Reaction to DC Erik Chinander's firing Sunday
Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph officially parted ways with defensive coordinator Erik Chinander on Sunday.
Special teams coordinator Bill Busch will take over as the interim defensive coordinator. Here is some quick reaction and takes to the news.
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Joseph left the door open on Saturday for this to happen
Following Nebraska’s 49-14 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, Joseph was asked after the game if we could expect any additional coaching staff changes.
Joseph said there weren’t any to announce at that moment, but then left the door open that it might change after he watches the film.
It was clear that Joseph saw enough over the last two games from the Huskers on defense that a change was in order over these final 10 weeks of the 2022 football season.
What will this accomplish?
What will this accomplish over the next 10 weeks? The schemes are in place and the assistants remain the same.
Bill Busch will be walking into a very tough situation, but I’m sure he will have several new ways to go about things.
This was historically bad play for Nebraska’s defense
Following Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma, Nebraska ranked 128th nationally in total defense, giving up 514 yards per game.
NU has allowed 1,222 yards of total offense and 94 points over the last two games. On the season, the Huskers have given up 2,056 yards and 19 touchdowns, at an unsightly 6.33 yards per play.
Joseph and Busch go back to their time at LSU
The decision to appoint Busch as the interim defensive coordinator is also interesting, but at the same time, it makes some sense.
Joseph probably wanted somebody in that role that he knows better, and the two of them worked at LSU before joining the full-time staff at NU.
The bottom fell out quickly; but why?
The million-dollar question in all of this is what went wrong? A year ago, Nebraska’s defense had some outstanding performances against teams like Michigan State and Ohio State.
How did the bottom fall out so quickly? Chinander’s defense a year ago seemed like a solid unit. It kept the Huskers in a lot of games when the offense and special teams had issues.
Heading into 2022 many thought this would be a reload on defense. I think we all underestimated the losses of Cam Taylor-Britt, JoJo Domann, Ben Stille, Deontai Williams, Damion Daniels, Casey Rogers and Marquel Dismuke.
