New ST Coach Mike Ekeler

Ekeler led a huge improvement, no doubt. STs weren't a clown show anymore.

But Ekeler's hand picked Aussie punter was pretty meh if we are being honest. We were 127th in yards/punt (out of 136, last in the B1G). That was our worst yards/punt since 2016. Net punting is probably a better way to look at it. And we were 15th in the B1G in that. Not great.

Also allowing Barney to return kick after kick in the bowl game to the 18 yard line was coaching malpractice when we could just take the ball at the 25.
 
HuskerNation1 said:
Well its likely not just about the money but also what else Eckeler was interested in from a coaching perspective. Rhule should have had those conversations with Eckeler before bringing in any new staff members. I am not getting the sense this is just about the money. Some are not solely driven by money but also by growth opportunities.
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Rhule literally just had Ekeler coaching the edge guys before the bowl game, but yeah, I'm sure Rhule was totally denying Ekeler the opportunity to coach more than just special teams! 🤦‍♂️
 
HuskerNation1 said:
I have been in leadership roles for years, and when you have a rock star interested in growing, you give them that opportunity. Eckeler has the pedigree to be successful in whatever position/group he would take on. That killer instinct mentality is what this program has been lacking outside of Eckeler.
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Fair enough, but he's also been a nomad his entire coaching career and he might just leave anyway. Prior to the 4 years Tennessee it was 1 and 2 years stints all over the place, and he left Tennessee for a pretty clearly worse job here. Yeah I'd throw money at him and entertain the idea of different roles, but based on his history this is probably a short term thing no matter what.
 
Husker_In_WI said:
Fair enough, but he's also been a nomad his entire coaching career and he might just leave anyway. Prior to the 4 years Tennessee it was 1 and 2 years stints all over the place, and he left Tennessee for a pretty clearly worse job here. Yeah I'd throw money at him and entertain the idea of different roles, but based on his history this is probably a short term thing no matter what.
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From what I understand his parents are in Nebraska which is partly why he took the job. If he chooses to leave, it sounds like money may not be a factor in that decision.
 
well if we make him the #1 or #2 paid ST coordinator and give him a fun title like assist to the regional manager (or associate defensive coordinator analyst) maybe we can lock him down
 
HuskerNation1 said:
I have been in leadership roles for years, and when you have a rock star interested in growing, you give them that opportunity. Eckeler has the pedigree to be successful in whatever position/group he would take on. That killer instinct mentality is what this program has been lacking outside of Eckeler.
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This is going to sound like I’m anti Eckeler, but I’m not. As a leader, you need to look at everything and not just the one thing someone is great at and think they can be great at anything.

Eckeler has been coaching for many years and in many different positions. He’s been all the way up to a defensive coordinator and he’s not that anymore. Why? Successful coordinators become head coaches, he’s not that. He’s good at special teams. We offered him a lot of money to stay here to do that. If he wants to keep trying to be more than that, best of luck to him. I wish him luck.

I’m fine with MR asking him to stay here and do that for a lot of money.
 
Brian Schneider is still a very well paid special teams coach. Some guys, that’s their thing and that doesn’t mean they are the next great at whatever they think they should be.
 
And….btw…..this program is not totally reliant on one guy who is the special teams coach to be successful. I get it. We are all hungry for success. But, if we are this dependent on a ST coach to get the entire program to where we want, we are not looking at the big picture at all.

Saying that, I really hope he stays because he’s good at this position.
 
BigRedBuster said:
And….btw…..this program is not totally reliant on one guy who is the special teams coach to be successful. I get it. We are all hungry for success. But, if we are this dependent on a ST coach to get the entire program to where we want, we are not looking at the big picture at all.

Saying that, I really hope he stays because he’s good at this position.
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I don't think we should be dependent on just the special teams coach, but last year's team was very mediocre and our two primary bright spots were special teams and our stud running back. I would start with that as a foundation to build upon for the next season. We in fact lost some close games in prior seasons due to poor special teams so it would be nice to have that continuity from this year into next year.
 
HuskerNation1 said:
I don't think we should be dependent on just the special teams coach, but last year's team was very mediocre and our two primary bright spots were special teams and our stud running back. I would start with that as a foundation to build upon for the next season. We in fact lost some close games in prior seasons due to poor special teams so it would be nice to have that continuity from this year into next year.
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Add the fact that we’ve been flat out embarrassing at STs for a decade or more.
 
gobiggergoredder said:
Add the fact that we’ve been flat out embarrassing at STs for a decade or more.
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This ☝️ Add in the energy and passion he injected into this program. If people can’t see that, then there’s no point talking about this anymore.

Yes just plug in a good special teams coach and we’ll be fine.

If he chooses to leave and Rhule really did everything he could, and it still wasn’t enough—I question leadership and why. If everything was fine behind closed doors and it’s like some of you said that Ekeler likes a challenge or whatever with no issues involved, then it’s a bit strange but I guess that’s where we are at in college football. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Husker_Power said:
This ☝️ Add in the energy and passion he injected into this program. If people can’t see that, then there’s no point talking about this anymore.

Yes just plug in a good special teams coach and we’ll be fine.
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if ek wants to leave what should rhule do to keep him here? he has been offered top$ to stay. should matt tie him up and keep him in the basement at memorial?
 
commando said:
if ek wants to leave what should rhule do to keep him here? he has been offered top$ to stay. should matt tie him up and keep him in the basement at memorial?
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I don’t think there’s anything he can do, but I don’t anyone to ignore the fact that we’ve have had a long recent history of absolute incompetence at STs. For whatever reason we have had real difficulties finding someone that is good at it.

I’m glad Rhule has confidence he can replace him. He’s become really good at hiring coaches. Doesn’t seem to be as strong at evaluating and selecting. Maybe Will Compton can help him find another one.
 
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