Former Bills DBs coach reportedly lands new job with Big Ten program

Former Buffalo Bills defensive backs coach John Butler is reportedly set to join the Nebraska Cornhuskers' coaching staff.

Nov 15, 2020; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive backs coach John Butler against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Experienced position coach John Butler is trading in chicken wings for corn on the cob.

The longtime Buffalo Bills defensive backs coach, who departed the team’s staff following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL season, is set to join the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ staff in the same capacity, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The Big Ten program’s staff is currently led by Matt Rhule, who was hired by the university following his firing from the Carolina Panthers last year.

Sources: Nebraska is expected to hire former Buffalo Bills assistant coach John Butler as the program’s new secondary coach. He’s a longtime NFL defensive backs coach with stints at the Texans (2014-17) and Bills (2018-23). pic.twitter.com/9XJtEum6Oe

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 6, 2024

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Butler initially joined Buffalo’s staff ahead of the 2018 NFL season, making the trek up to Western New York following his dismissal from the Houston Texans. He performed amicably in the role for several years, overseeing a Bills secondary that was routinely one of the league’s best; Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and Tre’Davious White cemented themselves as some of the best in the league at their positions under Butler’s tutelage, finishing as a top-six unit against the pass in four of his six seasons with the club.

Butler and the Buffalo organization mutually agreed to part ways in the spring; the Bills did not hire a direct replacement, with his responsibilities figured to be divided up between returning safeties coach Joe Danna and recently hired cornerbacks coach Jahmile Adade. Butler now returns to the college ranks, where he has a bevy of experience; he’s previously worked on the coaching staffs at Harvard, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Penn State.

A former college football powerhouse that won three National Championships throughout the 1990s, Nebraska has fallen on hard times in recent years, cycling through coaches in the recent past and not finishing with a winning record since 2016.

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