When Matt Rhule first announced special team coordinator Mike Ekeler was leaving the program he made it clear he would fill the position from within. Husker fans immediately made a list of three names, Josh Martin, Brett Maher, and Nick Humphrey. All three had strong qualifications that made them good candidates. All three also had what could be seen as weaknesses as well.
Martin’s resume included being a special teams coach for two seasons at SMU. But he was also a special teams assistant with former coordinator Ed Foley, and we all know how that went. Plus, Martin had no experience with kickers.
Maher played for the Huskers and was Big Ten Kicker and Punter of the year in 2011. He also spent 5 seasons kicking in the NFL and held multiple records at different times. But, other than helping at Nebraska he has no previous experience as a special teams coach.
Nick Humphrey was hand picked by Mike Ekeler to assist him with special teams when he came to Nebraska. Humphrey was a walk-on linebacker who played on special teams under Ekeler at Tennessee from 2017 to 2022. He knows Ekeler’s system better than anyone on the staff. But while youthful and energetic, there are a ton of things he hasn’t seen or experienced.
Less than somewhat excited, Husker fans waited to see who Rhule would name.
And Then There Were Two
News broke Monday night that Josh Martin was leaving Nebraska to take the head coaching job at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas. While the move seemed unexpected at first, when you stop and look at things it isn’t surprising. To start with Martin hails from Texas and is simply following in his father’s footsteps. Joe Martin is a Texas High School Hall Fame coach. So, a head coaching job at a Texas high school that won state championships in 2023 and 2024 appears to be a natural progression. Plus, it seems Rhule let Martin know he wouldn’t be the special team coordinator a couple of weeks ago. It’s easy to imagine Martin probably didn’t like the idea of not being named head man and just being an assistant. Rhule has been dealing with ego problems lately and Ekeler and Martin make me think of Charlie Brown when Trick-or-Treating, “I got a rock.”
Double Down
Sean Callhan of HuskerOnline reported Tuesday evening that Brett Maher is likely to be named the new special team coordinator and that Nick Humphrey would be co-coordinator.
Rhule had said he would promote from within and that was mostly because he wanted to keep what Ekeler had brought to the program in place. “Mike Ekeler taught us a great system,” Rhule said, “And I’ve got some guys here – Josh Martin and Nick Humphrey, who were his right-hand guys … I do have the guys and the system in place to just do it from within.”
Hearing that, it’s my guess Rhule did everything needed to keep Nick Humphrey. But he experienced the fallout from hiring a young inexperienced coach before. This time he doubled up. It makes sense. The older Maher has been around the block. He knows that part of special teams is working on something repeatedly every day all season long when it may never happen. It’s about being prepared for the unexpected and knowing when to gamble and when not to. And being a kicker, retaining Maher was vital to the continued development of long snapper Jack Willis, kicker Kyle Cunanan, and punter Archie Wilson.
Humphrey on the other hand is a young energetic Ekeler and knows the system. A system Rhule thought enough of to say, “This is a special team system I’ll use for the rest of my days.” Humphrey also knows what it takes to convince players that it’s a privilege to play special teams and isn’t a punishment. It’s hard to get players to buy into special teams. There aren’t many wide receivers who talk about going to Nebraska so they can be on punt coverage, or linebackers that had dreams in high school of being the center of the wedge on kickoff returns. Players must see results to buy in. Humphrey experienced that and can get players to believe.
That’s kind of what disappoints me about Ekeler. Here is a guy who has been convincing kids that playing on special teams is just as important as being a starting running back or a linebacker, and yet, just being a special teams coach wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more. Having ambition is okay, but it doesn’t ring true when you expect it to be enough for someone else, but it isn’t enough for you.
Maher and Humphrey have some big shoes to fill as last season Nebraska ranked 9th nationally in blocked punts, 10th in blocked kicks, 13th in punt return defense, 13th in kickoff returns, 13th in kickoff return defense, and 15th in punt returns. The Huskers allowed only 23 punt return yards in 2025, the fewest since 1994.
The co-coordinators will need to maintain at the very least, there can be no falling back to the level of 2024 special team play. The Husker’s 2026 schedule is daunting enough without the resurrection of Ed Foley type special team play.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!
Photo courtesy of The Falls City Journal
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