Nebraska officially hires new offensive coordinator, offensive line coach
Nebraska formally announced its new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach on Dec. 8. The program officially welcomed offensive coordinator Mark Whipple and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola on its Twitter account:
Husker Nation, help us welcome Coach Donovan Raiola to the Good Life!!!#GBR /// #thegoodlife pic.twitter.com/CISPv1DjPL
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) December 8, 2021
Husker Nation, help us welcome Coach Mark Whipple to the Good Life!!!#GBR /// @CoachWhipPitt pic.twitter.com/73aWhbHXx2
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) December 8, 2021
The 64-year-old Whipple is coming off a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator/QB coach at Pitt. Most recently prior to that, Whipple was the head coach at UMass (2014-18). Whipple has also served in various roles at the University of Miami, the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Raiola was most recently an assistant offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears from 2018 until now. Raiola was also an offensive line coach at Aurora University, a grad assistant at Notre Dame and an intern at Hawaii.
The 38-year-old Honolulu native went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2006. During his five years in the NFL, Raiola played for the then-St. Louis Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the then-Washington Redskins.
Nebraska finished 3-9 overall and sixth place in the B1G West. The Cornhuskers ended on a six-game losing streak, most recently dropping a 28-21 contest vs. then-No. 16 Iowa. Nebraska’s last victory came vs. Northwestern on Oct. 2.