Assessing how worried Nebraska was about losing Tony White to UCLA job

Throughout this coaching carousel, Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White heard his name come up a few times for various openings. Most recently, he was a potential target for UCLA as the Bruins embarked on a rare February coaching search to replace Chip Kelly.

White – a former UCLA linebacker – received interest from the Bruins about the opening, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule confirmed. It seemed like a good fit considering those ties, not to mention the fact that White has been a hot name throughout the offseason.

To HuskerOnline’s Sean Callahan, those are reasons why was a little bit of worry in Lincoln about White’s future.

“I think people were naturally worried because it is a good fit for Tony White and obviously, if they came with him with an offer, I think it’d be hard to turn it down,” Callahan told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “He’s from UCLA, he played there, he has been on the radar for jobs. I mean, people believe that he turned down Lincoln Riley to be his d-coordinator. He kind of pulled back from the San Diego State job opening when that was there. He was in play for that position.

“All the jobs that you would think Tony White might leave Nebraska for, they kind of all opened this year – San Diego State, USC, UCLA.”

Ultimately, UCLA chose to bring DeShaun Foster back to Brentwood after a very brief stint as the Las Vegas Raiders’ running backs coach under Antonio Pierce. That means White is set to return to Nebraska to build on last year’s impressive turnaround season on defense. The Huskers went from 414.4 yards allowed per game in 2022 to 303.5 yards allowed in 2023.

White also received a new contract and raise to stay in Lincoln. Callahan put that deal in perspective, and it could be a reason why he chose to come back to see if he can keep the defense on an upward trajectory.

“But I think Tony knows – he’s making $1.6 million,” Callahan said. “He’s one of the highest-paid assistant coaches now in the Big Ten Conference. I believe top-two or three now. So he’s well paid, and I think another good year with his defense, sustaining what they did in Year 1, he’s gonna be up for some more jobs.

“I mean, he’ll be a head coach. It’s a matter of just kind of when that process happens.”