smoking gun. No whistle blower to refer to. All I’ve done is connect the dots.

Here’s what I think happened.

We have to go back to last summer when Husker secondary coach Evan Cooper was forced to resign. His eventual replacement was former Buffalo Bills assistant John Butler. Butler was available because he had been passed over for the DC position with the Bills. He wanted the job, didn’t get it and eventually resigned.

One of Butler’s career goals was to be a DC again, a position he once held at Penn State. Matt Rhule doubtless told Butler that Rhule’s immediate need was a secondary coach. Rhule already had a DC in Tony White. But Rhule was going to need a DC as soon as the end of the ’24 eason.

Why would NU have a DC opening?

Because it was no secret Tony White’s goal was to land a head coaching job somewhere soon. He had interviewed for a couple head coaching jobs after last season.

So begins Matt Rhule’s dilemma.

Rhule knew White wasn’t going to be at NU for long. Should Rhule wait for White to leave before finding his replacement?

I believe one of the main reasons Butler came to Nebraska was so he could take over at the end of the season as the new Husker DC. To accelerate things, Butler may have received at least one DC offer with another program. They needed his answer soon. So Butler went to Rhule and told him about the offer.

Matt Rhule found himself between a rock and a hard place. If he didn’t act quickly, there’s a very good chance Rhule and the Husker football program would lose not one, but two very good defensive coordinators.

Rhule had to act fast.

So Tony White was told he would have to move on. Matt Rhule, being the classy man he is, found White a DC position at another Power Four school. The program was Florida State.

White interviewed there, got the job and then announced he was leaving Nebraska.

As for Husker D-line coach Terrance Knighton, I’m not as sure about his connection with FSU. He may also have been asked to leave. The dots are a bit fuzzier on this one. We do know FSU also had an opening for a D-line coach.

Voila! Both have landed new jobs.

We do know Knighton’s D-line position at NU has already been filled by Terry Bradden, current Kansas City Chiefs assistant D-line coach. It’s hard to believe the departure of Knighton and the hiring of Bradden was something that just happened overnight. The changes had to have taken some time to coordinate.

Bradden won’t be able to come to Nebraska until after the Chiefs’ season ends.

So what’s Bradden’s connection to Matt Rhule?

Not sure. Maybe there isn’t one. What we do know is that LB Dawson Merritt, Husker Class of ’25 signee, does have a connection to the Chiefs. His father, Dave, is the KC Chiefs’ DB coach. Maybe that relationship led Rhule to find Bradden.

As I said, regarding Tony White, I just connected the dots. You can make your own conclusions. I’ve already made mine.

To give me a piece of your mind, you can email me at HuskerDan@cox.net.