Ed Foley lives for simple things. He craves good barbecue, preferably in a setting that allows him to share and sample the food of tablemates. He prioritizes a parking spot as close to the front door as possible. And he believes in the importance of his old-fashioned pen and notebook.
When Foley, Nebraska’s first-year special teams coordinator, talks with a high school coach or administrator on a recruiting visit like the many he made in December and January, he likes to take notes.
There’s something impersonal, Foley said, about typing into a phone. “But if I pull out my notebook,” he said, “I think that coach feels like, ‘Wow, I’m saying something important.’”
Led by the efforts of Matt Rhule in his first 10 weeks on the job, Nebraska football has delivered a message — through its attention to detail, an unabashed social media campaign and a goodwill tour of small towns and cities — that people of this state matter at Memorial Stadium.
It’s mind-blowing to consider that many Nebraskans have grown detached from the Huskers. But that’s the effect of 20-plus years without a sound approach — and an absence of consistent work around the state — by the past five head coaches and their administrations.
“Obviously, we need to win games,” Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said. “But being able to connect with donors, being able to connect with fans, being able to connect with players, to me, in modern college football, where we’re dealing with the transfer portal, with name, image and likeness and with these very specific cultural challenges, that ability to connect is absolutely critical.
“I’m just again grateful that Matt is our coach.”
Rhule has yet to coach a single practice, but he and his staff have gained more ground and won more hearts in the Huskers’ home territory than any staff at Nebraska since Tom Osborne retired in 1997. It’s largely happened through small gestures — like a day trip to Ainsworth to see prospect Carter Nelson that turned into a photo opp with the boys and girls basketball teams.
