Mark Whipple reveals hilarious story he told while coaching Nebraska quarterbacks

Scott Frost hired Mark Whipple at Nebraska to revitalize the Cornhuskers’ offense. A former head coach at UMass, who won a national championship (I-AA, now FCS) there, and NFL quarterbacks coach, Whipple turned Pitt into an offensive power in 2021. He made sense for Nebraska too.

While coaching those Nebraska quarterbacks, Mark Whipple noticed that they were working hard. Unfortunately, they were also tense. So, Whipple told them a story, which he later conveyed to the media, to help them relax.

“You know, I kind of told them a story today,” Mark Whipple started. “There was a little bit of a lull in the practice and they started to like kind of get on one another. Just like, ‘Come on, come on,’ you know.”

“And I just said, look, you guys have worked hard. It’s been a really good camp. They fought and I said it reminded me when I had to call the plays at the Super Bowl. And I thought, right before that, if I screw this play up I won’t be able to go back to Pittsburgh (Steelers), cause they’ll murder me.”

Mark Whipple called plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL, a win over the Seattle Seahawks. That game, which was Jerome Bettis’ last, was a low-scoring affair.

“So, those guys can’t–that’s important to them, but they got to relax,” Mark Whipple explained. “There’s that fine line of just, hey, you’ve done well. We’re gonna make some mistakes. How are you gonna handle adversity? So, just a little reminder there that they can’t be uptight and can’t get on one another.”

“It’s important to them and they’re fun to be around. And it’s been a really good camp and all the offensive coaches have done a great job with these guys.”