Steven Sipple: This particular Shanle has nothing but good to say about Matt Rhule, and he also thinks Tony White’s defense makes sense
We’ve heard what former Nebraska standout Scott Shanle thinks of Trev Alberts’ hire of Matt Rhule. Shanle is, well, more on the skeptical side.
Bottom line, he feels Nebraska could’ve done better.
Andrew Shanle — Scott’s younger brother — has a much different outlook on Rhule.
“As soon as Nebraska made the announcement (of Rhule’s hire), I told people that I knew that as soon as he talked to the people of Nebraska, as soon as the coach gave his first speech, they were going to fall in love with him,” Andrew Shanle told me last month.
It’s a stretch to think all Nebraska fans have “fallen in love” with Rhule. For one thing, this is a fan base that’s fallen in love with coaches only to be crushed in the end. Many Husker fans have developed a healthy skepticism. Others have become flat-out cynical. They mostly just want results. It makes sense.
But Rhule certainly breeds optimism with his enthusiastic nature and skills as an orator, among other qualities.
His exemplary work at Temple and Baylor also bolsters fans’ confidence.
“He’s an unbelievable communicator,” said Andrew Shanle, 40, a former Nebraska standout defensive back who’s now the head coach of Cypress Ridge High School near Houston.
Shanle was on hand for Nebraska’s satellite camp last month in Houston.
“I’ve met coach Rhule once or twice before when he was at Baylor, and he’s very convicted in what he believes,” Shanle said. “He has a great message every time he talks. He has a great staff around him. They’re very loyal to him.”
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Shanle commends Rhule for hire of Dr. Susan Elza
The night before Nebraska’s satellite camp in Houston, Rhule and his staff held an event in which area high school coaches and others gathered to talk shop. Andrew Shanle made it a point to seek out Rhule and commend him for his hire of Dr. Susan Elza as the program’s chief of staff.
Shanle has coached in Texas for most of the past 15 years, including the past four as Cypress Ridge’s head man. Elza came to Nebraska after serving as the director of athletics for the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body of Texas high school extracurricular activities.
“Coach Rhule has a great group of guys around him, and Dr. Elza adds to that as far as relationships,” Shanle said. “She’s very personable. Every time you heard her speak, you got the sense that she’s very down to earth. If you ever hear her speak, you know she’s someone you can just walk up to and say ‘Hi’ and have a good conversation.
“She’s a coach. She’s a great person. There’s this Texas bond that I feel like I’m a part of.”
In Texas, I saw first-hand Rhule’s bond with Texas high school coaches. You could see it in both Houston and Belton, Texas, where the staff also conducted a satellite camp. It would make sense for Rhule to take his staff to that area every summer because of the talent in the region and the staff’s many connections to that talent.
Nebraska’s scholarship class of 2024 currently has 23 verbal commitments, including seven from Texas high school players.
Andrew Shanle thinks it all makes sense.
“What we’re doing right now is awesome,” he said of his alma mater’s presence in the Lone Star State. “He’s gotten a staff put together that has ties in Texas. The coaches down here know those guys, and that ‘N’ logo is going to mean something again down here.
“Our coaches association in Texas is over 23,000 strong. When you get a good name in that THSCA (Texas High School Coaches Association), it goes a long way, and it builds trust with those coaches who come in and recruit our kids.”
Former Husker likes identity of Tony White’s defense
Andrew Shanle clearly has spent ample time with Rhule’s staff, not only in Texas but also in Lincoln during the spring for the Nebraska football program’s coaches’ clinic. As a former Husker safety (he had 58 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions in 2006), Shanle pays close attention to the teachings of Tony White, the Huskers’ first-year defensive coordinator.
In fact, Shanle had a white-board session with White last month in Houston. Shanle wanted to get a feel for the “identity” of White’s 3-3-5 system.
“It was a really good chalk-talk session,” Shanle said. “He’s a great guy to talk to. He’s a great communicator. He broke it all down in simple terms.”
I asked Shanle if there was anything striking about White’s defense that a layman might understand.
“It’s very simplistic in scheme and calls but it’s able to make ‘tags’ to identify and attack offenses in different ways without overloading a kid,” Shanle said.
His assessment jibes with what Nebraska veteran linebacker Nick Henrich told me last week.
“I’d just say it gives you a lot of freedom to really play fast and just find the football — which is great,” Henrich said. “It allows you to keep athletes on the field and allows a good swarm. It really comes down to the ability to let loose.”
You know a defense is working properly when there’s a “good swarm.”
Nebraska finished 108th nationally in rushing defense last season, and 99th overall. Meanwhile, the Husker offense was 101st overall.
Those are the type of numbers that often lead to a change in coaching staff.
Soon after Nebraska hired Rhule, Scott Shanle — who completed his eligibility for Nebraska in 2002 — took to Twitter to criticize the choice. He maintained, among other things, that Rhule didn’t command much respect in the NFL coaching fraternity.
Well, Rhule is the first to admit he struggled as head coach of the Carolina Panthers, going 11-27 before being shown the door.
I’ve said it before: That experience only fuels his hunger to succeed for Nebraska.
If it produced a measure of humility, well, all the better.
“There’s no doubt that he’s firm in his convictions,” said Andrew Shanle, who likes Rhule’s chances to prosper in his new role.
One of the Shanle brothers eventually will end up on the right side of this one.
Make no mistake, though, both want the program to succeed.
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