Former Houston coach returns to college football to help Dylan Raiola
We'll soon find out if Dana Holgorsen is, indeed, a quarterback whisperer.
Holgorsen, who was fired as Houston's head coach last November, has reportedly been hired as an offensive consultant at Nebraska. After a hot start to the season, the Cornhuskers have lost three consecutive games and are mired in an offensive slump.
Nebraska's freshman quarterback, Dylan Raiola, has struggled mightily over the past four games, throwing one touchdown pass and six interceptions. Holgorsen, who learned the Air Raid offense from Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, has a track record of developing NFL-caliber quarterbacks, from Case Keenum to Geno Smith to Will Grier.
Raiola was a top 10 national recruit in the class of 2024 and has as much arm talent as any college quarterback in the country. Raiola and the Cornhuskers have a bye this week, which gives Holgorsen more time to work with him ahead of their Nov. 16 game at USC. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Holgorsen will work with the offensive staff in a role that will evolve as the season goes on.
Holgorsen came to Houston in 2019 after eight very successful seasons as head coach at West Virginia (61-41 record). He couldn't replicate that success with the Cougars, however. He went 31-28 in five seasons, with three losing campaigns. After going 4-8 in Houston's first season in the Big 12 in 2023, Holgorsen was fired.
Houston owes Holgorsen $14.8 million in buyout money. It's unclear if his job with Nebraska will reduce the amount Houston has to pay him.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.