A HOUSE RHULES SPECIAL: Matt Rhule Talks About His Contract Extension With Nebraska

Summary

Podcast Summary: House Rhules

Special Episode – Matt Rhule Talks About His Contract Extension With Nebraska

Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Matt Rhule
Guest/Co-Host: Damon Benning

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Overview

This special episode of House Rhules marks a milestone for Nebraska football, as Head Coach Matt Rhule discusses his recently announced contract extension with the University of Nebraska. Joined by Damon Benning, Rhule delves into what this commitment means personally and professionally—for his family, his team, and Husker Nation. The conversation explores themes of home, leadership, program building, and the delicate balance between comfort, accountability, and authenticity.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Finding a Home, Not Just a House

• Rhule clarifies the difference between a house and a home in recruiting and culture-building ([02:47])
  • Shares stories from his family's journey, living in different places but always seeking a sense of "home."
  • Emphasizes that for him, Nebraska is now "home" because of the people and relationships, not just the place.
  • “We’ve lived in different houses, but we’ve always had one home. ... When you have a house, man, sometimes it burns down—you’ll run, right? ... but you’ll defend your home. And so we found our home, man.” – Matt Rhule ([05:18])

2. The Decision to Extend – Personal and Professional Reflections

• Rhule’s wife Julie had a major say in the decision ([07:38], [17:53])
  • Julie observed Matt's happiness in Nebraska and insisted on staying; her advocacy for the family was pivotal.
  • “Nebraska took a chance on you when other schools ... maybe wouldn’t have. And we owe it to them.” – Matt Rhule ([07:49])
  • “Julie’s whole point was ... ‘Why don’t we stay and take it to the next level and take it to fruition?’” ([08:23])
• Rhule stresses loyalty and a sense of mission, acknowledging that Nebraska gave him an opportunity after a tough stint in the NFL ([07:38]–[09:37]).

3. Accountability, Comfort, and Sustaining Success

• Balancing comfort with the drive to improve ([10:33]–[12:29])

  • Benning raises concerns about complacency; Rhule explains how constant investment, discomfort, and high expectations prevent entitlement.
  • “Nothing great happens by being comfortable.” – Matt Rhule ([25:19])
  • He draws parallels to past Nebraska coaching legends and clarifies that staying is not about comfort, but about pursuing unfinished goals.

• Rhule describes rebuilding Nebraska as restoring an old mansion:

  • “Everyone said, well, this coach’s fault, ... but no one ever sat there and said, what can I do? ... We’d like to feel like we’re a small part of the solution.” ([12:03])

4. Balancing Love and Toughness in Leadership

• Addressing player development and discipline ([15:58]–[19:02])

  • Rhule shares parenting anecdotes, compares his approach to “tough love,” and explains the necessity of honest feedback.
  • “I see love as telling people the truth in the form that they can hear it ... in the form they need to hear it.” ([16:44])

• Stories of supporting players and staff, even through adversity:

  • “One defining moment ... it was halftime of the last game. ... I walk out and Teddy’s limping—he was teary-eyed, obviously. ... He goes, ‘Hey, what’s next?’” ([19:21]–[22:21])
  • The "What's next?" mindset, learned through personal family crises and coaching hardships, is a guiding principle.

5. Culture, Entitlement, and Retention in the NIL Era

• Making Nebraska ‘difficult to leave’ ([14:08])
  • Focus on building a family-like culture as a strategic advantage amid NIL and transfer movement.
  • Also addresses the fine balance between nurturing young men and knowing when to nudge them toward independence ([15:51]).

6. Building a Program with Patience and Perspective

• Lessons from past stops at Temple and Baylor ([37:25])
  • Rhule reflects on his “year three” trend (breakthrough seasons) and expresses genuine excitement for what years 4–6 at Nebraska could look like ([37:14]).
  • Emphasizes loyalty to players, staff, and culture over chasing quick fixes.
  • “I can’t wait for year five, year six—what this place can be. ... Let’s go be like Husker volleyball.” – Matt Rhule ([38:26])

7. Community, Connection, and the Nebraska Athletic Family

• Praise for other coaches and fostering a collaborative environment ([41:45])
  • Rhule lauds fellow Husker coaches (volleyball, basketball, softball) for their support and competitive spirit ([42:01], [42:18]).
  • Benning and Rhule swap stories about cross-sport camaraderie.

8. Gratitude, Perspective, and Embracing Nebraska

• Focus on appreciating what Nebraska offers, not lamenting what it lacks ([45:44]):

  • Rhule encourages a gratitude-driven mindset for players, staff, and fans.
  • “People spend way too much time talking about what everything isn’t instead of what it is.” ([45:49])

• Rhule relishes the unique game day experiences at Nebraska ([24:05]):

  • “I walk up that ramp, I see all those kids, I walk through the smoke and ... I can see the sea of red. I can’t believe I get to do this.” ([24:07])

9. Process vs. Outcomes—Dealing with “Ugly Wins”

• Modern college football’s parity means close games are the norm ([34:40]):
  • “Everyone has to understand this is what all the games look like.” – Matt Rhule ([34:40]–[35:00])
  • Winning with “warts” is part of the journey; the building process matters more than instant results.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Home and Commitment

  "At the end of the day, this was a decision about finding a home and staying here and making this our home. And we couldn't be more grateful." – Matt Rhule ([00:44])

• On Rebuilding and Legacy

  "The University of Nebraska football program, when I got here, people say, what's it? I'm like, it's like a beautiful old southern mansion ... It's got five national championships ... but no one's painted it. ... It's a great place, and you just have to make it great." – Matt Rhule ([13:12])

• On Comfort vs. Challenge

  "Nothing great happens by being comfortable." – Matt Rhule ([25:19])

• On Authentic Leadership

  "For me, I think the greatest disservice you can give [players] is low expectations. And so you have to have high expectations, high accountability, and you have to have the same expectations for yourself." – Matt Rhule ([27:15])

• On Nebraska’s Unique Place

  "Nebraska is our secret. It's the good life. I don't want you guys messing it up and raising the prices on everything." – Matt Rhule ([44:11])

• On Win/Loss Narratives

  "Coach Osborne, after he won the first national championship ... he's like, 'You know, guys, I want you really, really attack winter conditioning like you never have before. And this championship doesn't mean a whole lot right now. It's in the past ... You gotta remember, I'm the coach that three months ago couldn't win the big one.'" – Damon Benning recounting Tom Osborne ([46:27])

• On Embracing the Moment

  "All the pressure, all the ulcers, all the late nights, all the recruiting trips ... for that one moment is absolutely worth it." – Matt Rhule ([24:07])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:44: Rhule opens with gratitude, announces contract extension
• 02:47: The “House vs. Home” story and recruiting philosophy
• 07:38: Rhule on the family’s input, Julie’s role, and why he chose to stay
• 10:33: Benning and Rhule discuss avoiding entitlement and complacency
• 15:58: Parenting, tough love, and leading young men
• 19:21: “What’s Next?” story—resilience in the face of adversity
• 24:05: Game day emotions, experiencing the “Sea of Red”
• 27:15: On expectations, discipline, and authentic leadership
• 34:40: Parity in college football, ugly wins, and trusting the process
• 37:25: Building for the long term; excitement for years 4–6 at Nebraska
• 41:45: Saluting the Nebraska coaching community and cross-sport relationships
• 45:44: On gratitude, perspective, and embracing the good life in Nebraska
• 46:27: Osborne’s reflection after his first title—a lesson in perspective

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Conclusion

Coach Matt Rhule’s special episode is a heartfelt, transparent exploration of why he and his family committed to Nebraska for the long term. Through stories, candid reflections, and coaching philosophy, listeners gain inside access to the program’s values, the importance of authentic relationships, and why staying at Nebraska is about much more than football. The conversation with Damon Benning is rich with personal moments, leadership wisdom, and Husker pride—demonstrating that for Rhule, Nebraska truly is home.

Transcript

[A]

Express yourself. I want to welcome everybody to a special edition of House Rules on a great day for my family. As you've probably seen, announcement came out today that we signed the contract extension to stay here at the University of Nebraska and we could not be more grateful. So before we even get started, I just. On behalf of Julie, on behalf of. On behalf of Bryant, Vivian Leone, I just want to extend my deepest appreciation to all the people that made this happen. Dr. Gold, Troy Dannon, everyone at university, certainly to the players and the coaches and all the hard work that they've done to get us to this point and to the entire state of Nebraska. At the end of the day, this was a decision about finding a home and staying here and making this our home. And we couldn't be more grateful. So I couldn't think of who else to share it with other than a person that since I've been here that I've had great conversations, spirited debates, and whose opinion I respect and trust. The one, the only, Damon Benning.

[B]

I appreciate that, man. This is exciting for me as it is for hopefully you. I appreciate the opportunity. Congratulations, man. It's a load off my mind.

[A]

Well, I'm now officially abdicating my role as podcaster. So now you're the podcaster now and I'll be the interviewee. And there's a lot of pressure off for me, too.

[B]

So I don't know, you're pretty good at this as a natural speaker. I love the whole, you know, it's interesting, there's so many places this could go, but the house is not a home for me because I kind of told this story and sometimes when we talk, I never know what to say, what not to say, what I can't say. But generally speaking, I would just remember being on the official visit, you know, we'd already been on the visit, we'd already committed, and it was a huge weekend with Sanders Jr. And some of these guys and which, oh, boy, close. But you told this story about. And it was the one thing that resonated with me that I shared with our listening audience during the morning show. You explained the difference between a house and a home. And I couldn't believe you were so candid and forthright about not wanting to, you know, force feed Nebraska or Link or Omaha or the surrounding communities down recruits throats. You wanted them to feel like this was a home. And you, you going through the difference between what a house and a home is, especially using your own home and the. The homes in your neighborhood and with the TV like, you got to tell the listeners that story because that one was a little bit of one that tugged at the heartstrings.

[A]

You know, I don't ever say the same thing twice, so it's. Sometimes it's hard to remember. But, you know, I think the, the message to the recruits was you can, you can go look at all the houses you want, you know, and this one has a great basement and this one has this. And that's kind of the recruiting process. But you really want to find a home. And you know, I look back in my life, you know, I have, I have the most amazing parents. You know, growing up, I never even saw my parents argue. That's, that's the house I grew up in. And you know, we lived, we lived in State College, Pennsylvania. Then we lived in Kansas City. My dad was in seminary, become a pastor. Then we moved to New York City and we lived in a two bedroom apartment on a place called Rosewood Island. And my sister and I shared a room. And then eventually we were able to move over to the next building over to get a three bedroom apartment. I would go across the street to some of my friends, houses that lived in, we were kind of in the rented houses and some of my friends had condos and co ops and things like that. And I'd go see their houses and maybe they had a bigger TV or maybe they had something else. But at the end of the day, like, I wouldn't, I wouldn't have traded my home for anything because my home was the people that were there. It was the, it was the love, it was the, it was the, it was the feeling. And then we moved to State College, Pennsylvania again and we lived in it. We rented a house there and that was a home that I wouldn't trade anything for. And then Julie and I, we get married and we live in a one bedroom apartment in Beverly Hills. And so I'm working at UCLA and she's paying the bills. And then we have this massive house in Texas. And then we moved to Charlotte and now we're here. It's like, like we've lived in different houses, but we've always had one home. And I think, you know, the key to being happy in life is, is to find people that you want to share your life with, to find a cause that you want to give your life to. And we came to Nebraska. Julie was like, this is where I want to raise the girls. This is where Bryant should be. And so that's, I think that's really, really powerful because I think when people see you as a coach, they think. See you as, like a cyborg. You're like, well, he's just on the field. After the game, I go home, I see my daughters. You know, I see my son, and. And they're way more important to me than anything else. And so I don't know if I'm saying that story right, but I just think that was. My message was like. Was like, yeah, like, hey, we have a great house here. Like, we got great bones. We got a great. But the true greatness of this building is Corey Campbell is. Mike Eckler is Kristen Coggin, is all the people that make this your home. And then you walk outside on the campus, all the people on this campus that make this your home. Then you walk into Lincoln or you go over to Omaha or you go to Carney, or you go. It's all the people that make this our home. And when you have a home, like, when you have a house, man, like, sometimes it burns down. You'll run, right? Like, and then just build a new one, but you'll defend your home. And so we found our home, man.

[B]

I could, you know, I know I took a little bit of criticism with the whole. My belief and you wanting to be here and whether you look elsewhere. Oh, as the coach is embarrassing, guys getting crushed. It's fine, right?

[A]

Like on social media or people.

[B]

Oh, yeah, Just in general. Gotcha. Right. So. Which is fine again. But the one thing I kept going. There's two things I kept going back to. Number one, I've had the. I've had the fortunate opportunity to get to know your family. I've been around you, your wife, the girls, everybody. At the same time, I've gotten a vibe, you know, New York was great for us, and the bowl trip and spending time with your wife. And the one thing. The first thing that I always thought about was not only did she kind of pick the place, she enjoys being here. And I watch you around her, and I'm thinking, he's. He's got to be in a little bit of a sweet spot, right? You've been hardened in some other places. And, you know, I always worried whether Carolina would. Would. Would damage you long term. And so to see you function at a high level with your family here was number one. But number two, I've been around a lot of coaches since I played, and you were the first person that openly said, without needing to win, needing what comes with this place, it seemed like you genuinely loved being here. I go, he loves Nebraska. Like, he doesn't ever talk about what it isn't, what it can't do, what it doesn't have. You just don't complain. So those two things, I'm like, there's no way. Right? Like, that's just what I felt like in my heart of hearts. And I try to respect our boundaries, and you know how bad I want to call and say, look, man, you gone, don't you? If you burn me, like, I'm sure you'll find another db, But I'll never talk to you. You know what I mean? Like, I want it to be childish, but those were the two things that resonated with me.

[A]

Yeah, I think. Because this decision has nothing to do with anywhere else. Right. Or has anything else. It has to do with here. And as this whole process began, I just remember Julie saying, I haven't seen you this happy in a long time, so don't mess it up. And more importantly, Nebraska took a chance on you when other schools wouldn't, maybe wouldn't have. And we owe it to them. We owe it to them to put everything into getting this done. I mean, we haven't gotten it done yet. I'm happy with what we've done. I'm happy with the progress that we've made. I'm happy with the way that we did it. You know, I could have come in here and run everyone out, and it just never felt like that was the Nebraska way. And so I took a lot of heat early on as other schools did it that way. Like, well, how come they're doing it this way? And how come they're doing it this way? But at the end of the day, like, I just feel like I owed it to the players that were here. I felt like I owed it to the men that they would become. I feel like I owed it to the people of the state to try to do it one way. And Julie's whole point was like this, you know, like, we've never enjoyed the work. We've always gone somewhere. We were at Temple for four years and left. We were at Baylor for three years and left. We were at Carolina for two and a half years and then was asked to leave. And her thing was, like, you've got this place now where the guys are doing what you ask, where there's no discipline issues, where they get good grades, where they're winning in the football. They're like, why don't we. Why don't we stay and take it to the next level and take it and take it to fruition and So I think the point about Carolina is really good. It's like, because until you've seen those dark times, you think every day is going to be a great day. You couldn't convince me I would ever lose a game. Well, just give me three years and I'll get everything built. And coming out of that, it was like, oh, shoot. And these people took a chance on me, and Troy Dannon came in here, Dr. Gold came in here, and they could have been like, troy never made me feel like he didn't hire me. It wasn't like, I'm his football coach. And so for us, getting this deal done makes me feel that way even more. Like, hey, I'm his guy. Which I think is important as a coach.

[B]

I gotta ask you something. I'm trying. I've been sitting on this.

[A]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

Because I've seen what. I've seen what can happen when people get comfortable. And it's better than some other places that you've been. Like, I talk to your support staff all the time. I'm always trying to learn. I'm watching them. Oh, you know, I love this place, and it's amazing. And I can't. Like, you just gotta be able to function at a high level here. How do you guard against. Because, I mean, you know, you're gonna hear it. It's like, well, why extend now? An idiot. But they haven't done the one thing I never feel like I have to. I call you cheap. You may say you're fiscally savvy. Like the one. How do you. How do you. How do you guard against the. Disneyland. The Disney World? This is the greatest thing ever. Because you can easily get spoiled here because of the way people treat you, but it totally goes against your personality.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

At least it seems that way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

Yeah, I think. I think. I mean, since that first, I think one of the key things is, like, everyone was very fatalistic about this whole thing.

[B]

Like.

[A]

Like, oh, of course, coaches. Why. Like, why. Why wouldn't we just stay here and make this great? Like, why did Coach Osborne stay so long? Why did Coach Savannah stay so long? You know, like, why wouldn't I want to stay? Right? And then every coach after those guys probably would have chosen to stay. They were asked to leave. But I think it's important. I never did anything. It wasn't like I went and interviewed for another job. It's like, no, we want to be here. And so, I mean, I want to win a national championship. I mean, I want to be part of the coaching staff and part of the movement and part of the university staff that returns Nebraska to its rightful place. And I tell people when they got here, and I can say this now, like, no one has any idea what we've done, okay? So, like, people who. Like, there's. You can point out everything that we haven't done, but you have no idea what we did do. We have. You have no idea how bad this shape the place was in. And that's not. That's not a Scott Frost. I love Coach Frost. That's an. Everyone beared the burden. So what everyone did was they just all said, well, this coach's fault. It's this coach's fault. And no one ever sat there and said, what can I do? And a lot of people, quite honestly, profit when you're not good. Because then, you know what? There's more. There's more podcast listeners. There's more people watching the YouTube show. There's more people calling to complain. Like. And so people have profited off it, but no one's ever been part of the solution. And so I would like to feel like we're a small part of the solution. And we've done amazing things, but we haven't done what we came here to do, and that's to win a national championship. Even more importantly, though, is I truly believe this. Our purpose. We have a mission to win. Our purpose is to have the players who play for us in 10, 15, 20 years look back and say, you know what? My life is better because I played at the University of Nebraska, because I played for Coach Rule. So if you talk to Dion Dawkins at the Buffalo Bills, I hope he would say that. I know he would say that because he texts me that sometimes.

[B]

I know one. I know. I know Reddick.

[A]

So you hope that those guys say those things, right? And my wife just kept. She said to me, this thing transpired, right? Like, you know, like, do we really want to leave these kids? Like, do we really want to leave these players? Like, do we really want to not. Not be their coach? Like, and so I want to win a national championship. And so I'm not going to be satisfied till we do those things. But you. I think this place has learned, like, you know what? Like, don't. Just don't be like these other places that get rid of good trying to chase great. Like, we're not great yet, but we're trending towards it, and we just have to double down on what we're doing. So everything I've talked about has been invest Invest, invest, invest. I've always said that. The University of Nebraska football program, when I got here, people say, what's it? I'm like, okay, it's like a beautiful old southern mansion. It's got amazing bones, beautiful floors, hardwoods. But no one's painted it. When we first got no one, no one had painted it. There was. There's no. There's no landscaping outside. So, like, it's. It's got five national championships and played for more. It's got all this amazing history, this amazing fan base, great, smart people. It just had fallen in disrepair. And so you have to come in, you have to sand all that stuff down. You have to. You have to replant the land. We have to make it. But it's a great place, and you just have to make it great. And so we haven't done it yet, but we're in the process of doing it. And I hope people are also just having fun, too. Like, the games are interesting. The games are exciting. I can't tell how many people in town stop me. Like, businesses, and they're like, hey, there's people coming to the bar. Thank you. There's people on game base. The hotels are full, you know, so. So again, I. I understand some people say why, but, you know, people. High schools are going to find out you don't win by just recycling coaches every four or five years. It doesn't work out.

[B]

I. I watched this from afar. I'm. Again, I got to say thanks because I would never get. I tried again to respect the boundaries, but these are things that are on my mind. So I've watched this thing, and I said, I saw the vision a little bit with Trev, where he wanted to tinker with the training table and the foods and diversify the staff and have people look different and, you know, be representative of the kids that were coming on campus across all sports. And then you've kind of doubled down on that, where you've made this a really difficult place to want to leave. But you can flirt with entitlement, too, right? You've got the barber shops and get.

[A]

Your smoothie made for you whether you win or lose.

[B]

Like, it's incredible. And I'm thinking it comes at a cost, right? People want to. You got roster limits, you got a certain amount of money you can spend, but you've made this like family. Like, I felt like that was going to be Nebraska's superpower to offset nil and in movement is make this a difficult place to leave. Have you kind of seen where like, these people you talk about, people you love. I think of Teddy. I'm super close to Teddy Proaska. His family, his grandparents, you know, his mom that passed away, Katie, I went to school with. I watch the growth of Teddy. And Sierra Wright Shavers, who I love. Quinn Clark, who you've invested in the patience and loving Tommy Hill and some of these guys. It's a fine line between, hey, this is family versus, okay, you've. You're 21. You've lived home too long.

[A]

Get out. Right?

[B]

Like, how are you balancing that? Because that seems to be where the magic is.

[A]

You know, it's interesting for me in that my son is turned 21 on Monday and works for Martin in the video department. He was a manager for golf last year, and we told him, you should go somewhere else. Being the head coach's son, I remember in Nebraska can be really hard, and he's had some hard moments. But I see him and I see, like, you know, he might be late to work one day, he might sleep in when he's not supposed to. And so I deal with that. And I've had to explain to our players, like, we all grew up differently. My version of love sometimes is discipline is a punishment, is hearing about it. I'm also the same guy that, like, in the weight room, if I don't get all my sets when I'm benching, I'm like, man, you are so blank, blank. Like, I cuss myself out. So, like, that's how I see love. I see love as. As.

[B]

As.

[A]

As, you know, as telling people the truth in the form that they can hear it in the form that they need to hear it. So I think if you just run the program based on truth, it can be really, really, really good. I think the one thing when you listen to, like, Will Compton talk, I did a podcast with Will, but, like, as the proliferation of noise outside the building happens as, like, media and social media and all those things. It can be really hard for young people to come here and be recruited, to be so loved and then experience, you know, people like some. Maybe it's a former player. Maybe it's who says, like, you're not any good and you looked up to them whole life. It's really difficult. So you try to kind of protect them in some ways. And then I listen to Deion Sanders to be like, hey, if you, you know, if you want these things, you got to deal with that, too. So I've had to. I'm evolving, so I don't know that I haven't always figured out, but I know this. Nothing can make me not love Bryant. No matter what he does, nothing can make me not love Vivian Leona. So I want. I then owe it to my players to feel the same way. And I'm certainly not perfect with it. I'm trying. I also have a great staff. And you brought up Teddy. I think one of the defining moments in this whole decision, I mean, from the very beginning, Julie was like, we're staying here. Just so you know, I'm at. So appreciate you. Appreciate you.

[B]

Nobody has any idea how much truth there probably is in her decision making. I told you when she said, big ten media days. No, and I'll let you finish the story. But she said. I said, it is so good to see you here. I don't often see wives at media days right alongside. And she looked at me like I asked for her left arm. And she's like, you know, I'm team rule. I'm with the rules. That's right. And I was like, hey, I get it. And so as a little. Oh, my God, I think she might be mad. And as she's walking off in typical Julie fashion, and she goes, plus, who's gonna. Who's gonna iron his clothes? Like, it was. It was just, like, vintage. It was everything she encapsulated.

[A]

Right.

[B]

It's why. It's why Jenny loves her. It's just like, she's just really, really tough. So to hear you talk about Teddi and versus what Julia said, I think is pretty important because your balance is amazing when it comes to home and then loving on your guys and then opportunities. I mean, we share a common love of a guy like Teddy.

[A]

Yeah, no doubt. Well, I mean, you know, even though you say, hey, I'm not leaving here, I'm staying here, we're gonna finish where we started. We love it here. We're gonna live here. You know, one of my goals has always been I've always said, I just want to win enough games that I can just retire here and people will be nice to me. In the gas station, you know, when they see you, they're not like, oh, there's that guy. They're just like, hey, coach, do you.

[B]

Have a car yet?

[A]

Yeah, I do. I do. I have a truck. I have a truck. I have a great trust, dude. You know, I live in Waverly. I gotta drive out. There's a dirt road to my house. I love it. But. But. So that decision was made, but it was halftime of the last game. You know, I always believed you Know if you just, if you can just be quiet, like, eventually God will tell you where he wants you to go. And so my thing has always been I'm gonna go where I believe the Lord has called me to go, you know, And I can't sit here and tell you I'm like the greatest. Like, oh, I prayed this many hours today. I can't say I'm perfect in all those ways, but I believe that coaching for me is a mission that I was asked by God to do or told by God to do or given the gift to do. And so we went to Baylor instead of Oregon and everyone. People won't even know. People thought we were nuts. I did. I think we did. But like, but like, we always went where we felt like we were supposed to be. We came here because we felt like we're supposed to be here. So it's halftime and I walk out and Teddy's limping and right, I'm on the field. After he got, he got down, he knew who he was and he was teary eyed, obviously. And I just put my arm around him, you know, and I come up to about his. About his mid chest, right? I just put my arm around him and I was like, I'm sorry, brother. I know, I know. And he was like, just, he was just emotional. And he goes, hey, what's next? You know, when I got fired in Carolina, I mean, that was probably one of the hardest days of my life. Not because of me, but seeing my daughter, seeing Vivi just sob, knowing, like, our life just changed and we're gonna have to move again, like, and just the vitriol. And I just remember Frizz Jackson, who's a receiver coach for the Seahawks, and he had worked for me and he said, hey, when I got fired in North NC State, I thought my coaching career was over. And you hired me and you taught me one thing. You taught me what's next? And it's funny, like, all these kids who played for me at Temple and at Baylor, when I got fired, Carolina, like, what's next? What's next? What's next? And since I've gotten here, I say that a lot. And not many players ever really kind of say it. Just one of those things that hasn't caught on, which is fine, right? But it's something I believe in. It comes from. It comes from when Bryant was born and he was 3lbs 8oz. And I literally called. Julie's parents were now deceased and said, hey, if you want to see your grandson, I don't Know if he'll make it through the day. And I called my parents and said that. And I remember, like, they took him out, and they said, if he cries, he's alive. It was one of those kind of things. I'm, like, listening for the cry, and he cried. I'm like, okay, what are we doing next? And they're like, hey, we're gonna go up and do this. And so I left Julie and I went, and we just did test after test after test. And I had no time to ruminate on the past. I had no time to worry about the future. I was literally, like, in the moment. Like, all right, what's next? We do this. Okay, now what's next? And Pete Carroll had said it, I think. So I let her. Pete Carroll say. I just kept saying, what's next? What's next? What's next? What's next? And when Teddy said, what's next? It was like in his darkest moment, you know, where you're sitting there, like, man, what's going to happen? My future. It was like something that we had maybe said was there for him. And I was like, how do you leave that? Like, you know, I mean, how do you leave that? Like, because at the end of the day, man, like, when coaching is all said and done, I hope someday I can. I have a national championship ring. I hope someday I've accomplished some things. I hope someday my coaches have accomplished some things. But, like, someday, like, I want my kids to say, you know what? My dad tried. He did his best to be a good father. I want Julie to say, you know, hey, I didn't kick him out of the house. I loved him. And I want to the gates of heaven and have them say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Like, you served these kids as best you could. And I've made a lot of decisions to move up in my career, but I left a lot of kids behind. And then Bryant Bear the brunt of that. You know, Bryant went to, like, 14 different schools. Brian has a friend from here, a friend from there, and so here I am. My parents are in Omaha. My son's in school here. He's thriving. My daughters are doing great. They made a volleyball club, thank goodness, because that's all I heard about was.

[B]

Like, oh, my gosh, there's something else.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. And Julie has a business, and it's like. And also, like, I have all these players, like, and even if they will follow you, but that's not good for them. Like, not leaving transferring schools all the time is not great for everybody. My coaches, my staff, my. So that's really long winded. But it's just, I just think because we're going to win and people are going to say, well, what about the. And if the Lord ever wants me to go somewhere else, I'll do whatever he says. If he wants me to get out of coaching, I'll get out, like. But this is the home and this is where we're supposed to be. And I want people to hear the decision making process because. Because it's way more than just football. And oh, by the way, I cannot tell you, I cannot tell you what it feels like, you know, as a player. But I'm saying as at 50 years old to walk out. They play that skrilla song, which I've grown to love.

[B]

We're the same age, by the way.

[A]

I walk up that ramp, I see all those kids, I walk through the smoke and they open those gates and I can see the sea of red. And I'm like, I can't believe I get to do this. All the pressure, all the ulcers, all the late nights, all the recruiting trips, all the whatever for that one moment is absolutely worth it. How do you.

[B]

Can I ask another question? How do you. How do you balance and not. It's not even balance. Super competitive. You talked about tough love. I tell people you have to win shooting baskets in a paper can, ping pong, whether you think you're going to win or not. I think you're going to. You're going to Max. Sometimes people confuse that when it's time to help a guy through or love a guy through a situation and you're still not as maybe compassionate as some people think you would be. Does it in contrast to your character or how are you pushing folks through that?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because I hear your interviews. I know how you feel about halftime stuff. And is this football related? Is it not football related? Like, I know how you can be, but that dynamics has got to be brutal.

[A]

Yeah. So, you know, my dad comes in every Tuesday and does a Bible study for all the coaches who want to go. Right. And I listen to my dad and, you know, I've listened to him do these Bible studies with the staff. Probably not for like 10 years. Okay. And there's like certain themes he goes back to all the time. And one of those is like, you know, the greatest, the greatest disease we have probably is we seek comfort and we want to be comfortable. And so nothing great happens by being comfortable. So when I said, when I say we found out And I say it. It's not. This is. This is not like, hey, this is the comfortable thing to do to stay. This is the right thing to do. And it has to be unbelievably uncomfortable moving forward. Like, if I had my druthers, no one would know my contract. No one would know anything. I would just coach.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

I would not.

[B]

Yeah, I know how you are, but.

[A]

So I think. When I think about that, I look at, like, young. We have some really good young coaches and people. Sometimes the older coach is like, why are you so hard on them? Because Tom Coughlin was hard on me. You know, we have players, and it's like, the greatest one, the greatest coaches that ever gave me a gift was a man named John Thomas. He was our strength coach at Penn State because he never treated me like a walk on. I'll never forget, we played Michigan State, and I was on the kickoff return team, and I had, like, you know, back when you actually wore thigh pads, and there were these huge thigh pads, and the guys would, like. The guys would take knee pads and cut them and put them in the thigh boards. I did that. And I'm on the sidelines, get ready for kickoff return, and the referee comes over. He goes, you need to have thigh boards in. I said. I just sort of look right here. He said, oh, okay. Sorry. Sorry. J.T. was like. He was a strength coach, and he was calling up the kickoff return team or the punt team, whatever it was. And he was like, all right, guys, go. Didn't say a word. I walked in on Sunday, and I thought he was gonna physically kill me. He's like, don't you who you think you are? And I left. So, like, man, yeah, like, he.

[B]

He.

[A]

He doesn't. He doesn't. He doesn't entitle me. And he doesn't. He doesn't, like, oh, it's just, you know, he's just. He's just mad. He's not. He's treating me the same way that they treat levar Arrington. He's treating me the same way. And so for me, for our players, I think the greatest disservice you can give them is low expectations. And so you have to have high expectations, high accountability, and you have to have the same expectations for yourself. And you have to stand up in front of them and say, I was wrong when you were wrong. Sometimes people see things come out at halftime because the creative guys have to put it out and they'll see videos, and people say, man, you seem really fiery, and, like, you have no idea who I am. You just. You just are seeing me in the press conference afterwards like this. But like that. Those kids need that, and they want that. And now I'm finally at the point where they know when it's funny. Like. Like Dion Dawkins. I would yell at some player, and he'd be like, people skills rule. People skills. He's crazy.

[B]

Why do you pick him to pick on?

[A]

No, but I'd be yelling at someone else.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I was gonna say he's. Yeah, but you probably fight him anyway. Yeah. No, but he was a senior. Junior. And he was like, he'd like. People skills rule. Come on. Leave him alone. Coach. I'm like, thanks, Dion. Hey, buddy, can you please keep staying the C gap, please? Like, I was way crazier back then. And so now we're at a point where I'm running around outside and I'm yelling, screaming at practice, and now V9 or Jacori or those guys are yelling back, and I'm like, oh, we got it. We're there. Now people are gonna say, oh, this is all great. Win more games. I get it. I know we're all trying to do it. Okay. It's really, really hard. And you know what? We're getting better and better and better, but all these other things matter. And so I think that's. The dichotomy is, like, these kids, they need to know everything's authentic, because everything they see on a screen, their whole life, is on a screen. And it's like, is that real, or is that a filter? And so you better be unfiltered with them.

[B]

Do you, like. Do they know permission to speak freely? Like, do they. I remember when you were looking for a new defensive coordinator. Right. Rug kind of pulled out from underneath you. You've got a scramble. You're like, this is a really important position to me. I got to go through this. I like some of the things we did last year. I like our practice regimen. You've kind of intimated at the story about how the degree of difficulty in hiring Coach Eckler. You do a lot of things that. On that you sound like initially you don't want to do, but you're willing to, like to go there within your natural tendency.

[A]

Yeah. How do.

[B]

What's the difference between conviction and resolve? And, like, you know, sometimes I got to get out of my own way, because that's really what you want to teach your players, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, that's the magic.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In going from a program that hasn't won to getting out of your own way, but still having some resolve. Like, that's the. You got real life stuff, I think.

[A]

I think that's the special teams one with E. Was. Was super personal for me because I loved how hard Coach Foley worked and I knew how hard he worked, and I hated the vitriol that he had to deal with.

[B]

And it's like, you're a protector.

[A]

Well, just like at the end of the day, like, when we lose a game or win a game, it's like the whole world can't. I mean, like, you could be upset. Like, they can't swing like that far. It can't be like, you're awful, you're terrible, you're. And so. But that's the world. We chose this world. I get that. But within this building, it can't be that way. Right? It can't be. You know what I'm saying? So it's like. So I was probably a little more emotional about that because I know he gave everything to it and I know, like, hey, we lost this guy. And same thing with sat. And I see the character of Marcus to stick around and continue to go.

[B]

Into work after being demoted.

[A]

Yeah. And then, and then, and then, oh, by the way, going out recruiting one of the best tight ends in the country and developing his guy. Look how Luke Lindemayer's playing. Look how these guys are coming along. And so there's always a part of that that's hard because I was also the person that got demoted as the OC at temple, and that's ended up being one of the greatest things ever happened in my life. I end up being the head coach as a result. So, like, I've been through all these things. That being said, I have confidence. I have people that, like, one of the best things we did here was bring Phil Snow back and get coach no to come here. Because coach, he's terrifying, by the way. Oh, you'll love him if you. You literally.

[B]

He just. He kind of barks at me a couple cuss words and he's.

[A]

Yeah, I'm just like, you would have more fun with that, man. I'm telling you. Sit in his office, you can do a podcast. You can have a live stream podcast and people who watch it all day long. It's amazing. You can tell a great coach by how many players are sitting in their office. And you walk by there, you'll see players sitting in his office.

[B]

Yeah, there's one in my house that loves them.

[A]

So there you go. But, you know, so with the special team thing with ek, it was like, you know, I don't, you know, I don't like to be told what to do. So everyone starts telling me and I start getting nervous and, you know, but then, but then at the same time, if someone wants to be here, you should talk to them. And so we had some great candidates. And then Phil Snow was a part of the process with me. Like, he did the interviews with me and he asked the questions and, you know, my ADD is really not great for interviews. You know, it just comes. Comes flying in halfway through and I'm like, oh, my gosh. But as I've gotten older, I've learned like, you know, hurry up and wait. I'll say. I'll call it like, hurry up and wait like when the whole world wants you to. Like, like the kids are like, hey, who's the DMD coordinator? Guys are going to the portal and I need to get out of here. It's like, hurry up and wait. You know, hurry up and wait and just find the right thing. Do the right thing. Don't worry about what people are saying right now. Let history. I learned that at Baylor. We went to Baylor and it was like, you know, we would, like, then someone would get accused of something and then they would want to make heavis. Oh, gosh, man, we better do this or else people are going to say this. I said, let history tell your story. Don't you know how many wrong decisions people have made by just over responding to the current narrative? Just let people look back 10 years from now and say, did they do the right things or do the wrong things? I thought was really cool.

[B]

You have no idea how important that message is.

[A]

Oh, gosh. I mean, it's just. And you know what? Like, like if people, if people could go back, like, would they. If the Husker Nation could go back, would you fire a 9 and 3? I think it was 93 or 9, 9 and 4, whatever. 10 and 3. Would you fire a 9 and 3? Frank Solich, would you? Well, a lot of teams are going to find out.

[B]

That's one of my best friends. I lack objectivity.

[A]

But a lot of schools now are going to find out, hey, should we have done this? Like, they're going to fire coaches? Like, oh, we need to get back to. First of all, why don't you make sure everyone in the athletic department and the university is all aligned and making sure everything is moving? Because it's not just one person. This is not an extension for Matt Rule. This is an extension for this whole way of life that we have in this building right now, which, which is our board. It's, it's everyone on campus. It's a whole way of life. And so it's the former players. It's, it's, it's everyone. And so it's just, hey, let's keep this going and move it forward. But not. Yeah, so, so, so, so I hope you made good decisions. I mean, and at the same time, you know, you don't want to just. I just think when you start getting like real reactionary, bad things happen. And so just trying to just, just take our time. I will say this. You know, I picked up the phone two, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, I called Tony White and said, I said, hey, just remember this. You're a great football coach and hang in there. You know, I saw something. He was getting death threats or something like that. Like, I was disappointed Tony left. I thought we had a great thing going. I knew Dana was going to get the offense rolling and, you know, but he had to do what was right for him. I do think it's also, it was a cautionary tale for me of be careful what you asked for. You have something that you're passionate about, and I'm passionate about Nebraska football. Why leave it? Why not just double down on it and hopefully we made the right decision.

[B]

All right, six and two with warts. You like winning, but you're not super outcome based. Like you're, you're big process guy too. Does it drive you nuts that, or how do you know that with a team that's still learning emotional growth, that it's okay to win while you have some warts, but you still have to get better too.

[A]

Yeah. I think, here's what I think, here's what I think. Everyone, like college football's not ready for it. But like the parody is so great now everyone has to understand that this is what all the games look like. Like Texas is on the top 25. I think like they, they stop Dowdell twice from the 1 yard line to win.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. Like, like, like, like they're going for the. Like, like this is what it looks like in college football now.

[B]

They're, they're waited for a turnover late against South Carolina.

[A]

Oregon. Oregon is slogged their way through a Wisconsin win. Yeah. Yeah. And then, and then beat Penn State in overtime. Yeah. And a Penn State team who, who, who three weeks later doesn't have a coach and they're three and four. So I guess, I guess it's just Kind of like, you know what? We have a process. We have a standard. We never hit our standard in terms of how we want to play. Never. But, like, I don't know that. I don't know. When you really watch it, like, not every team looks that much different. Ole Miss almost lost to Washington State. Okay, so was that an ugly win or was it a win? And as college football's changing, it's going to a playoff format. The whole key in the NFL, when I was an assistant for Tom Coughlin, it was just, get the tournament guys, get in the tournament, be hot late in the season and go play. You know, the job that we took, that was the old Big Ten West. That ain't the job anymore. You know what I'm saying? You ain't playing just the Big Ten west anymore. You're playing. You're playing top 25 country teams all across the country. Hey, by the way, we go to the east coast twice and come back and play on Friday. Oh, that's fun. I got Lincoln, Riley and then this hot UCLA team coming off a bye week. Oh, that's fun. I have eight conference games. Other teams with conference, like, those aren't excuses. Those are just. That's what it is. And so I just think the whole ugly win thing, people say that a lot, and I'm like, you know, I don't know. If you were on the field at Maryland, that was one of those beautiful moments, watching our guys come back and win. And as we erase curses, we don't build enough monuments to them. Like, like, seriously, oh, you can't go to bowl game. We go to a bowl game, we win the bowl game. Okay. Close losses. Well, now we have close wins. So when we were having the close losses, if we would have won one of those games, would you have called it ugly or beautiful? You'd have called it beautiful. Because we're finally coming back. We've won two games with the ball in our hands, on offense, going down the field to win the game, which hadn't happened in eight years. Ugly or beautiful? Now, do I want to get better? Absolutely better. Do I want to give up nine sacks? No. Do I want to give up these long runs? No. And every year. But that's what this extension is about, honestly. It's about just doubling down and like, hey, where will we be in two more years? Where will we be in three more years? Where will we be in two more weeks? Three more weeks?

[B]

Are you terrified of, like, year five or year six rule? Because three is the only one that's popular. Like what happens in four, five, six, you're four.

[A]

Year four, Temple, we won it. We won the series three.

[B]

It was 11 and two. Was that.

[A]

Well, yeah, so we. You're well that we got to a bad start there. It's kind of weird. So year three at Temple, we went to the conference championship game. We lost to Houston, then we lost the bowl game. Year four, we. We were three and three and we were just a little off, and boom, we got hot. We won seven straight and won the conference championship game. And at Baylor, year three, we get to the conference championship game, we lose with our third string quarterback who is red shirting. We lose in overtime to Oklahoma, we go to the Sugar Bowl. We played Georgia, who was getting ready for their national championship runs, and we lose that game. The next year's Covid. I leave next year's Covid. I don't count Covid as anything in football. And then the next year, all those kids came back and they won the conference championship. They won the Sugar bowl, and they FaceTimed me from the locker room and they were like, the process works. And so for me, like, we are just now in the middle of year three, getting the process to. Whereas you think about Dylan and Jacor and those guys, they're just in year two.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And, you know, we did something different here. We played. It was kind of cool out there on the practice field. Like, Nash Hutmacher was out there today. Gif was out there. We played the older guys. We didn't do what I did the other two places and play all young guys. We didn't portal everyone. We played the older guys. I felt like they deserved to play and they got the seven and six and they changed the program. In my mind, I'm grateful to them, but yeah, man, I can't wait for year five, Year six. Like, what this case place can be. And then, you know, just the commitment from the university to like, let's. Let's. Let's go be like Husker volleyball. Like, let's go get the best players in the country. Let's. I mean, like, let's. Let's go be unabashed. Unabashed about, like, our investment in the facilities and the infrastructure and in the players. Like, Like, I love watching Oscar volleyball. Like we had. I got to tell you this.

[B]

So it's your pie.

[A]

So the night before. Yeah, this might be. People probably like, oh, geez. Okay, so he's staying.

[B]

He's doing good. We.

[A]

We set up two TVs in, like, my hotel. Room when we go on the road. And really here, too, right? Because I stay in the hotel with the guys, and. And, you know, usually have Friday night game on one, Friday game on another, and I guess it would have been Maryland. And so you kicked me out.

[B]

I was in the lobby.

[A]

I did not know you were there. My wife, my kids, family, friends. So it was a big room, right? And so they're all sitting there, and there's seven football coaches, and I think it was like, Rutgers, Washington, or one of those games was on one tv, and Husker volleyball was on the other. And, like, one of. One of the guys walked up, he goes, there's not one of you guys watching the football game. Like, we are all mesmerized. Mesmerized by Danny's team and Husker. And Husker volleyball.

[B]

And I guess I love her by the way her mannerisms and her cadence in terms of how she, you know, I'm a big body language, like, yeah, you know what? She is incredible.

[A]

I was mesmerized by Coach Cook. Just like, see, just sit there like this, you know?

[B]

Well, he. I was. I was intimidated by him. I remember I saw him on a couple visits, and I'd be getting ready for broadcast, and Lexi's son was in town, and I would almost want to ask him for permission sometimes, like, is it cool to speak? And then we got kind of buddy, buddy. And it was like, I still think I got to say, Coach Cook, the thing that I like about DBK is she just kind of. You guys have some similar. She's just very comfortable in the message and how it lands is how it lands. But you don't have to worry about her authenticity.

[A]

No, she said some things earlier in the year. She's, like, working for. We're. We're trying to do this. I was like, oh, go ahead.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Like, I'm up there. Process, process. Leona. Leona came. Leona came to the team meeting, and I recognized she was in there. And afterwards, I was like, you're in the team. She goes, I heard you. Blah, blah, process. Blah, blah, process. Blah, blah, process. So, but, yeah, I. I. But, like, I. What I love about Danny is, like, they've embraced a cauldron of competition. To quote Anson Dor, you know, the great soccer coach at unc. Like, they believed in a cauldron of competition. Like, they've got 10. 10 people that can go play in the Olympics, probably, and they can play six players at a time. And, like, they've embraced that competition. And so it takes a strong leader like her to replace a legend and deal with. Not deal with, to manage to coach all those elite players. And so I can't wait to continue to learn one of the great things I've talked about. And sometimes I say things in press conferences. I can see some guys, people are kind of like, all right, here he goes again. I love Fred Hoiberg. I love.

[B]

I know you do.

[A]

I love New Year's. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I invite him to hang out. Like, yeah, no one wants to hang out with me. I love Amy Williams. Amy Williams coaches my girls in camp. Like, I love her. Her husband, boy, is a great golfer. Beats. Just beats the tar.

[B]

She's my old neighbor. She is as competitive as they come. She.

[A]

So I. I told her. I said, yeah, I'm just kind of. Leona, like, you know, plays basketball. Every time she loses, she just walks off the court, won't speak to anybody, and tells me, if you got off your phone, maybe we would win. And I'm like, I gotta. I gotta teach her some. She's like, she's competitive. Leave her alone. I was like, yes, ma'.

[B]

Am.

[A]

Got it. Like. But I. I love. Man, I love Coach Manning. Like, he comes up here. He comes up here, like, every couple weeks just to check on me, make sure I'm good. Will Bolt, Judd Cornell, and many more. I'm gonna sign up. Like, just, like, the way this. This group of coaches on this campus invites you in. And sometimes when you're the football coach, you know, you have the biggest building, you have the biggest budget. You feel a little bit awkward around people. And no one. They never do. They're just all such great people, and it's such an amazing time because we're winning at such a high level. Like, you asked about the entitlement of a coach. Like, Coach Walker wins his, you know, 300th game or whatever, and they're out there grinding, like, he wants to continue.

[B]

One of my guys.

[A]

So I just. I just think there's just such amazing people here. And I think. I think. I think Troy has done an unbelievable job, like, what he's done in a short amount of time to modernize everything. Because there's really. If we're being. There's, like, sometimes a push to not modernize everything. And I'm like, weren't we the first people? I think I said. I said it really well. The press runs. Weren't we the first people to put. Oh, yeah.

[B]

I don't know how that landed, but I got the point right. The Husker vision. Now, that was.

[A]

We were the first person to put.

[B]

A jump on the 94.

[A]

Yeah, we were the first piece. Like.

[B]

Like the tunnel wall.

[A]

Yeah. Like, we're like the first of everything.

[B]

And it's like we would see all these schools come in and just like, write stuff down. And we would be in the weight room and we would kind of whine slash ask, like, why are you telling them everything we do?

[A]

You know, I was a player at Penn State and our coaches came out to visit the Nebraska coaches.

[B]

Yeah. Barry Sanders came back, like, a couple of years later and wanted to see what tech. What was going on in our weight room. It was amazing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was a guy that could. Was pretty good lifter.

[A]

Yeah, no doubt. I told our players, like, like, like, get a place here, go play in the NFL and then come back and go to Miami for a week and then come back here and train here. Like, Christmas is probably going to feed you anyway. Corey. And the strength coaches, the weight room, the recovery, you can't get this anywhere. Like, Cam Juergens is one of the best players in pro football, wins the super bowl, gets a contract, has surgery, and he's in the training room the next day and didn't even. Didn't play for this staff. But that's not how we do things. If you're a Husker, you're a Husker. And like, I'm like, guys, he has it figured out. Like, why are you paying. Why are you paying those taxes and those prices to live? Those. Like, my friends all came in from Philly and New York this past weekend, and they were like, bro, we went to dinner. Do you know how much it costs? I was like, stop telling all your friends to come here. This is our secret. Nebraska is our secret. It's the good life. I don't want you guys messing it up and raising the prices on everything.

[B]

You said something in Vegas, and I think it took people back. You were just talking to us. It was Kyle and I and I like to think we can get you to say things you may not normally say. But then I think about the extension and what you're saying about the other coaches, and you were talking to us about what an amazing job this is and wait till in three years and the fiscal position and the uniqueness of the athletic department versus what's going on in other academic institutions across the country and how it was uniquely positioned then you're. You're staying. You're talking about other coaches. It's all of that has. If Everybody. If anybody ever wonders if you're just talking, just connect the dots, because the consistency in your message is. It's there. If you. If you just listen.

[A]

Yeah. So ride the escalator up from the bottom floor to the second floor. And on the right hand, there's pictures from each game.

[B]

Right.

[A]

On the left hand, it says, what are you grateful for? And, like, people spend way too much time talking about what everything isn't instead of what it is. You look at, like, this place. It's like, tell me all the things that we have here. Yeah, you have to work on the things you don't have. Like, what don't we have? Well, but tell me all the things we do have. And so it's like, that's why sometimes I do struggle a little bit with, like. Like, I struggle, like, with some of the outside stuff, because it's like, man, I get that it's never going to be good enough. I. I get that. I get that. I really do. But, like, you know, you think you said to me one time, coach Osborne, after he won the first national championship, what do you tell you guys afterwards?

[B]

Oh, man, that's one of the. I could get. So we're sitting in winter conditioning. It's. It's January 16th. It's a Monday. We're just getting ready to start workouts. You can ask anybody on our team. We had just beat Miami and. And weren't really supposed to, and it was ugly. And he just kept in. That team turned out to be pretty good. I don't know if we knew at that time, but they turned out. That 95 team turned out to be pretty good.

[A]

And he think.

[B]

He literally sat up there. He literally sat up there and said. And he. He's like, you know, guys, I want you really, really attack winter conditioning like you never have before. And this championship doesn't mean a whole lot right now. It's. It's in the past. And he says, you got to remember, you know, I'm the coach that three months ago, couldn't win the big one. And you could have heard a pin drop in the place. Like, everybody was just like, yeah, we do remember what the narrative was. Late in November, early going into Oakland, like, they just framed the whole thing up, right? It's just like. But for him to say it and say it out loud, it. He's just talking about a couple months ago.

[A]

And that's why, like, honestly, like, I'm so grateful for what I went through in Carolina because it prepared me for this. Because at the end of the day. My wife, My wife win or lose on a Saturday, she's in her shop on Sunday. And you know what? People come in to get their hair done. And you know what? People are kind to her and people treat her well. You know, that's why, like, I just, I just say to myself, like, man, instead of being like, we should get this different. I just grateful for the things that are here and I'm grateful for the people that are here. I'm grateful for the position that we're in. And college football is going to change so much in the next six to 10 years. It's going to be outrageous. And I've been saying since I got here, if we don't do it now, we're going to get left behind. And so we are now in the non left behind conversation. So would I like to be number one team? You like to be real house? State is. Yes. Okay. But they wanted to fire Ryan last week, halfway through the year last year. And now he's the number one team in the country and he has a national championship in his pocket. It took Kirby, I think, eight years at Georgia to win a national championship.

[B]

Remember when he couldn't beat Mammal?

[A]

So it's like, but it's like, it's like, okay, just let's talk only about the great things that we have. We have a great city to live in in a great state with great people. And you know what? Like, this is, this is the first place I've coached where I don't tell guys. Like, please don't go here. Just part of town. It's, it's safe. The key, the key is you gotta make football really hard. That's why we practiced outside today. In 30. It was a real field, was like 26 in church.

[B]

I, I, I could, I appreciated you out there in shorts. I was waiting for you to hop in a drill and break something.

[A]

No, I, I never don't have shorts on. I mean, unless I like. Unless whatever. But like, I wear shorts when it's cold. And if there's ever a day that I can't stand out there. And there was one last year, I'm like, let's go on the indoor boys. So that's like my, that's like my litmus test. So I can see the players kind of looking at me like, is he gonna, is he gonna. Oh, damn it.

[B]

I know you're the guy that loves to run in the fire. You gotta be hoping for low 30s in pre sip for the blackout, right?

[A]

I want it to be the Coldest day ever. I went Iowa last year.

[B]

You're a child.

[A]

I mean, at the end of the day, like, we all have different advantages. Every place has different advantages. Like, if you're on the coast, when you play at west coast and you play an east coast team, you've got to go travel a lot further, right? Like when you're in the middle of the country, like, okay, like, we have to deal with, like, our spring practices. We practice in the morning. It's 35 degrees outside. They don't have that in LA, but they have. They have really cool weather and they have movie stars walking around campus. Okay? So everyone has their things. Good, bad. So when we play a team, I want it to be as cold and ugly as possible. Like, that's, you know, I don't. I don't love the wind. That's why, you know, that's why I hope. I hope someday we put a huge jumbo trying to block the wind coming in from the south end or something. That wind is severe. That Michigan State, I love people like, well, Michigan State, I'm like, you do a favor, you go throw a ball in that wind. You go punta. When Archie punted the ball and it went in the air and went up like a boomerang came down, I was like, yeah, it must not have the one.

[B]

He hung up to Barney. I had to catch myself during a broadcast. I told Kyle. I was like, yeah, I'm greedy. I'd like to have seen that. Been on the numbers. But then I thought about what he was throwing into, and I was like, yeah, I'll take that going into the third quarter.

[A]

Just move the sticks. So, no, I just. I think the key to. The key to. The key to the key to life and the key to progress is always. Is always living in the things that you do have and working at the things you don't have. Like, even for our players, like, hey, you know what? If you throw a great fastball and you throw a great curveball, work on your slider. But when you get in the game, throw your fastball and throw your curveball. And for me, it's like, hey, what do we have here? That's elite A lot. Let's push that. Let's show that. Like, this game this weekend, it's an infomercial for our university. Not just for football, for the students. Like, why would you not come here in the University of Nebraska? Why would you not come get an education here? It's cheap, it's safe. It's a good education. There's jobs here afterwards. You're in the middle of in between two cities. Like, there's 300,000 people in Lincoln, Nebraska. Like, I, I people, sometimes they be like, oh, what's it like? They're like, Guys, there's 300,000 people here. I went to Penn State. State College had 40,000 people. There's 300,000 people here. Like, I guarantee you. So it's just an infomercial for the university. And then recruiting wise, we'll have some of the best players in the world at this game. And so I can't wait for it.

[B]

Yeah, I'm already in my black, hopefully. Maybe you should give me some of your gear so I can have something for the game.

[A]

Well, I'll swag you out, bro.

[B]

I got you. I appreciate that.

[A]

Till next time. Thank you guys very much. This is another episode of Home Rules.