Nebraska fires defensive coordinator John Butler after one season

Nebraska fired defensive coordinator John Butler on Monday afternoon. Butler was in his first season as the Huskers' defensive coordinator.

Butler’s passing defense was stout this season, allowing only 141.1 passing yards per game. However, the rush defense was the unit's weakness this season. They allowed over 170 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry. This put them as the 95th-ranked run-stopping unit in the country.

This is the first major coaching domino to fall for the program, as Nebraska finished its regular season with a 40-16 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday. Matt Rhule announced that Phil Snow will serve as the interim defensive coordinator for the bowl game.

"I informed John Butler earlier today that he will not be retained as defensive coordinator effective immediately. We thank John for his contributions to our football program over the past two seasons and wish him the best moving forward in his coaching career. Phil Snow will serve as the interim defensive coordinator for our upcoming bowl game. We will toward naming a new defensive coordinator for the 2026 season in the coming weeks."

Now, the coaching carousel will begin for the program as they look to hire a defensive coordinator. The coaching carousel has already proven to be like a wild ride, and Nebraska certainly added to it with Monday’s move.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska football fires defensive coordinator John Butler