Matt Rhule, Nebraska hires ex-Penn State football defensive coordinator

As we inch closer to the 2024 college football season, some teams are still piecing together their staff for this fall. One of those teams includes Big Ten foe Nebraska who are led by former Penn State football linebacker Matt Rhule. The Cornhusker head coach has decided to dip into the coaching pipeline to hire former Nittany Lion defensive coordinator John Butler as the new secondary coach at Nebraska.

John Butler is a Pennsylvania man, plain and simple. Born in Philadephia, Bulter attended La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, PA. He left the Keystone State for his college career and the beginning of his football coaching career, but Bulter started to become a household name by the 2007 season.

That’s when his career as the special teams coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers began. Butler stayed in Minnesota until 2011 when he jumped to the SEC to serve in the same role at South Carolina. But in 2012, he returned to Pennsylvania and joined the coaching staff of Bill O’Brien.

In 2012, Bulter served as the secondary coach for the Penn State football team. Then, in 2013 he was promoted to defensive coordinator before deciding to follow O’Brien to the NFL and the Houston Texans. Bulter helped the Nittany Lions achieve a 7-5 record in 2013 including signature wins over No. 18 Michigan and No. 14 Wisconsin that season.

Since his Penn State coaching career, he has been in the NFL. After wrapping up his time with the Texans, Bulter has been in western New York for the past five years coaching the secondary for the Buffalo Bills. After the 2023 season, there was a mutual parting of ways between the Bills and Butler which put him back on the market.

On Saturday, Pete Thamel of ESPN confirmed that ex-Nittany Lion Matt Rhule would be hiring John Bulter as the next secondary coach at Nebraska.

Sources: Nebraska is expected to hire former Buffalo Bills assistant coach John Butler as the program’s new secondary coach. He’s a longtime NFL defensive backs coach with stints at the Texans (2014-17) and Bills (2018-23). pic.twitter.com/9XJtEum6Oe

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 6, 2024

Matt Rhule’s tie to Penn State

Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

While currently, Matt Rhule is the head coach at Nebraska where he is entering year two of a challenging rebuild. Momentum could be in his favor this fall. The Cornhuskers shocked the world when five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska. Raiola will be the most likely starter for Rhule this season.

Rhule graduated from the State College Area High School and was a walk-on linebacker at Penn State, played for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions from 1994-1997.

Last summer, during the 2023 Big Ten Media Days, he shared how much he still cared for the Penn State football program.

“I love James Franklin. Grateful for what he’s done for my university, my alma mater. Came in at a hard time and brought them back to excellence. Pat Kraft is one of my best friends… Love the Paterno family.”

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