Tag: Evan Cooper

John Butler officially joins Nebraska football coaching staff

Butler will replace Evan Cooper, who resigned last week citing ‘personal reasons.’

The Nebraska Cornhuskers officially announced the hiring of John Butler as the football team’s new secondary coach and pass game coordinator. Butler will replace Evan Cooper, who resigned last week citing ‘personal reasons.’

The new Husker coach spent the last six seasons with the Buffalo Bills before stepping down in February 2024. Head coach Matt Rhule is excited for Nebraska’s newest addition.

“John Butler is one of the premier defensive backs coaches in football. He has a diverse coaching background and a history of being part of winning organizations and elite defenses at the highest level of football. He will be an outstanding addition to the Nebraska football program and our defensive staff.”

He stepped down from his post with the Bills in February of 2024, citing a desire to become a defensive coordinator. Butler told The Athletic that the split was completely amicable.

“There doesn’t have to be a crazy story behind it. I just want to run a defense in the NFL or college football. I want that opportunity, and I don’t want to wait.”

Butler also coached the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2017 and was the defensive coordinator of Penn State in 2013.

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REPORT: Former NFL assistant coach John Butler to join Huskers

Matt Rhule is working quickly on replacing Evan Cooper on his staff.

Matt Rhule has moved fast in replacing Evan Cooper on his staff. The defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator resigned on Friday night, citing personal reasons. 

On Saturday morning, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are expected to name former NFL assistant coach John Butler as the program’s secondary coach.

The 51-year-old is a long-time assistant coach who started his coaching career in 1995 at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He also spent time at Texas, Midwestern State, Southwest Texas State, Harvard, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Penn State before spending the past decade in the NFL with the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

For the last 12 years, Butler has spent time as a defensive backs coach or secondary coach. He also spent time with Penn State in 2013 as the program’s defensive coordinator.

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Nebraska defensive backs coach Evan Cooper resigns

Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Evan Cooper resigned on Friday evening.

The Nebraska football team received a resignation letter right before the start of training camp. Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Evan Cooper resigned on Friday evening.

Cooper was entering his second season as the Huskers’ defensive backs coach. The 2024 campaign would have been his 12th consecutive year on Rhule’s staff. He resigned for personal reasons.

Cooper’s secondary played a key role in the Huskers’ best statistical defense since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Nebraska’s pass defense limited opponents to 6.1 yards per attempt, which ranked ninth nationally.

The Huskers also ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency defense and eighth nationally in rushing defense. The Huskers’ secondary helped Nebraska rank 14th nationally in total defense and 17th in scoring defense, their best finishes since 2009 and 2010.

The secondary accounted for seven interceptions and 30 pass breakups. Defensive back Issac Gifford also led Nebraska in tackles with 86, becoming the first Husker defensive back to record 85 tackles in a season since 2014.

This is the second consecutive season that an assistant coach at Nebraska has departed the program just before fall camp begins. Tight ends coach Bob Wager resigned in 2023.

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Panthers fire 2 defensive coaches after embarrassing Week 9 loss to Bengals

Following a weak showing against the Bengals in Week 9, the Panthers parted ways with a pair of defensive coaches on Monday morning.

With a Thursday night matchup against the Atlanta Falcons coming up quickly, the Carolina Panthers don’t have much time to make adjustments heading into Week 10. So, they got moving right away.

As announced by the team on early Monday morning, interim head coach Steve Wilks dismissed defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni and cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper. These departures come less than 24 hours after an embarrassing Week 9 performance, one where they allowed 241 rushing yards and six total touchdowns in a 42-21 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 73-year-old Pasqualoni was hired into his post this past offseason in a sweeping revamp led by then head coach Matt Rhule. 2022 marked his 50th year of coaching between both the collegiate and pro levels.

In addition to yesterday’s outing, Carolina’s defensive line has not had a particularly impactful season. The Panthers, through nine games, have now totaled just 14.0 sacks—the fourth-lowest total in the NFL.

Cooper, who has spent the last three seasons with the organization, was a 2020 carryover by Rhule from Baylor University.

Defensive assistant Bobby Maffei will take up Cooper’s responsibilities with pass rush specialist Don Johnson and assistant defensive line coach Terrance Knighton working on Pasqualoni’s void.

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