Nebraska fires defensive coordinator Erik Chinander after losing to Oklahoma

Interim head coach Mickey Joseph announced on Sunday that the team’s defensive coordinator Erik Chinander was fired a day after the Cornhuskers lost 14-49 to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. Chinander will be replaced by Bill Husch for the rest of the season.

“We appreciate Erik and the work and dedication he has given to our football program,” Joseph said.

“At this time, I feel that it is in the best interest of the Nebraska football program to take the leadership of the defense in another direction and decided Bill Busch will take over as defensive coordinator.”

The week before their game against the Sooners, the Huskers also lost 42-45 to the Georgia Southern Eagles, resulting in 642 yards of offense and led to the firing of the then-head coach Scott Frost.

As the school is still looking for a new coach, Joseph is preparing for eight more games this season. The team has a bye next week before playing host to the Indiana Hoosiers on October 1.

Chinander, Frost’s work with Huskers

Chinander was previously a defensive coordinator for the UFC Knights in 2017 and was a member of the staff who were tasked with rebuilding the Nebraska program.

While Frost was the head coach, the team lost four seasons consecutively, although he returned for the 2022 season. Frost completed three games before he was fired last weekend.

Under Frost’s leadership, the Huskers were plagued with close losses, including a 3-9 record in 2021 which included an 0-8 mark in one-score games. Chinander’s defense managed to keep the team remains competitive in many of those games.

Throughout four games, the Huskers allow an average of 514 yards per game, which is considered to be the fourth-worst mark in the country. The team also gives up 35.5 points per game, placing them at No. 114 out of 131 teams in the FBS.

Huskers' offensive issues

Joseph announced on Saturday that the team’s starting left tackle Teddy Prochazka was done for the season after receiving a shoulder injury.

Prochazka suffered the injury a week earlier against Georgia Southern. Joseph said that while Prochazka wouldn’t be playing for the remainder of the season, he would still practice with the team, under the four-game limit to preserve a year of eligibility. Prochazka has played five games in 2021 before a knee injury halted his first season stint with the Huskers.

Huskers' offensive lineman Nouredin Nouili, who made a highlight with Prochazka in 2021, is currently out for the season as well due to being ruled ineligible for the 2022 season for failing a drug test.

Their absences forced the Huskers to place Turner Corcoran to left tackle from left guard, which is considered to be the position he’s good at. He did play left tackle at times in 2020 and 2021, however. As a result, his left guard position was replaced by Kevin Williams and Ethan Piper.

The team’s offensive line is a major concern. On Saturday, Joseph also addressed that issue since Donovan Raiola is the current offensive line coach for the Huskers.

“We’ve got to work more fundamentals with them this week,” Joseph said.

“We’ve got to find a good combination of five of them and see how it works. We’ve got to look at some young kids, some backups.”