Dana Holgorsen was hired last week by Nebraska’s football coach Matt Rhule to join the Huskers staff as an offensive consultant.

After officially being on the job for less than a full week, the newly hired Husker assistant now has a new unofficial “OC” as his job description: offensive coordinator.

At his press conference on Monday ahead of the Huskers’ upcoming game at USC on Saturday, Rhule revealed a major piece of news when he announced that Holgorsen is replacing the offensive coordinator. Marcus Satterfield as Nebraska’s OC and play caller for the remainder of the Huskers’ 2024 season.

“Obviously, we made the move last week with Dana. He will make the decisions this week and serve as the offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season,” Rhule said. “So with that, I’ll see what questions you have.”

There were certainly questions on Monday, as there have been all season, surrounding an offensive unit that has struggled and looked lackluster – and lifeless – during the current three-game losing skid and, really, for Satterfield’s entire tenure of 21 games. as OC and play caller.

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Rhule, the Huskers program and the entire fan base are hopeful that Holgorsen will inject more life, consistency and direction into the offense. He’ll get at least three regular-season games at USC (3 p.m. CT on Saturday), at home against Wisconsin (Nov. 23) and on the road at Iowa (6:30 p.m. on Nov. 29) to try to unlock the quarterback Dylan Raiola and the violation.

“I called Holgorsen last week, had him come in and had him look at everything,” Rhule said. “He has a long history of success offensively, both as a head coach and certainly as a coordinator. I think he gives us a fresh perspective on what we do and who we do it with.” (He) could say, ‘Hey, let’s go this way here.’

“I just think it gives us a great opportunity to have one of the great, great offensive minds, a guy who I’ve been friends with before and who I trust. I’m excited to see what he does.”

Rhule, who said he doesn’t know what the future holds for Holgorsen as he might stay with the program after the season is over or he might get a head coaching opportunity, delved deeper into the background between him and Holgorsen and where the relationship and familiarity began.

“I think it goes all the way back to when I was a young assistant going to the (coaches) convention and listening to him,” Rhule said. “And when he coached against him when he was at West Virginia, he saw the evolution of what he did there in terms of going to a place where it’s cold, playing football, but still being very explosive and winning. We’re represented by the same people (officers), so we see each other in many different places. He is friends with my wife and I, we come to Charlotte often.

“Just someone I respect as a coach. It’s not a friend thing, it’s more a matter of respect for him, I respect what he’s done. He got done last year and probably needed some time. I called him last week and said : ‘Hey.’ , can you come in and help?’”

Holgorsen was one of two new additions to the Huskers’ operations last week. Longtime Rhule assistant and defensive coordinator Phil Snow was brought in by the Husker head coach as a defensive consultant during the same period.

“He and Phil (Snow) came in and looked through everything, and I think (Holgorsen) felt confident,” Rhule said. “Like he said to me, he loves our coaches, he loves our players and he felt like he could help.”

“…It’s probably unique, but it’s what it takes. It’s the right thing. The genesis of this, what I think you’ll see now as coaches get fired, you’ll see coaches leave, maybe even before bowl games and coaching bowl games so that players can get some exposure to it. That was kind of on my mind, hey, you’ve seen coaches take jobs now and go there and coach the bowl game When I went to Baylor, I was there. I didn’t do that, so I didn’t get a chance to get to know the players until mid-spring.”

Satterfield will remain on the Huskers’ staff and continue in his other role as the team’s tight ends coach.

“I appreciate all the work our staff has done. I love how hard they worked, took care of the kids, did their best and produced some good moments,” Rhule said. “But I felt like we needed some help. I thought ultimately it was the right thing to do. It could be bold, it could be unique. I didn’t bring him in with that in the first place (the intention to I think he felt comfortable when he got here.

“…Marcus came right in and said, ‘Tell me everything you need. Glenn (Thomas) did the same, and Garrett (McGuire) said, “I can translate this into your language.” And Dana is obviously a very smart guy offensively, he can figure out what we’re doing offensively and what we’re doing well.”