A year after DMing Matt Rhule, Troy Vincent Jr. rises to Nebraska director of football operations

It was February 2023, and Vincent had messaged Nebraska’s recently-hired football coach on the platform then known as Twitter. Rhule responded, but his profile picture was ambiguous. Vincent thought he might have gotten duped.

“I thought it was like a doppelganger,” he said.

It wasn’t until speaking on the phone that Vincent was sure it was the bona fide coach. He ended up joining the program as an intern working with the Huskers’ special teams. Over a year later, he’s the director of football relations, overseeing external relations with parents, professional football teams and high school coaches.

“The biggest difference, I get a little bit more complaints than I used to, but it’s cool, though, because you learn about who has influence in the program, influence in the sense of who has the players’ ears, what makes them go, what makes the program go, who are the key stakeholders,” Vincent said. “So learning a little bit more about the other side of the house.”

Within his diverse set of responsibilities, Vincent’s main priority is transparency. With high school coaches, he sometimes has to be blunt and tell them their team doesn’t have the talent pool of other schools. With parents, he has to use a gentler touch.

“Parents, giving them an ear because at the end of the day you’re dealing with their children,” Vincent said. “I always tell them, parent or guardian, whatever their relationship may be, but I always tell them I’m here to offer you peace of mind. Whatever you need me to be for your child, your cousin, whatever our student-athlete is to you, I’ll be that.”