I’ve often criticized Matt Rhule for his hires. And probably unjustly, as often it’s after the fact. I wasn’t a fan of his hiring a young inexperienced coach with no answers to something he’d never seen before. I was even less of a fan of his hiring a high school coach with no playing experience or coaching at the college level. And finally, I thought hiring an NFL coach was dangerous and somewhat of a gamble. College players tend to listen to NFL guys because they’ve been to the circus. They take it in and hang on to it even if it’s the wrong thinking. Corey Brown and Tyler Yelk will have their work cut out for them, getting some of the guys to ignore what they’ve been taught last season.
That’s why Brett Maher was the right choice for the Special Teams Coordinator position. He fits the bill, fills all the blanks on requirements. The only thing you could question is the amount of coaching time he has in college ball. But his list of qualifications overcomes that and he’ll be the same voice the kickers have been hearing.
For starters, and this is unfair, he’s a Cornhusker. He knows what that means inside and out and it adds importance to what he is doing. At Nebraska he was highly successful as both a punter and a kicker and is one of the few players to be named All-Conference as both a kicker and a punter in the same season. He finished his career going 98/99 on extra points (99%) and 39/50 on field goals (78%). He attempted 120 punts for a 43.2-yard average and had 43 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Although a journeyman in both the CFL and the NFL, he found his most success as a Dallas Cowboy. In his time in Dallas, he went 78/98 (79.3%) on field goals. He was 112/118 (97.1%) on extra points. He played four games with Dallas in the playoffs, going 3-of-4 on field goals (75%) and 6-of-11 on extra points (58.4%). Maher’s final year in Dallas was one of the best seasons a Dallas kicker has had, as he went 29/32 on field goals (90.6%), with two of his misses being attempts of 59 yards. However, that same postseason was also his worst game as a kicker, going 1-of-6 on extra points (16.7%).
It’s fair to say Maher has experienced both the highs and the lows of being a kicker, something that will ultimately serve him well as a coach. His experience in the NFL has also afforded him the opportunity to be part of some of the best special teams units in football and work beside notable special teams coaches. Don’t think he didn’t learn a thing or two.
That’s why it’s easy to say, what Maher saw from his predecessor at Nebraska was nothing revolutionary. Mike Ekeler is in fact one of the best special teams coaches in college football, but he didn’t reinvent the wheel. Maher has the ability to recognize that. He’ll take what he’s witnessed work, plus what he learned from Ekeler and implement a system that will be successful. That’s also why it was important for Rhule to retain Nick Humphrey and name him co-coordinator.
I was happy to see Rhule not name Humphrey as the coordinator. He’s an Ekeler disciple and brings all the principals of Ekeler’s system with him. But he does not have the experience to be the head man. Not yet anyway. However, I can’t begin to emphasize how important it was for Rhule to keep him and be part of this staff moving forward.
Maher will obviously work with the kickers and be a big part of the kicking game and how it’s played. It’s a good guess Humphrey will be the guy when it comes to kick coverage, and kick returns on both kickoffs and punts. The question will be who brings the Mike Ekeler fire to the party.
It was also vital Maher be a part of this team so that he can continue working with players like punter Archie Wilson, kicker Kyle Cunanan, and long snapper Jack Willis. It’s one thing to get a group of individuals to run down the field with their hair on fire, it’s another to have the spotlight shining on you in front of 90,000 people. Maher can dim some of the brightness of that spotlight.
But one of Maher’s and Humphrey’s biggest challenges in coaching special teams will be getting players to not look at it as a punishment or a demotion but as a privilege and the first step to being a full-time starter. It’s an opportunity given to you to get where you want to be.
It’s easy as a player to develop the wrong thought process about special teams. From the time they first start playing organized football it’s usually the second and third stringers (scrubs) who play special teams. It’s always been a way for coaches to get little Johnny on the field, so mom and dad didn’t come to the game for nothing. That mentality carries over at each level. No player ever went to college with the idea, “I’m going to be the best damn left guard on the field goal team ever.” That isn’t how it works, they’re playing college ball to be the starter on every down. They must understand it’s the first step to getting on the field.
So, it’s that first big hurdle for a coach to get over. To convince his guys that being in on a special teams play can be the difference between winning and losing. The only way you win the war is by winning each battle. It’s an honor to be a part of that battle and you have the opportunity to do something special.
I believe Bret Maher and Nick Humphrey together will meet that challenge head on and find success. Will there be a let down from last season? Possibly. But I’m on board with Rhule on this one. Maher was the right choice.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, Violent!!
Photo courtesy of the Falls City Journal
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