Huskers Make Two More Staff Assignments Official

Donovan Raiola staying as O-line coach; Tony White coming in as defensive coordinator

Joe Hudson | Dec 9, 2022

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What had been reported during the last day or two was made official Friday: New head coach Matt Rhule has added two more assistant coaches to his Nebraska football staff.

Donovan Raiola (above left) will retain his post as offensive line coach, while Tony White (above right) will serve as defensive coordinator

White spent the past three seasons as defensive coordinator at Syracuse, where he helped transform the defense into one of the top units in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse chalked up to back-to-back top-30 total defensive efforts in 2021 and 2022, the school's best showings in a decade. In 2022, the Orange defense also scored three touchdowns and helped Syracuse rank 23rd in the nation in turnover margin.

White played at UCLA from 1997 to 2000 and for four seasons in the Canadian Football League. His stops as an assistant have included Arizona State, San Diego State, New Mexico and UCLA. The video below provides an extensive look at the 3-3-5 scheme White has used at Syracuse, as well as the history behind it.

Raiola will continue on the Nebraska staff after serving as offensive line coach this past season. He has 12 years of coaching experience, including four as an offensive line coach with the NFL's Chicago Bears. He was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection as an offensive lineman at Wisconsin from 2003 to 2005 and went on to spend six seasons in the NFL.

Friday's announcement came eight days after Rhule's first six hires were unveiled:

E.J. Barthel, Running Backs
Corey Campbell, Head Football Strength and Conditioning
Evan Cooper, Defensive Secondary
Ed Foley, Special Teams Coordinator
Terrance Knighton, Defensive Line
Marcus Satterfield, Offensive Coordinator

Three full-time assistant coach positions remain to be filled.

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Published Dec 9, 2022

JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.