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IS USC GOING AFTER MIKE ECKELER?

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HuskerO58

All-Conference
Sep 11, 2006
14,259
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Man Woman & Child said:
Again, wrong. Not what has been said at all. The VAST majority of Rhule's hires are not coveted by other big programs. Now 2 have been. Two out of...how many has he recycled through now? I've honestly lost count. And of those 2, he either at best couldn't keep them after one year, or at worst ran them off in the first place after one year.
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How am I wrong when Rhule's assistants have been taken by other big time programs? Has anyone left for another big time program yet or no? The answer is yes, so my statement is correct.

They dont all need to leave within a year or 2 for my statement to be true.
 
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CameronKrazie86

Senior
Jun 16, 2004
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I try to avoid complaining about staff hires for 2 years because a new coach should get to hire his people. When you're winning, you're going to get more leeway with existing/future staff hires than others. Cignetti's hires won right away, then did it again the next year. Clearly, he knows what he's doing. If Rhule was anywhere remotely close to that level of production (despite being paid way more when 1st hired), you'd probably see a whole lot less skepticism/criticisms of his hires. His best coaches keep leaving and not for huge promotions - often lateral moves. It tells me there is something systemically wrong and why I have so little faith in him working out here.
 
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oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
9,474
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HuskerO58 said:
I remember reading a post here that another frustrating thing about Rhule is that no other big program wants our assistant coaches. Meaning, we dont have very good assistant coaches because if we did, other big programs would try and take them.

Well now that that's happening, we get our panties in a bunch.
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Sure you want other programs to want them, but you also want to keep them. And we're what, 0/3 in that regard, with Knighton and White getting out of dodge?
 
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oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
9,474
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Man Woman & Child said:
Again, wrong. Not what has been said at all. The VAST majority of Rhule's hires are not coveted by other big programs. Now 2 have been. Two out of...how many has he recycled through now? I've honestly lost count. And of those 2, he either at best couldn't keep them after one year, or at worst ran them off in the first place after one year.
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Actually 3 with Knighton.
 
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HuskerO58

All-Conference
Sep 11, 2006
14,259
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oldjar07 said:
Sure you want other programs to want them, but you also want to keep them. And we're what, 0/3 in that regard, with Knighton and White getting out of dodge?
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I get that. But it's literally an impossible battle to win if you already dont like a coach.

Assistant coaches stay, they suck.
Assistant Coaches leave, then the HC sucks for not being able to keep them.

I know you're not bringing up Cignetti, I am, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Rhule haters have this train of thought;
- Because of Indiana's success, Cignetti's assistants are highly sought after.
- If they stay, it's because Cignetti is the man.
- The fact is, we don't know if those assistants were sought after or not. Its just assumed they are.

I'm not saying the above is a bad line of thinking. It's just biased based on who we do and don't like.
 
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orclover11

Senior
Dec 1, 2014
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HuskerO58 said:
I get that. But it's literally an impossible battle to win if you already dont like a coach.

Assistant coaches stay, they suck.
Assistant Coaches leave, then the HC sucks for not being able to keep them.

I know you're not bringing up Cignetti, I am, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Rhule haters have this train of thought;
- Because of Indiana's success, Cignetti's assistants are highly sought after.
- If they stay, it's because Cignetti is the man.
- The fact is, we don't know if those assistants were sought after or not. Its just assumed they are.

I'm not saying the above is a bad line of thinking. It's just biased based on who we do and don't like.
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I mean if you win, you get the benefit of the doubt. If you are a loser, you are a loser for a reason, there isn't a silver lining. If we won games, our coaches would be good, and if they left, and the next year we won games then they would still be good. If we lose the coaches are bad. It is a pretty simple formula. Rhule is a bad coach, not as bad as frost or Reilly but worse than Bo. In an era where 2 games are against lower division schools, 2 or 3 are against teams with fewer resources, less recruiting opportunities, or coaching turnover and you can barely crack .500 is really bad. But puts into perspective how terrible Frost was....
 
RBigredMax1

RBigredMax1

All-Conference
Jul 16, 2025
1,778
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Bigred2467 said:
Not exactly a glowing compliment, lol. The miscues in the Iowa game may have played a part in Ekeler leaving.
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I’m assuming they meant Iowa overall vs just that singular game but I’m sure it magnified given the special team performance v Iowa. I know they thought Barney had a chance to lead the league in PR yards - but Wetjen was an absolute beast.
 
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Bigred2467

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Jul 4, 2025
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RBigredMax1 said:
I’m assuming they meant Iowa overall vs just that singular game but I’m sure it magnified given the special team performance v Iowa. I know they thought Barney had a chance to lead the league in PR yards - but Wetjen was an absolute beast.
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Rhule said that it was Ekeler's idea to let Barney continue to run back kickoffs until Rhule said enough. That may have been a point of disagreement between them after the game.
 
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Scoop123

All-Conference
Jan 9, 2026
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The insecurity is just screaming out with these quotes. He throws his coaches under the bus after the Minnesota game, even though it was his behavior that week that was unbecoming. Now he throws Eckler under the bus, not once but twice. This guy is losing his grip.

He thinks he’s so clever by throwing them under the bus, but then tossing in a compliment or a thank you to make it seem like he is taking the high road.
 
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RealTucoSalamanca

RealTucoSalamanca

Heisman
Aug 18, 2016
16,666
10,958
113
Scoop123 said:
The insecurity is just screaming out with these quotes. He throws his coaches under the bus after the Minnesota game, even though it was his behavior that week that was unbecoming. Now he throws Eckler under the bus, not once but twice. This guy is losing his grip.

He thinks he’s so clever by throwing them under the bus, but then tossing in a compliment or a thank you to make it seem like he is taking the high road.
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I guess I don't see it that way. Aurich is going to be coaching LB with Dvoracek. Probably why there wasn't an open spot on the defensive side of the ball. Kind of appears that Ekeler thought his special teams was good enough to parlay it into a spot on the defensive staff too.

Fans always ***** about coaches speaking coach speak all the time. When a coach tells the truth about what happens, the fans don't want to hear it, now he is throwing the coaches under the bus.

One thing Rhule does is take ownership of what he says. Does he put his spin on it. Sure, but at least he puts it out there. In this situation, most coaches wouldn't have told the world that Ekeler was offered an extension. They would have just let him go, but again I will give him credit because it is out there, if Ekeler wants to dispute it, he can. But if he says nothing, then the appearances is that Ekeler was ready to leave in the middle of the season because he didn't sign the extension and the raise.
 
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Big bo fan

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RealTucoSalamanca said:
I guess I don't see it that way. Aurich is going to be coaching LB with Dvoracek. Probably why there wasn't an open spot on the defensive side of the ball. Kind of appears that Ekeler thought his special teams was good enough to parlay it into a spot on the defensive staff too.

Fans always ***** about coaches speaking coach speak all the time. When a coach tells the truth about what happens, the fans don't want to hear it, now he is throwing the coaches under the bus.

One thing Rhule does is take ownership of what he says. Does he put his spin on it. Sure, but at least he puts it out there. In this situation, most coaches wouldn't have told the world that Ekeler was offered an extension. They would have just let him go, but again I will give him credit because it is out there, if Ekeler wants to dispute it, he can. But if he says nothing, then the appearances is that Ekeler was ready to leave in the middle of the season because he didn't sign the extension and the raise.
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Exactly
 
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Scoop123

All-Conference
Jan 9, 2026
601
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RealTucoSalamanca said:
I guess I don't see it that way. Aurich is going to be coaching LB with Dvoracek. Probably why there wasn't an open spot on the defensive side of the ball. Kind of appears that Ekeler thought his special teams was good enough to parlay it into a spot on the defensive staff too.

Fans always ***** about coaches speaking coach speak all the time. When a coach tells the truth about what happens, the fans don't want to hear it, now he is throwing the coaches under the bus.

One thing Rhule does is take ownership of what he says. Does he put his spin on it. Sure, but at least he puts it out there. In this situation, most coaches wouldn't have told the world that Ekeler was offered an extension. They would have just let him go, but again I will give him credit because it is out there, if Ekeler wants to dispute it, he can. But if he says nothing, then the appearances is that Ekeler was ready to leave in the middle of the season because he didn't sign the extension and the raise.
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That’s fair.

I don’t question the strategy of shuffling coaching spots by Rhule and it certainly looks like the two of them had strong disagreements. Do I think it sucks we lost one of our best coaches? Yeah. Do I think it’s all Rhule’s fault? No. Eckler is a traveling man. We will never know the full story.

That being said, I still believe Rhule looks insecure in the way he jabs his coaching staff. To me, it’s not a matter of a coach, being honest or not.. It’s a matter of a leader showing professionalism, taking the heat himself and not throwing subordinates under the bus In public.

I disliked this quote from Rhule that was in Jeremy’s article today: “I couldn’t convince the coaching staff what that game was going to be like,” Rhule said. “I knew what P.J. Fleck and Minnesota would be like on a Friday night, and I couldn’t convince the team. So now they know. That’s not me saying I told them and they didn’t do it. It’s me saying I didn’t get it done.”

Yes, he tried to own it at the end with what felt like a “throw in” comment about him not getting it done. I don’t know… It just shows insecurity to me. He likes to get his digs in that other people dropped the ball. I think it’s 100% OK to say my coaching staff and I didn’t do well. Or that we weren’t prepared. Yes, Be truthful, be honest! But to say I couldn’t convince my staff? That quote makes it sound like you are the good guy and they just wouldn’t listen to you. Come on.. you are on McAfee and doing PSU talk all week. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Not the end of the world… Not a big deal… I have led several teams and companies in the business world and it’s just not my style. Speak the truth, be honest, but don’t throw daggers at your team and staff in public. You can hold them accountable you can speak the truth, but there is an art to it.

If you do it right, they will get the message - without being humiliated, they will respect you and they will go to bat for you.
 
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RealTucoSalamanca

RealTucoSalamanca

Heisman
Aug 18, 2016
16,666
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Scoop123 said:
That’s fair.

I don’t question the strategy of shuffling coaching spots by Rhule and it certainly looks like the two of them had strong disagreements. Do I think it sucks we lost one of our best coaches? Yeah. Do I think it’s all Rhule’s fault? No. Eckler is a traveling man. We will never know the full story.

That being said, I still believe Rhule looks insecure in the way he jabs his coaching staff. To me, it’s not a matter of a coach, being honest or not.. It’s a matter of a leader showing professionalism, taking the heat himself and not throwing subordinates under the bus In public.

I disliked this quote from Rhule that was in Jeremy’s article today: “I couldn’t convince the coaching staff what that game was going to be like,” Rhule said. “I knew what P.J. Fleck and Minnesota would be like on a Friday night, and I couldn’t convince the team. So now they know. That’s not me saying I told them and they didn’t do it. It’s me saying I didn’t get it done.”

Yes, he tried to own it at the end with what felt like a “throw in” comment about him not getting it done. I don’t know… It just shows insecurity to me. He likes to get his digs in that other people dropped the ball. I think it’s 100% OK to say my coaching staff and I didn’t do well. Or that we weren’t prepared. Yes, Be truthful, be honest! But to say I couldn’t convince my staff? That quote makes it sound like you are the good guy and they just wouldn’t listen to you. Come on.. you are on McAfee and doing PSU talk all week. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Not the end of the world… Not a big deal… I have led several teams and companies in the business world and it’s just not my style. Speak the truth, be honest, but don’t throw daggers at your team and staff in public. You can hold them accountable you can speak the truth, but there is an art to it.

If you do it right, they will get the message - without being humiliated, they will respect you and they will go to bat for you.
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Thats cool, I just don't read it that way. I think he was criticizing himself that he didn't get the job done where the staff and the team were concerned. "I couldn't convince" not "they didn't listen"
 
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Scoop123

All-Conference
Jan 9, 2026
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RealTucoSalamanca said:
Thats cool, I just don't read it that way. I think he was criticizing himself that he didn't get the job done where the staff and the team were concerned. "I couldn't convince" not "they didn't listen"
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appreciate the discussion. So much of this is perspective and opinion. It shouldn’t mean that someone either loves or hates Rhule 100%…. Feels like there’s too many of those arrows flying around here.
 
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Barefooter16

Freshman
Nov 27, 2025
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Scoop123 said:
That’s fair.

I don’t question the strategy of shuffling coaching spots by Rhule and it certainly looks like the two of them had strong disagreements. Do I think it sucks we lost one of our best coaches? Yeah. Do I think it’s all Rhule’s fault? No. Eckler is a traveling man. We will never know the full story.

That being said, I still believe Rhule looks insecure in the way he jabs his coaching staff. To me, it’s not a matter of a coach, being honest or not.. It’s a matter of a leader showing professionalism, taking the heat himself and not throwing subordinates under the bus In public.

I disliked this quote from Rhule that was in Jeremy’s article today: “I couldn’t convince the coaching staff what that game was going to be like,” Rhule said. “I knew what P.J. Fleck and Minnesota would be like on a Friday night, and I couldn’t convince the team. So now they know. That’s not me saying I told them and they didn’t do it. It’s me saying I didn’t get it done.”

Yes, he tried to own it at the end with what felt like a “throw in” comment about him not getting it done. I don’t know… It just shows insecurity to me. He likes to get his digs in that other people dropped the ball. I think it’s 100% OK to say my coaching staff and I didn’t do well. Or that we weren’t prepared. Yes, Be truthful, be honest! But to say I couldn’t convince my staff? That quote makes it sound like you are the good guy and they just wouldn’t listen to you. Come on.. you are on McAfee and doing PSU talk all week. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Not the end of the world… Not a big deal… I have led several teams and companies in the business world and it’s just not my style. Speak the truth, be honest, but don’t throw daggers at your team and staff in public. You can hold them accountable you can speak the truth, but there is an art to it.

If you do it right, they will get the message - without being humiliated, they will respect you and they will go to bat for you.
Click to expand...
I agree with what you are saying but I look at it like a business owner like I am. At the end of the day the I am responsible for the quality of work we put out but after awhile you get tired of taking responsibility for a guy that is not doing his job and eventually they need to be called out on it
 
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orclover11

Senior
Dec 1, 2014
1,328
995
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Scoop123 said:
The insecurity is just screaming out with these quotes. He throws his coaches under the bus after the Minnesota game, even though it was his behavior that week that was unbecoming. Now he throws Eckler under the bus, not once but twice. This guy is losing his grip.

He thinks he’s so clever by throwing them under the bus, but then tossing in a compliment or a thank you to make it seem like he is taking the high road.
Click to expand...
You don't think he has a little ego working with guys who have never had a head coaching job. We respect good coaches like Tony and Mike and view them as just as important as Rhule. But Rhule has been a head coach for over 10 years, made many many times more money than Mike and Tony and these head coach idiots take offense when an underling who hasn't even been a head guy challenges them. Mike could barely crack a coordinator position, and Tony could only dream of being the head coach at a power 4 school. If they step up to Matt, they are gone, he doesn't care. Coaches are WAY dumber than you guys think. The fact they make 25x a surgeon, doesn't mean they even 1/4 as smart as a surgeon.
 
Baxter48

Baxter48

All-Conference
Nov 2, 2015
1,409
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redwine65 said:
:confused:

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Wilson is a tool, I tried listening to him and he’s flip flops so much, we need this person and this person so Nebraska gets them and then he says those guys aren’t very good. He contacts possible recruits, I haven’t figured out if he hates Rhule or not then he claims to know what the fans are thinking . I’m done with that windbag
 
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oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
9,474
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HuskerInCarolina said:
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Big-time coaches want big roles. And they also want more control and not diluted control. It's why I thought hiring a DE coach during our DL coaching search was incredibly dumb. That singular thing probably chased off Elijah Robinson more than anything. It's also why more (quantity) is not more (quality), actually less is more when it comes to putting quality over quantity in a coaching staff, and Rhule hasn't figured that out yet either.
 
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