← House Rhules
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- [00:00]
A
I tell our guys that on any team, you're in three buckets. Bucket one, you've had six. You're having success, you've established yourself. A lot of times when you establish yourself, people try to come and get you to leave so that they can have your success. And you have to be really careful, man, because you've developed a legacy here, a legacy there. Be careful starting over somewhere. It's the. It's the anxiety. My seniors feel like, desean Singleton, he's bucket one. He's had great success here. He's going to go play in the Senior Bowl. He's got to start over in the NFL. And starting over can be scary. Bucket two, cuz, is guys who've not had the success they want yet, but they're going to. And those are the guys like Emmett last year, where you got to just keep them in the fold. Like, hey, don't give up on this. Like, the dream never gives up on you, but we sometimes give up on our dreams. What I tell the guys is, you know, I've been national coach of the year. I've been an NFL head coach. I took this job, but right now at Nebraska, I'm in bucket two. We're establishing some stuff, we're building some stuff, but I have not had the success that I want. And instead of running somewhere else where it might be easier and people's minds, I'm doubling down and I'm going to get myself to bucket one. And then there's bucket three. There's some guys like, you know what? I'm just never going to play here. I'm not going to step too slow. I'm not big enough. And we love. We don't get rid of those guys. We love those guys. But you have to decide which bucket you're in. And my whole thing is if you're in bucket two, double down Sprint, trust the process, and get yourself to establish your success. And that's exactly what Emmett did last year.
- [01:40]
B
House rules, baby. We are back. Our final episode of the season, Coach. 17 episodes plus two specials. 17 hours and 43 minutes, 53 seconds of Showtime. 1.4 million views. 12,900 subscribers. More than. And that's just YouTube. More than 100,000 podcast downloads. Congrats on season one of your pod. House Rules.
- [02:12]
A
Well, well, thank you, man. I think everyone's. Everyone's tuning in to hear what Cuz has to say. And it's been. It's been. It's been fun. You know, it's been fun to do this with you. Every week. It's a. It's a highlight of the week for me.
- [02:24]
B
Listen, you're kind. I'm just your buddy that you brought along with this. You are so good at this. I told you this years and years ago. You have a natural knack of it. You love it, and you're good at it. You. You love sports. You love learning. You have the curiosity gene.
- [02:44]
A
Well, you know, I think the one really cool thing has been hearing from people, really, all across the country, people who are into sports, people who aren't, who've kind of taken to it and gravitated towards it. I got stopped by someone who works in that space, you know, mental health space, and addict. This person was a little bit more in addictions and just encouraging us to continue to talk to our players, talk to people about these issues that when they remain taboo, you know, bad things happen. When we all get out of there and start talking about it and we normalize it, then people can seek help. And so, you know, the whole intention of this was to talk about football, but also maybe try to do a couple good things along the way. And it's been a lot of fun to be a part of.
- [03:24]
B
Listen, it's important. You have a gift for it, and I think it is giving back. I think people who are football fans love it. I think it's great to do good along the way. And I think your messaging is right. And it's interesting. I mean, when you're sitting down with CEOs or other coaches or the biggest media types, it brings the world into your lap, and it's an interesting world.
- [03:53]
A
No doubt. I mean, we're lucky because of this job that I have and the platform we have. Because of your platform, because of the people at Athletes first and because of Hoots and all these other people, just the access we have to really cool guests. And, you know, I'm excited about the off season. Obviously, with less football, then we can talk more about sports, but parenting, but life, I mean, you know, it's. It's really cool to have a podcast that, you know, one thing. We're not here to divide anyone. We're here. Not here to attack people. We're not here to shame people. We're here to, like, bring up the good things that are out there. And so looking forward to continuing with you, brother.
- [04:30]
B
So I got one question before we go to. There's a lot to get to today, but it's a parenting question. So we got our first snowstorm, and it was Saturday night into Sunday. So Sunday morning, I say to my 12 year old, Massimo, dad. I go, I call him dad, right? That's an Italian thing. I go, dad, I need you to go out and shovel. You and Anthony to go shovel the snow. And he looks at me and he goes, why? I go, what do you mean, why? I go, you got to shovel the path, right? He goes, he shows me his iPhone. He goes, daddy, it's going to rain. It's going to be 50 degrees on Wednesday. Why would I shovel the snow now when it's going to melt?
- [05:17]
A
I remember Denny rule. It wasn't that you had to shovel the snow. You had to shovel the snow. It started snowing two hours in, you had to shovel it once, then you had to shovel another time, then you had to shovel another time so that you constantly were keeping up, right? And one time I just was, I didn't, I didn't want to do it. And my dad, the calmest guy, don't worry about it. Just do it. When it's all said and done and I had to go out like a day later, it was icy. I couldn't lift, was painful. And I just said, you know what, Just listen to your dad. Just listen to pop. Come on, man.
- [05:50]
B
Thank you. I made him do the same thing. Which was. All right, well, then yesterday when it was even colder outside, because you know what, Sometimes when it snows, it's a little temperate. It was colder the next day with the sun coming down. Didn't do any help. And he was out there struggling just like you were.
- [06:10]
A
Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. You know what I mean? Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.
- [06:13]
B
That's it. He's a cala brace head, that one. The little one is always the tough one.
- [06:19]
A
That's awesome.
- [06:20]
B
So let's start. First of all, you got big off season ahead of you. And the quarterback situation, which everybody's going to know, how do you approach that in the off season?
- [06:32]
A
We were blessed to have two great years with, with Dylan and, you know, we love him, we love the things that he's done. I love the family. You know, he feels like he needs a, you know, a reset, which, which for all of our guys, you know, we want them to be here if it's the right place for them and they have to figure all that out. So, you know, we'll be fans of Dylan's. We'll, we'll cheer him as he goes and does great things at other places. But, you know, we're getting ready for a bowl game. We've got TJ and you know, when he went to ucla, what he showed us there, I don't think there's a guy in this building who doesn't believe that TJ is a winner as a starting quarterback. He went to Penn State under duress, the scores beyond us, and he's still making plays all over the field, making plays with his feet. And then, you know, we go to Iowa, he pulls his hamstring, he can't run. And you know, you find out a lot about people when things are hard and you know, he was out there to compete to the very end. And so I think our whole team's excited to see TJ in this bowl game, to see the things that he's going to do, to watch his development. He's a young player and every week I see him get better and better and better. So, you know, know this is the new college football, right? And we're excited, we're excited, but we're not afraid to play a young player. And one thing about TJ is he's proven to me he's not, when he gets out there on the field, he's a baller, he's not a young player. And so I'm excited for him.
- [07:53]
B
That's awesome. Hey, looking back on this season, what, what are the, the three most, three things that you're most proud of that you've accomplished so far with the program?
- [08:06]
A
I think, I think, you know, getting to backto back a bowl, earning back to back bowl games where it's not where we want to be, but it hadn't happened in, since, since 2013, 2014. So I, I, I think that means it's probably something was off that we've at least fixed. Right? So getting us back to where like hey, you know, going to a bowl game is, is, is not something we're praying for, hoping for, but something that we expect. I think that that's, that's one, I think, I think what Emmett did and our offense did in terms of rushing the football and re establishing the rush, the running game at the University of Nebraska and having a player and Emmett who's you know, the Big Ten running back of the year and who's, who's, who's really, really a significant player and getting back into like young people across this country saying I can go to Nebraska and I can be up for national awards, I can make first team all Big Ten, I can do all these things here and just reestablishing the run game. And I think what we did on special teams this year, you brought in Mike Eckler and becoming a dominant special teams unit. Kenneth Williams, you know, earns Big Ten honors as a returner. Jacore Barney as a punt returner. You know, to where we started from, to get to that point now, you know, 85% on field goals this year with Kyle. So it's just, to me, a harbinger of kind of where we're headed and where we're going that we were able to flip that and fix that. And so re establishing the run game, getting special teams back up and going and. And getting our guys in the postseason again. That. That's. That's exciting to me.
- [09:35]
B
Yeah, there's been great moments, man, all three of those things. I mean, certainly the run game and certainly the special teams been exciting. Some. Some good stuff. What haven't you been satisfied that you.
- [09:47]
A
Want to work on? Yeah, I mean, we. We got to get back to being a dominant defensive team. You know, for two years, we were a top 10 defense, and this year, you know, we're 21st in the country in total defense right now. So it's not like we're way over here, but we ended the season on such a down note. And I think the biggest thing that's sad to me that we have to fix this is we're 100. We're last in the country in red zone defense. You know, that's. That's. That's not something we've ever been a part of. And so, you know, sometimes when things go bad like they did at the end of the year, you think it's all these major, major things, but you look at it just, hey, we got to fix our red zone defense. We have to fix. You know, we took too many sacks this year. And so, you know, we're going to continue to build. We're going to. We're going to double down on things we're good at, continue to build. We've made some changes on the staff that we think can help us get over the hump. It doesn't mean that, you know, any ills were those people's faults. They worked their tails off. But it's my job as the head coach to say to ourselves, hey, where do we need to head and who can do it best? And, you know, that's what we'll do, man. We'll get back to being a top 10 defense in every category and taking away the runs, not letting people score in the red zone. If we can continue to get better at pass protection, not just running the football, but protecting I think our passing game can be dynamic and then we'll take another step on special teams. And you know, we brought in some really good recruits in this class, a small class, because we have a lot of young players here. And I think the thing you'll see, cuz, is a lot of these young players that we recruited that have kind of been waiting their turn, it's their time. And so obviously the portal will open. We'll see. You know, some guys might leave some guys, but you know, we'll be in the mix for some big time players and we'll bring in a couple guys. But the basis of our team is here and we like it and I'm anxious to see what we can do.
- [11:23]
B
You know what, I think your time in the NFL really prepares you for this new college football that we're seeing where you don't want to redo an entire team through the portal, but you want to accent right, like you want to look at some areas that you may could use help. Almost like free agency was in the NFL.
- [11:43]
A
Yeah, in the NFL, you know, you have to build your team through the draft, but at the same time, you know, you want to go out and add in veteran pieces and veteran production through the portal. Since we've gotten here, you know, we made the decision when we got here not to just strip the team down. I just didn't think that was the Nebraska way. We've tried to build through the guys that are here, but now with revenue sharing, with what Troy Dannon's done, you know, we, we are now able to compete at the highest level for players, both our own guys, keeping our best guys here. And then, you know, if there is a guy in the portal that fills a need for us or brings something to us, we can go get them. And so I'm excited about all that. I'm excited about the opportunity to put together a team next year that we feel great about. But first, you know, we got to go to Vegas and play the number 15 team in the country. Man, first we got one more game left and you know, Emmett won't be out there playing, but most of our team will be out there. And I think it's a great springboard into a fixing how the season ended and getting that taste out of our mouths, but also be heading in the direction we want to head, isn't it?
- [12:46]
B
While you look at it right from week one to now, coming up, Utah on New Year's Eve day, like it.
- [12:54]
A
Feels like a lifetime, right?
- [12:57]
B
I mean, like when you're in the middle, the throes of it, you're working every day. And you know, I can think back to your life. Like, you know, you get a minute, you're flying to a fight, right, to see Bud. But then it's back on. You get a minute, it's back to recruiting. Like, you're just in it. How do you look back and reflect on it?
- [13:16]
A
It's really hard to do so right now because, like, you're so caught up right now in like re signing your roster and right. Getting ready for this game. I think there'll be a lot more perspective at the end of the year. You know, I have some great people that work here, you know, some, some areas, you know, hey, look, looking at how we practice, looking at how we travel, you know, I've assigned some things out to some people, you know, twice this year, you know, we flew to the east coast and came back and played a Friday game. And those two Friday games were our worst games. You know, we can't complain about it. The Big Ten has basically said this is what you're going to do. So unless you're Ohio State, you're going to have to play a Friday night game probably, and maybe they will at some point too. You know, we have to play two pretty much every year. So I've got to fix things like that. Like, hey, how do you do a short week Friday night game? How do you do this? So there's a lot of studying, there's a lot of analytics, there's a lot of research, there's a lot of experts that we're going to have to call to try to figure out, hey, how can we handle the rigors that only the Big Ten has? I mean, like, you know, going to the east coast, going to the west coast, maybe the ACC has a little bit of that, but it's a real part of what we do. And so we're going to have to continue to study, build upon what we've done, but also, you know, not be, not be afraid to do something dramatic to get us over the hump.
- [14:27]
B
All those hours and hours of work. But now does it feel like it just goes in a blink?
- [14:32]
A
It's more like it was. It's all on fast forward. I can't really remember many moments, right. Like, I can remember like something here and something there. And if we're being honest, and I think the one thing when we did this, we said we were always going to be transparent. I'm so, like embittered by the last two games of the season. You know, I mean, it's just, you know, we're a team that, you know, we lost to Michigan, but, man, we battled them to the last drive. We lost to usc, but we battled them to the last drive. To have two games like that, man, I. Like I said after the press conference, I put them squarely on my shoulders. And, you know, sometimes when you go through something like that, it makes you make decisions and moves that maybe you wouldn't have done. You know, if you win one of those games, maybe, you know, you. You're not going to make this change, you know, in the schedule. But now in my mind, I'm like, all right, I want to do what Texas Tech did. Texas Tech went from seven or eight wins, whatever they had last year, to. To be in a playoff team. Texas A and M was in the Las Vegas bowl last year. Now here they are, a CFP team. That end of the season has made me really, really hungry. Not that we weren't before, but it just. It just stokes the fire a little bit more to get it done.
- [15:31]
B
Well, it's funny because the way you talked about the bowl game was like, all right, that's a chance at redemption in a sense that I want to go out and I want us to perform well. Like, I. I could hear in your.
- [15:41]
A
Voice, you know, we didn't stop the run all year, right? So I talked about that. We were second or third in passing, but we didn't stop the run. And now we're facing probably the best offense in the Big 12 or the second best offense, whatever, and one of the best running offenses in the country. So, you know, everyone's probably expecting that they're going to run for 400 yards against us. So it's my job as the head coach, man. I mean, I. I take my hat out the practice, I flip it around backwards. I'm down there coaching with the D line, you know, right where I started, right? We moved on from our defensive line coach. We got some guys in work. I'm down there. Me and Phil Simpson got those D tackles, and I'm going back to my. My. My heritage, because if they go out and they. And we just can't stop the run, at least then I can say to myself, all right, well, you know, you did everything you could, and it's part of you, and let's fix it for next year. But if we can stop the run, then I feel like, hey, I'm part of the solution. You can't be a leader and just sit there and complain about other people. You've got to go get involved. And so that's why this game's so important to me with their play style. I mean, you know, we faced four ranked teams this year and we didn't beat them. Yeah, we were close a couple times. We didn't beat him. Well, this is a ranked team, and so it's one more chance to go play a ranked team. Our guys just go face an amazing offense, a running offense, a defense that takes the ball away and scores on defense. Great special teams. It's a great football team. Their legendary hall of Fame coach is retiring. I mean, their right tackle just won the Outland Award. They're Joe Moore award finalists or semifinals. No one's going to give us a chance. So. Hey, Matt, if you think you're a good coach, hey, Dana, if you think you're a good coach, let's go coach the team. Because I believe that what happened at the end of the season is all coaching. It's not the players, it's coaching. Coaches have to get their players to play at the highest level they can possibly play. And so that's why this is an amazing challenge.
- [17:25]
B
All right, let's have a little play a little game here. The tape shall set you free. Awards for the season. So I'm going to give you a couple guys, couple categories. You give me your nominee. So biggest improvement, who would get the biggest improvement award?
- [17:44]
A
Emmett Johnson. This time last year, Emmett was thinking about going in the portal so he could go be the featured back somewhere. And you know, he set every record here. He's fifth all time in the single season rushing. I think you know what he did by just hanging in there and getting better and developing. Right. You know, it's just we're in a day and age now where everybody thinks they should go here, go there. Like just sometimes you just gotta stay hunker down and believe in yourself. And Emmett made amazing improvement.
- [18:08]
B
I love that story. I love him too.
- [18:11]
A
By the way.
- [18:12]
B
One of the episodes, I got to hang with him. What a kid. And I love the message, right, that, hey, I don't need to leave. I can do that here by working hard, by doing the things I need to do. And it worked. Man, that's a beautiful story, beautiful message.
- [18:31]
A
So I tell our guys that on any team, you're in three buckets. Bucket one. You've had, you're having success, you've established yourself. A lot of times when you have established yourself, people try to come and get you to leave so that they can have your success. And you have to be really careful, man, because you've developed a legacy here, a legacy there. Be careful starting over somewhere. It's the anxiety. My seniors feel like, Deshaun Singleton, he's bucket one. He's had great success here. He's going to go play in the Senior Bowl. He's got to start over in the NFL. And starting over can be scary. Bucket two, cuz, is guys who've not had the success they want yet, but they're going to. And those are the guys like Emmett last year, where you got to just keep them in the fold. Like, hey, don't give up on this. Like, the dream never gives up on you, but we sometimes give up on our dreams. What I tell the guys is, you know, I've been national coach of the year. I've been an NFL head coach. I took this job, but right now at Nebraska, I'm in bucket two. We're establishing some stuff, we're building some stuff, but I have not had the success that I want. And instead of running somewhere else where it might be easier and people's minds, I'm doubling down and I'm going to get myself to bucket one. And then there's bucket three. There's some guys like, you know what? I'm just never going to play here. I'm not a step too slow. I'm not big enough. And we love. We don't get rid of those guys. We love those guys. But you have to decide which bucket you're in. And my whole thing is if you're in bucket two, double down, Sprint, trust the process and get yourself to establish your success. And that's exactly what Emmett did last year.
- [20:00]
B
Yeah, that's awesome. I love the fact you put yourself in bucket too, because Lord knows you had a chance to go anywhere you wanted basically. And you're like, no, man, I'm here. This is what I want to do. This is what I signed up for. And I want to get the bucket one. I love that, dude. I want to.
- [20:18]
A
I want to have a team that competes for a conference championship. And. And we're not there yet. So, like, it doesn't mean I'm gonna start. Like, our guys, some of our young guys are like, oh, man, no. Yeah, we'll get there. I just gotta. I gotta do more. I gotta do something. I gotta just keep grinding. And like, if the players see you as a bucket two guy, then they say to themselves, well, that's. And it doesn't matter that maybe I've had. I've won a championship somewhere that doesn't matter. It's all about where I am right now. Because you know what? Desean's in bucket one here. When he gets drafted by whoever drafts him, man, he's right back into bucket too. I mean, you know, he's got to grind his way and re establish himself, and that's, that's what makes people successful when they always just keep finding a new challenge and going back to bucket two.
- [20:56]
B
That's awesome. All right. Toughest dude who wins that award?
- [21:01]
A
I'd have to say Henry Lutovsky, our left guard. You know, I think Henry will be a pro player. He got hit in the eye on a Wednesday practice, and it basically like, like they had to do like, all his emergency stitches. Like, you couldn't see out of either one of his eyes. He looked like Rocky after they fought Clubber Lang. And. And he's out there practicing two days later. I mean, there's a lot of guys on our team that are really, really tough. Has a banged up knee, has a banged up hip, has a banged up ankle. But I know this with all my heart, Henry Lutovsky is going to be out on that field anytime we need him out on that field. And you know, I tell our guys all the time, you know, the money's great, the accolades are great. Someday you're going to walk back into this building or you're going to show back up at an event and the guys are going to look at you and either going to say, man, that guy's a. Oh, they're so and so, or they're going to say, that guy's a real guy and Henry Lutowski is a real guy.
- [21:52]
B
That's awesome. All right. Best practice squad guy.
- [21:56]
A
Oh, there's so many good ones. But Roman Mangini, this, this young man from Arizona, if I could give a competitive spirit, toughness and effort to my kids, I would pick Roman. And there's a lot of guys, okay? I mean, Kenneth Williams is returning kickoffs for touchdowns, and yet he goes over to practice squad, plays running back to help the defense. But Roman is the most competitive guy in the world. Like when we had an opening on special teams, like the whole team was like, please let Roman do it. And he's done a great job on special teams for us. Got a tough. You know, he knocked the guy down and they called a personal foul on him against Iowa. You know, he's 160 pounds. He's knocking down a big guy. I mean, call it. They call it. But yeah, Roman goes out there every Single day, like practices, competes. He pulled his hamstring at one point. They said he'll be out for five weeks. And I was like, okay, I'll see you in three weeks. He's back in three weeks. He's just a different level of competitiveness.
- [22:45]
B
All right, our teammate of the year award goes to whom?
- [22:50]
A
I think. I think Marquis Buford. You know, Marquis. Marquis was a captain this year, and Marquis, you know, tore his ACL a couple times, came in this year with high expectations, and things just haven't always gone his way. And, you know, when that happens, like, you can get frustrated, and there's not a day that I walk out on the practice field that Marquis Buford isn't our captain. There's not a day that I walk out of the practice field where he lets his feelings be higher than the standards. It's always the team, the team, the team. And so when I look at Marquis, I say to myself, like, I want to surround myself with people like him. I would hire him. I would trust him. You know, right behind him, I guess there's another guy, Derek Branch. Derek is another senior safety. I introduce him to everybody I can introduce him to. I'm like, hey, you guys got to hire this guy. Like, these guys are going to rule the world someday. And so football is great, but supposed to teach you something about life. The cool thing is when you have guys like Marquis and you have guys like Derek, they're teaching me. They're teaching me at 50 years old about life and what's possible with this new generation of kids.
- [24:04]
B
Future coach award.
- [24:07]
A
Jalen Gramstad. Jaylen Jalen is our backup quarterback. He was an NAIA all American his. For his senior year. He wanted to come to Nebraska, so he came to Nebraska, walked on, didn't play in enough games, so he was able to red shirt. So he came back this year. I've already got him lined up. He's already. He's already got a job. I'm like, you know, I'm not going to pay you a lot, but I'm gonna give you a lot of work. So. But Jalen's one of those guys, man. Like, there's certain people that when they walk through the building, they don't just say hi to everyone. Everyone says hi to them. You know what I'm saying? Like, they have that magnetism that pulls people in, and JG's got it. And so he'll be.
- [24:44]
B
He'll be a.
- [24:44]
A
Not just a great young coach. He'll be a great coach and probably a head coach. Someday. He's got it.
- [24:49]
B
That's cool. That's really cool. Coming up this weekend is college football playoffs. Right. First round. So let's go through the four games and put your analyst hat on. I used to always ask you to do this for me. I'm like, all right, I need you to be the analyst here. You channel your inner Herb street because you're great at it. All right?
- [25:13]
A
Analyst hat, bro.
- [25:16]
B
I love it. I love it. All right, let's start Friday night, the rematch, Oklahoma and Bama.
- [25:26]
A
I think Alabama will win. I think Alabama is coming off a tough game. Oklahoma has a great defense. Oklahoma hasn't been scoring quite as many points. I think this will be a really close game, and so it could go either way. Oklahoma fans, don't. Don't angry. Tweet me. But I just think Alabama, you know, they played sooner, so they're a little bit, maybe more in rhythm. I think coming off the tough game against Georgia in the SEC championship game, I think Ty Simpson gets. Gets going. And I would take Alabama.
- [25:53]
B
Yeah. I mean, here's a shame is. Ever since midyear, hurt his hand. It's been tough, man. Their offense has kind of really struggled just with. With Matier's hand.
- [26:05]
A
And he's a great player. Like we saw him. Early in the year, Oklahoma played Michigan. And I was just. I love what. I love what the coordinator's done with him. And Mater is a great player.
- [26:16]
B
Yeah, he's a tough kid. All right. The early game on Saturday is a great one. Miami and A and M, the Aggies.
- [26:27]
A
It's really, really interesting because A and M is a great football team. Okay. Great football team. Yet, you know, there's, I think, seven ranked teams in the SEC and they've only played one of them. So they've had a unique schedule this year.
- [26:38]
B
Yeah.
- [26:39]
A
You know, with Miami, you just have to say to yourself, you know, which, which. Which Miami team are we getting? You know, I mean, like the one that played well for so many points of the year or the one that, you know, had a couple unique losses. I'm going to go with A and M. You know, my Miami side, you have Carson Beck, you have a veteran player, a veteran quarterback. He's been through it. So I think that what makes you want to lean that way. Malachi Toney, Amazing, amazing talent. Like, you know, get him the rock and good things happen. But I just think when you watch A and M, I just think the total picture, the entire team, I feel good about them. I think this is another close game. A Great game, but I'm going to go ahead and take A and M.
- [27:16]
B
Yeah, I like, I like the Aggies in this one. I think there's also a pressure on Miami that you can't let this game get out of hand after the whole Notre Dame stuff.
- [27:26]
A
Like, how is Miami not in the ACC championship game? How is a 10 and 2 team not in the head of a 75 team? Like, so we have all these controversies and everyone's yelling at the committee and I'm like, wait a minute, how did they even let it get to this? Like, this makes no sense. And so. But Miami's in, man.
- [27:41]
B
Yeah.
- [27:42]
A
Congrats to Mario Cristobal. And like I said, you do have Carson Beck now you do have a guy who's been there, so the pressure is not going to be heaped on his shoulders. But you know, I think the thing with A and M, I always go back to that South Carolina game. You know, when push came to shove, they were able to rally back and make the plays you need to make to not lose that game. And I think that speaks a lot to me.
- [28:03]
B
The next game's fascinating. I mean, it's Tulane, Ole Miss. And Ole Miss obviously is a terrific team, but no Lane Kiffin. Like, how do you see that building getting ready for a game with the change of the staff and everything?
- [28:18]
A
It's unique, but I mean, they were going through that. I mean, credit to Lane, credit to Pete Gold, credit to their whole staff, their players. Most importantly, that as we were going through this whole, you know, lane watch, their team just continued to win. Like they were able to handle that. Like it didn't tear the team apart, they didn't show signs of fracture. And then on the flip side, you have, you know, a two lane team that's their coaches leaving, Coach Sumrall's leaving to go to Florida. So it's just really kind of a vestige of the new college football. You know, you look at the first game, you say to yourself, well, I mean, Ole Miss is obviously going to win. I mean, they beat Tulane pretty handily. At the same time, it's really hard to beat a team twice. You know, just ask Virginia and Duke and the ACC championship game, you know, it wasn't the same score, but it was a 17 point win. So I still would stick with Ole Miss. You know, I think, I think Charlie Weiss is coming back and still calling the plays. I believe Pete Golding is one of the best of the best. And those guys came there for a reason and they executed at a High level all season for a reason. So anxious to watch the game. I have a lot of respect for Tulane and I have a lot of respect for John Sumrall, so it'll be a fun game to watch.
- [29:21]
B
And in the final one Saturday night, JMU and Oregon. And we know this is a dramatic mismatch on paper. Like, if you're the coach of James Madison, what's your messaging? Knowing you're going up against a mighty Oregon team.
- [29:38]
A
Yeah, I mean, but, but you, you, you've won. You've won all year long, right? Winning's winning. You know, make no mistake, winning's winning. And you just have to win that game and you win that game by winning one drive at a time, one play at a time. They've got good players. They, they want a conference championship. They've done everything that they're supposed to do. And so, you know, I, I don't know why they would walk into the game not confident. And, and at the same time, like, what do you have to lose? Oregon, you know, they won the Big Ten championship last year and then had a tough first round game and, you know, so the pressure's on them to go, you know, win in this game. That being said, I think Dan Lanning is a great coach. I know they lost two coordinators, you know, in terms of, there's some changeover on the staff that's happening here moving forward, which is a credit to Dan, the fact that, you know, you've won so much that they want your assistance. But, you know, I really like Dante Moore. I think he's a great quarterback. They've got a great run game, they've got a great option route game. And then, you know, when Dan's there, they're always going to play good defense. They've got a huge defensive line skill guys. So I'm going to go with Oregon. I'm also, you know, I'm a big proponent of, you know, right now we're watching all this different film all across the country. Like, I think it's really hard to play in the Big Ten. I think it's. You face difficult teams week in and week out. I think it's hard to play in the sec. You face, you know, difficult teams week in and week out, and it takes a toll on your body over the course of a year. And so I'm going to go ahead and just trust that a Big Ten team in Oregon is going to win the game. But I have a lot of respect for James Madison. You know, Adam Demichel's on My staff, his brother's on that staff. And, you know, hopefully it's a great game for us all to watch.
- [31:10]
B
Last thing, Indiana. Can you marvel about the. That rise in that program and it. And, you know, and how it pertains to you and Nebraska as well?
- [31:24]
A
I can't explain it because nothing like it's ever happened. I mean, I can't explain it. Nothing like it's ever happened. And so I just think you have to just tip your cap to Coach Signetti, right? Like, he came in, he called it. He did it. Like, the first year was like, well, you know, they brought in. They brought in all their players. And I think there's something to that, right? Bringing in players who used to. You. And so you're not having to establish your culture. You import your culture. But, I mean, last year they went and got a quarterback from Ohio, and he plays at a really high level. This year they go get the quarterback from Cal and he wins the Heisman Trophy. I mean, they're just coaching really well, and they have a coaching staff. Their coordinators have been there for a long time. I'll tell you the story. I. I went and spoke last year at the Broyles Awards. They do the BROS Award for the top assistant in the country. And the next day they do it for the high school coaches. They do a high school. Best high school assistant coach from every state. And Brian Haynes is the defensive coordinator from. From Indiana. I don't. I don't know, Coach, but the next day when Julie and I get there, there's some horse racing at Oak Lawn. And we just go down to be social and I meet Coach. We start talking, visiting. You know, they'd beaten us that year. And that night I go to the event to speak, and they introduced and all of the Royals award finalists had all left, obviously, including the winner, Al golden, my old boss. They all left to go do whatever they had to do and. Which makes sense. And Coach Haynes was the only guy who stayed for that banquet. And I remember texting, coaching day. Like, man, I have a lot of respect for that. Like, there's a detail there that's really, really, really impressive. And so I just think we all have to say to ourselves, like, Coach Signetti's done something that's absolutely amazing. The rest of us are all chasing it. Like, if not, like, you know, I got hired, a bunch of guys got hired with me. Like, you know, we're doing better than a lot of the guys who got hired at the same time. So, like, our staff, we should feel Good about that. But then you look at Coach Signetti, what he's done, it's like it makes you not want to sleep at night. So when I tell you, like, the anger and the frustration that we all have, trying to figure it out, and I don't want it. Well, he brought his own. I don't want to say that, but I think there's something to consistency. He has a plan. He has his coaches. You know, I just hired a new. A new defensive coordinator on Rob Orich. I had hired Eckler last year. Coach Holgerson's here. I'd sure love to keep those coordinators together for four or five years and watch what we can do, you know, get some players in here, some consistency. So I feel like we've established a baseline, but if I'm keeping it real, bro, and I know this clip will probably go viral, Coach Signetti is making a lot of us look bad right now. And so we're going to chase it. We're going to chase it. We're going to chase it. But I do. I have to tip my hat to him because what he's done is amazing. I'm anxious to see them in the. In the playoff.
- [33:54]
B
I agree, brother. You're so right. So right. All right, coming up, anything but football. We go to the mailbag. Your questions for coach.
- [34:12]
A
I love chomps all year round. Ask anyone around here, and they'll tell you. And during the holidays, it's no different if you're traveling, like, to see family or maybe to go to a bowl game in Las Vegas. With 10 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar, Chomps are the perfect plain snack. And you know who else loves chomps? Everybody. I first got onto chomps from our strength coach, Corey Campbell. He's 240 pounds, no body fat, but he eats all day long, and he eats chomps to get him that protein. Chomps also make great stocking stuffers, and they're a great way to spread some holiday cheer. Go to chomps.com rules15 or use code rules15 to get 15% off your chomps order and free shipping. You know, one of the things you find out when you come to Nebraska is that there is no place like Nebraska. And that's really the people. Since I've been here, Julie and I have met some of the most amazing people we've ever met in our lives. And one of them is right here with me right now, the owner of Muchachos, Nick Maestis. Good to have you on.
- [35:19]
C
Thanks for having me.
- [35:21]
A
So I'M going through social media one day, and I follow you, and you start talking about a Snapadilla. Yeah, explain.
- [35:31]
C
So when the EBT and Snap shutdown happened, we wanted to find a way to serve people. That's who we are. That's who we want to be. We want to be a restaurant that brings everybody together, and what better way than with food at our table? And so we created a menu item that people could come in, no questions asked, whether you needed a meal, whether you couldn't, you know, could or could not afford a meal. We wanted to provide it for you. You get a drink, you come order it right off the menu. So there's no shame in it. You know, you're just coming and ordering a meal at a restaurant, no questions asked. And you know what we thought was going to be a post that maybe my mom would share it on Facebook and that would be about. It turned into something that had over 1.5 million views on Facebook. And so it blew up a little bit. It's a quesadilla and. And a drink, no questions asked.
- [36:19]
A
Have people taken advantage of it? People started to come in.
- [36:21]
C
Yeah, we've. We've served over 450 meals to people that have come in, which. Which comes in. Over $4,500 worth of meals have gone out the door to people. And then we also created a food pantry that people come in, fill up their sacks with canned goods, dry goods, and then also certified Piedmontese has donated over 200 pounds of ground beef as well. Oh, wow. So we've been able to give fresh ground beef, great canned products to people. And we've done. Over £4,000 of food have gone out the door.
- [36:49]
A
You talked about $4,500 already. Like, how about just a random person? You know, obviously, some people are coming in because they need something to eat. Have people been coming in and trying to help?
- [36:59]
C
Absolutely. We've had so many people that have come in and donated food that have put money in our donation jar. You know, we offered, you know, you bring in a canned good to us, we will give you a street taco for free. You know, just to just say thank you. Literally, nobody has taken the street taco. They just want to help. And that just shows the spirit in the community of Lincoln, a place that I've been proud to call home for 25 years.
- [37:21]
A
You're here. You're on the pulse of the street. Do people need this?
- [37:24]
C
Absolutely. You know, even when benefits are fully restored, food insecurity is still a very, very real thing in Our community. And so we will find a way to continue feeding people well after this ends and just. Just they're our neighbors. You know, we see people that have a need and we want to fill it.
- [37:41]
A
Thanksgiving is coming up.
- [37:42]
C
Yeah.
- [37:43]
A
Do you. Do you see this continuing like this being necessary around Thanksgiving time? Anything you'll do for Thanksgiving?
- [37:49]
C
Yeah. I mean, people went without food, you know, access to money to buy food for well over a month. And so we want to be able to provide a Thanksgiving meal to anybody who wants it. So Thanksgiving Day, we're going to open our doors with a full turkey dinner than come in and eat. We're going to smoke all of our turkeys and yeah, it's going to be. It's going to be a blast. And hopefully people come and take advantage of it and get a good hot meal.
- [38:13]
A
I love that. If I could smoke a turkey, I.
- [38:15]
C
Would help you, right?
- [38:17]
A
Pretty sure I can.
- [38:18]
C
Well, you know, you're. I. I can show you.
- [38:20]
B
We've got.
- [38:20]
C
We've got a big smoker out back where we can show you the ropes.
- [38:23]
A
If people see this and they feel inspired, hopefully they feel inspired in their own community. Hopefully they feel inspired, whatever. But they feel inspired to help here. Help you at muchachos. How could they help?
- [38:34]
C
So if you go onto our social media pages, Facebook, Instagram, we have links to our business Venmo account where you can donate straight to us. That will go to fill in our pantries, that will go to feeding people at Thanksgiving, that will go to our Snapadillas going out the door as well.
- [38:52]
A
Did I say Snapadilla?
- [38:53]
C
You know, it sounded like Napoleon Dynamite a little bit, but, you know, that's embarrassing.
- [38:56]
A
I'm spacious Spanish mind, too. Like, I didn't speak Spanish and I said never did. I just now get it. Okay, thank you for that. I just want to make sure I say, you know, my wife Julie, who I know loves you, loves muchachos, and believes so much in what you're doing. I want to make sure people know there is no scam here. There is no. This is like, the minute I heard it, I think I reached out to you. Like, we know that you are giving back to the community first, and I'm sure lots of people are doing it. So I think a thank you to all the people, whether it's $100, $50, $5, you know, at the end of the day, as you said, food insecurity. Like, how can we be great parents? How can we be great in school if we're a kid, if we're not eating. And so thank you so much for everything that you're doing well and thank.
- [39:40]
C
You for your contributions and just even, you know, financially, but then also bringing this to light, bringing it to people, knowing that there is very much a need to help people, you know, out on our streets. And we're just happy to be a small part of it.
- [39:54]
A
So if you're looking for a great meal, first of all, come to Muchachos, man. We should actually check the place out a little bit, right? I mean. Yeah, show us your favorite parts. Come on.
- [40:02]
D
Yeah.
- [40:02]
C
So, yeah, our bar, which is pretty great, we've got our custom made Muchachos Husker jersey. We love being a part of this community, but also feeding Husker athletes is something that we've always just taken a pride in. I mean, I've been a fan since I'm growing up in my kid, you know, my parents garage and listening to games on the radio. And so we have jerseys from all the teams that we've served up top, you know, Midland University as well, Concordia tennis, but Husker volleyball or Husker football, basketball, women's basketball, softball. So, you know, definitely love feeding them. We also Team Jack, you know, we're big supporter Team Jack and what those people are doing over there, too. So, yeah, the GBR Taco license plate is probably one of my favorites. One of their children passed away of childhood cancer, and so when they saw what we were doing, they had that plate, wanted to donate it to us. So that was probably one of my favorite things in here, just knowing that, you know, we can play a small impact in hoping to, you know, end that stuff.
- [41:04]
A
So if you can donate, donate. If you just want to go have a great lunch, want to come in and have a cold beer, you want to have some coffee, you want to get lunch for your people in your office right here in downtown Lincoln and follow them on social media? Why don't you give them your Twitter handle?
- [41:18]
C
Yeah. Yo, Muchacho on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
- [41:22]
A
Well done. Thank you, my friend. You're the best. Thank you.
- [41:25]
C
Appreciate you.
- [41:31]
A
Levrack was born on a Nebraska farm built by a few guys who just wanted to make better use of their space. What they came up with is simple and effective. A mobile aisle storage system that combines shelving and other storage accessories to help you organize everything and get more room out of the space you already have. It's the kind of setup that makes you stop and say, man, that's pretty cool. What started in a farm shop has grown into one of the toughest, smartest storage systems out there. From home garages and workshops to equipment rooms, military bases and warehouses across the country, Levrack is built to handle it all. Made right here in the USA by people who take pride in doing things the right way. Clean, strong and built to last. Check them out@levrack.com and make room for what matters. All right. Welcome to another edition of Office Hours here on House Rules. And want to make sure we thank our sponsor, levrack. And who else to talk about storage and storage systems, which Leverack is the best at than our own equipment manager, Jay Terry. Thanks for being on, brother.
- [42:34]
D
Thanks for having me here.
- [42:35]
A
So, Jay, just earlier this year you did your 300th game here at the University of Nebraska. What were the emotions around that?
- [42:45]
D
It meant a lot. It's been a lot of years. My first year was 2002 with football. I started full time at the university in 1997. But 2002 was my first football season and my first road game that year was at Penn State. So kind of full circle deal. It was the fourth game of the year that season.
- [43:03]
A
Now you're a native Nebraskan. Talk about your journey to get coming here and then what made you want to get into equipment?
- [43:09]
D
So I wasn't even a Nebraska fan growing up.
- [43:12]
A
Oh, gosh.
- [43:13]
D
My family was all Colorado fans. My grandma was not happy with me that I came here. I'm a first in my family, born in Nebraska, so. But my best friend and from high school walked on to play football here and he came up to me in the hallway at school and said, hey, are you going to go to Lincoln and be my roommate? I said sure thing and I'll go with you and fell into a place that my sophomore year of college, another kid from our hometown, he worked in the equipment room at the Devanny center and called and said, my boss wants me to hire another student in here. Do you want to work? And I was doing a telemarketing job down in the Haymarket. And I was like, yep, I'll be there as soon as I can. But also my dad was a junior high high school coach. So I was the little kid running around at football practice, basketball practice, track. So I've always kind of been the manager growing up and then played wasn't good enough to do anything. I always say I was on the team. I don't say I played on the team. I was on the team growing up. But we had some good teams out at Cozador. And so that's how it all got started. I had no ambition to be an equipment manager. I thought about being a teacher, getting into tv, radio, and then fell into that and got hired full time in april 97.
- [44:23]
A
You must have so many stories. How many head coaches in football have you worked with?
- [44:30]
D
It started with Coach Solich, so I believe that's six. So, yeah, everybody's been. It's different. Everybody has their own way to do things. Everybody's been good to me over the years, met a lot of great people. So this job has taken me around the world. I mean, got to go to Ireland, been to Hawaii, been to Alaska for other sports. So it's given everything to my family.
- [44:56]
A
So we're getting ready for a bowl game. Last year was a challenge. Going to New York City and kind of things of that nature. But tell everybody at home what all goes into getting up, going to a bowl game, not just playing the game, but also, obviously, we're there for a few days. We're practicing at Bishop Gorman High School. What's your preparation look like?
- [45:16]
D
So we're going to have five practices, I believe, while we're there. So we're having to. Nice thing for us is we have a game helmet and practice helmet, so we're just going to take our game helmets and use those for practice that week so we don't have to take anything. Nice thing also here this week is we're going to be done with practice, and then the truck will leave afterwards so we can get things washed before we pack and leave. You know, a couple times over the years, we've practiced the morning you leave for a bull trip, which can be a lot. So this year it'll be nice. Just we're taking everything with us that we need for a regular practice somewhere else to do. So that's just kind of the logistical thing there. But it will. It'll be good.
- [45:54]
A
Nebraska iconic. Iconic. Uniform. Iconic. Look, sometimes there's a little bit of, like, push and fight about, you know, alternate jerseys and all those different things. Where do you stand on just an alternate. Different uniforms at times, and if. If there's anyone that you've ever really liked.
- [46:10]
D
Yeah, I mean, I obviously like our uniform, but also it's about the kids. It's not about me as an old guy anymore. You got to do what you got to do to get the players here. But my. I like the. I don't know. I got a bunch of them on the wall here. Different jerseys.
- [46:27]
A
Look at these. Come on. Come on, guys.
- [46:28]
D
And so, I mean, our first One we did was when the 300th consecutive sellout, and that was with Sue. And I remember doing the photo shoot with sue and Roy hello on that. And that was a throwback to 1962, the first year of the sellout streak. So that was pretty cool. It was tough talking Coach Osborne into doing it. He didn't want to spend the money on it unless we auctioned the stuff off to recoup our money for it. So did you get the money back? Yep, we got the money back. That stuff went real well. But then we have our other jerseys, bowl jerseys and stuff. This one, I remember we wore the end. That was versus Wisconsin. People dreaded that one. Wisconsin wore a big W on their jersey. We were both Adidas schools at the time, so Adidas wanted to do something different to differentiate the two schools. Rex Burkhead was in that uniform. The black one here we wore against ucla. Remember Taylor Martinez in that jersey? And a lot of people don't like the silver numbers. Different things like that, that make it hard to read for the TV commentators and everything. But one of my favorites was probably this white one down here. We wore it on the road, the 16 one with coach Riley. We wore that on the road at Northwestern. I thought that was a sweet uniform. We were gonna wear it at home, and then we panicked of wearing all white at home and then decided to wear it on the road. So we wore it at Northwestern. It was a cool uniform.
- [48:04]
A
All right. Black cleats or white cleats? Home uniform.
- [48:07]
B
Red.
- [48:08]
A
White. You prefer black cleats or white cleats?
- [48:11]
D
I think the white cleats look cool with the home uniform, black on the road, but I also have no problem with the black cleats on the home uniform. So.
- [48:19]
A
So there's. There's rumors out there that it might become like a new. Same iconic uniform, but like a. A refresh. And they kind of done that over the years. You know, you deal with Adidas, obviously, they. They have an interest in it, recruiting. Are you excited about how we'll look here in the coming years?
- [48:35]
D
Yeah, it's always cool to. You got to move with the future and move with the times. So everything that Adidas does, you know, they talk to us and get our approval, and they're excited to work with us. They're excited to work with Nebraska because what our brand does and things. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to what we're going to be doing in the future.
- [48:55]
A
300 games down, you have to have a lot. Just give us one. Just give Us one. One great story involving a coach, preferably not me. Okay. Just something give a little insight that people can only get from someone who's been on the inside the whole time.
- [49:09]
D
Oh, man. I got some Coach Polini stories.
- [49:12]
A
I think that'd be great.
- [49:13]
D
I loved Coach Polaney. He'd be that Youngstown fire that those guys would get, and he'd get fire up. And I don't think he would remember that. He would holler at you. So there was a game at Penn State which seemed to happen, and Amir Abdullah, it was a quick speed sweep around our sideline, and he cut on his inside foot and slipped. And somehow it was me, Bo and Coach Papuccis at the end. And somehow Bo and I made eye contact and he just was like, if we slip again, we will never wear these shoes. Just like. And I finally. I yelled back and was like, he cut on his inside foot. And Coach Papuccius, the D coordinator, just turned and walked the other way. We ended up winning. And then in the locker room after the game, Coach Pliny's way apologizing to me is like, you know, I think he slept slipped because he had his cleat spatted. That's why he slipped on the grass. I was like, yep, that's exactly it, Coach. That's great.
- [50:11]
A
Well, thank you for the insight. We all see the people out on the field, we see the coaches, but there's so many warriors who. Who do a great job each and every day, like you. And I think the biggest thing I've always said, too, is it's amazing the student equipment managers and the job that they do, like, how many hours a week they must work, the things, you know, the tireless hours that they come in. You probably had a lot of great ones over the years.
- [50:34]
D
Yeah, it's been fun. The connections. I mean, we've had kids go on that are doctors, lawyers, we got a priest, we got guys that are coaches. We have guys that are in Division 1 assistant coaching positions, recruiting office positions, guys that have coached in the NFL. But, yeah, the kids have been awesome. Couldn't do it without them. And then also the other assistant equipment managers, Kyle Cotras and Zach Smith and other guys over the years that have been here.
- [51:00]
A
That's awesome. Well, thank you so much. We appreciate you to many more.
- [51:03]
D
Thank you, Jay Terry.
- [51:10]
A
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- [52:19]
B
This week on anything But Football, we're removing the but. All right, now we asked listeners to ask you anything, so we got a mixed bags of questions. All right, so let's start easy. Living Sports says, how do you approach the balance of development within versus gaming players from the portal?
- [52:43]
A
It's a great question. And, you know, initially to build the base of the program, I think we spent a lot of time on the development piece getting players here. And I think every player that's here, we have to develop them. But if you'll notice, in our last signing class, we cut down the number and now there's more money involved, right. So you can't sign 20, so you have to sign a smaller group. So we're, you know, now that we have rev share and we have the things that you need, we always want to develop every player that's here and make sure that they're playing their best football. But the teams that win do a great job in the portal too. Now you look at the Ohio states, we keep track of it all. It's a percentage that they have from the portal. It can't be everybody, but they have to be impact players. When you look at Oregon, you're going to see the tackles, you're going to see the quarterbacks to transfer. The tackles are a transfer, the D tackles a transfer. The safety is a transfer. So making sure that we're, we're being really aggressive in Terms of the portal now that we can be. But also still feeling like we're building a base of development. And so, you know, when you develop, you get things like happen, like Emmett Johnson. You know, when you develop, you, you grow your own, but you have to be unbelievably aggressive. We haven't been until maybe last year. You know, last year we went and got an Isaiah, we went and got Rocket, we went and got Pritchett, we went and got some really good players. We're going to have to. We're going to have to do a really good job and a smart job of getting the right guys. It's not volume, it's difference makers in my mind.
- [54:06]
B
All right, from that to Lance Roeder. Lance says, coach, what's your favorite Christmas candy?
- [54:15]
A
Christmas candy?
- [54:17]
B
Yeah.
- [54:19]
A
What's a Christmas. Like Christmas.
- [54:21]
B
How about I make a Christmas treat?
- [54:24]
A
Well, okay. So, you know, my mom's. You know, my mom's Italian, right. So she makes, she makes like Italian chocolate cookies. And we put the icing on top. My wife makes a great. What do they call it? We put the cookie to put the Hershey.
- [54:39]
D
Yeah.
- [54:39]
A
Oh, a pizzella. Don't even get me started on the pizzellas.
- [54:42]
B
With the iron. With the, with the waffle iron. Yes.
- [54:45]
A
So I am a. I am a. I am a Christmas cookie guy. That being said, going back to Christmas candy. I do. It's gonna sound crazy. I do love a red and green M M's. It's just, it's the same thing, just different dye.
- [55:01]
B
Yeah.
- [55:01]
A
Yeah. I like it when. I like when they're like. When they're like a different color for Easter. They're like pastels and all that stuff.
- [55:06]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, me too.
- [55:07]
A
Don't put M M's anywhere near me. It's over. Over.
- [55:12]
B
I, I like the Christmas cookies. You, you know, I gotta. I like the job simple. I just like the chocolate chips.
- [55:21]
A
But like, is there a bad one?
- [55:23]
B
No, no.
- [55:24]
A
I mean, if there's ever a bad cookie, then let me know.
- [55:26]
B
I know. I mean, my wife, I. There's nothing better than walking in the house smells like that. That's the greatest smell ever.
- [55:34]
A
No doubt. And. And, and the best thing is, like, my, my grandmother used to make them and then she'd make all the cookies and she'd put them in tins.
- [55:42]
B
Yeah.
- [55:42]
A
Out on the porch. They would stay cold. And she'd come out, she's like, who ate that? It was just obviously me every time. Like, I mean, like, I would just go out there and sneak out there and just grab a couple, put them in my pocket, walk around back, eat a couple, come back inside. So hence my weight loss journey this year. I struggle at Christmas time. Can't wait to see you in the spring.
- [56:02]
B
All right. Traven T. Traven T. Wants to know if you, if you wanted to start a coaching journey with football, where and how would you recommend getting started?
- [56:15]
A
Yeah, it depends. I think it depends how old you are. So in terms of where you want to enter and what level you want to get to. But I would say if you want to coach, coach first. Like the first thing that I did out of college was I didn't go be a ga I went to Albright College. Jeff Collins, who ends up being the head coach at Temple, and then Georgia Tech was the D coordinator. Sean Padden, who's been my right hand guy forever, was the D line coach and I was the linebackers coach. And so I had my own position group. I got to know the guys and I fell in love with actually coaching. So I would coach at a small level, whether It's High School, NAIA Junior College, Division 3, and figure out like, hey, am I good at this? Do I like this? I'll never forget we played fdu, maybe FDU Madison, and we won on a game winning field goal. So I went from like Penn State playing Michigan as a player to the next year on the field, Albright College versus fdu, maybe it's fairly Dickens. I can't remember FD Madison, I think. And we kicked the game winning field goal. And the exhilaration I felt was so intense. I remember saying, I will never do anything else. And so, you know, if you have that love and that feeling, then great. If not, then do something else. I think once you do that, then you're saying to yourself, okay, what level do I want to get to and how can I get in at that level? Can I volunteer? Can I be a ga? Can I be a qc? I. I've always felt like, get in where you want to be at any area and then just accelerate, like be great at your job. And people keep promoting you. And so, you know, I've got a great quality control here. Noah on defense, he was an equipment manager here. That was such a good equipment manager. When we need some stuff done upstairs, they were like, hey Noah, could you type this? Hey Noah, could you do this? Next thing you know, he's a quality control coach. Next thing you know, he's out there coaching. Not because of anything else other than he's elite at the things you give him to do so you give him more.
- [58:09]
B
What was the first thing that grabbed you about coaching the players?
- [58:15]
A
Like yeah, like because, because like you know, I've been a head coach now so like now that I'm coaching the D tackles, people are walk looking at me like, like you're just a different guy. I'm gonna find a way to do something moving forward. Like I'm gonna coach more. Like I've got everything in place here now. Right? Like Susan runs this, Martin runs this, Corey runs this, Christian runs this, Pat Stewart's run of the personnel. Like I've got to go back to actually coaching because when the players see that you can help them get better, they respond to you so much differently. When you as the head coach unlock their confidence in their brain by just giving them control, it changes everything. And so I think I fell in love with that early on. Not, not the score, not the result, but like the day to day watching somebody get better. And what's wrong with coaching nowadays and I challenge our staff is it's like your job's to help the players get better. It's not to help the guys who are going to play in the game get better, it's to help. So if you have a kid who's not going to play in a game for you this year but you're still coaching them, if you're a coach, get him better. And I think that's the beauty of coaching. And I fell in love with that from the absolute very beginning. Man, I love the X's and O's I love, but man I love indie, I love one on ones and then I love going up and watching the tape with the guys and, and watching them grow by becoming confident in what they do.
- [59:32]
B
Analytics is important but when it comes to it can't replace teaching like you could. You should know the deficiency as a coach and be able to teach him and coach them up without just saying well look, the analytics say this, it's.
- [59:49]
A
So well said cuz like one of the, one of the fundamental people in my career was, was a man named Pat Flaherty. And Pat was the offensive line coach at the Giants and I went to go be his assistant and as we went through that year like you know, hey, you say hey we, you know we teach 76 protection this way, we teach 62 protection this way. We have a three man slide, we have this, we have. But then all of a sudden you're facing Geno Atkins and then that well hey, we're going to do this versus Gino because. Because of the matchup or then you get in a game. And man, so and so is such a warrior. He's playing with a torn hip labrum, and he can't do X. And so now, hey, we're going to. We're going to. We're going to post the shade, but now I'm going to go back and help the three. And it's like so much of this game is who's healthy, who, who's in a good spot, who has a good matchup. And none of that is reflected when they say, like, 62%. They're saying basically 62% of the time, equal teams, you should do this. But it's not what's actually happening out there. And so that's why I love the great coaches who take advantage of the matchups. And at the end of the day, if you're a great coach, your players play well. That's it. You get your players to play well because you do what they can do.
- [60:54]
B
It's the truth. It really is. Lincoln Leon, what belief about leadership did you hold early in your career that you later had to completely unlearn?
- [61:14]
A
I don't know if I have one like that. Like, one of the most fundamental things I learned early on was Bill Parcells. He wrote this Harvard Business Review, I think it was, and he talked about, you know, leadership, and what he said was, like, if you want to lead, lead. Like, don't wait to earn everyone's respect. Don't try to become friends with everyone first. Like, lead. Like, people respond to leadership. I think I was blessed very early on that, like, Coach Paterno taught us that you're supposed to have high expectations of your best players. So, like, you have accountability, you have discipline. I think the one thing for me that I've had to learn over the years is that people really love it when you're so transparent and you tell them, hey, guys, I really don't know what to do right now. I think as a leader, I always felt like I had to be in control and in charge and show like, hey, I know what I'm doing here. But there's real power sometimes in being like, hey, guys, I don't know what to do right now. Like, I don't know how to handle the situation. I don't know what the best decision is. I think that's really, really something I've learned. Like, be honest. Be transparent. Be transparent with your players, and as a result, they'll rally for you because you're honest. You'll also teach them a lesson that they don't have to have all the answers, and then you become more collaborative. So I think that, hey, I'm the head coach now. I better be in charge. I better be. The guy in charge was probably the one thing I had to unlearn and just, you know, lead in areas where I'm strong, listen in areas where I'm not strong, and always be a little bit more transparent with my staff and with my players about, hey, guys, this is where I'm having a hard time right now.
- [62:47]
B
Oh, that's great. That's really good. That's insightful. All right. Lastly, the guys on the Never Doubt podcast wanted to know if you like this song that they made for you.
- [63:01]
C
Walking up the jets with a spicy chicken sandwich.
- [63:06]
A
That song, Coach.
- [63:09]
C
There he goes.
- [63:11]
A
Well, to be honest with you, I mean, it's pretty catchy. First of all, I mean, it's pretty catchy. You know, I don't love the video of me walking up the thing holding the Chick Fil a sandwich. I mean, I don't even know why. That's why I hate the cameras. I'll go yell at the creative guys. I don't know that I had a spicy chicken sandwich, because I'm not a spicy guy. It's probably a regular chicken sandwich, to be honest with you. But I do, like, thank you for calling me our coach. Like, you know, I mean, like, you know, like my wife. That's a true story. Now, she asked me. She's gonna do an event at dry bar. Her dry bar. She used, like, a men's night and was like, hey, could you please come? And, you know, we'll do, like, scalp massages and hopefully guys buy things for their wives. We'll do cigars and scotch tasting. Cool event. And she's like, you know, if I put your name on it, maybe some people will come. And then we lost to Iowa. And she was like, yeah, I don't know if I need you on this thing anymore, Matt. Like, can you get Emmett Johnson to come? So. Emmett Kane. So, you know, as a coach, when you have the ending of the season, we have, like, you understand it, like, you know, people. People are going to get after you a little bit, as they should. But so I appreciate them calling me our coach because that's all I want to be, man. That's all I want to do is have people in Nebraska be like, man, coach, rule. Ride will ride or die for the state and for us. So I. I do like the song and can Someone send that to me so I can. I can play it for my daughters. Yeah, someone send that to me.
- [64:25]
B
That's awesome. That's awesome. On that note, listen, I want to wish you, your beautiful family, a healthy, blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. And to all the people in the Husker family, wish them a beautiful holiday season, and it's a joy to be a part of it.
- [64:46]
A
No, thank you, brother. And Merry Christmas. Happy holiday. Happy New Year to you, too. And I will say this. I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you, but I am going to make a little video on Christmas Eve of the seven. The feast of the seven fishes. And just, you know, we can try. We're going to see who has a better bacala. I'm going to go with you. Listen, sorry, Julie.
- [65:07]
B
Episode one. We'll have them side by side. All right.
- [65:12]
A
Well, I'll just say this, man. I. I really appreciate everyone who subscribed, who's listened, who's talked to their friends about it. You know, obviously in season, this has been, you know, this has been a lot of people doing a lot of work so that I can just walk in here. So whether it's been Martin Otang or Alex Rahurrich or Hoots or all the people, Athletes first, or you and your people, Susan Elza helping us get talent in here, unbelievably grateful. I hope people enjoyed it. And, you know, we'll take a little break here, come back in the new year, and I think it's going to be way even better. It's going to be on steroids because we're going to get some legitimate guests. One thing that's pretty cool is a lot of people have reached out. A lot of people would like to be on House Rules. And so we. We look forward to a great new year. So happy New Year to everyone. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. House Rules, baby. Well, that's it. Another episode in the can. Please remember to, like, share or subscribe on YouTube or wherever, get your podcasts and please follow House Rules on socials until next time.