Donovan Raiola returning as Nebraska’s offensive line coach

Donovan Raiola appears to be returning as Nebraska’s offensive line coach in 2023. 

New Husker head coach Matt Rhule will retain Raiola, program sources said, as Raiola has informed some recruits and current players he’d be back. NU did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the retention. Neither did Raiola.

The younger brother of former Nebraska All-American center Dominic Raiola, Donovan joined Scott Frost’s staff one year ago and made $325,000 in salary. It’s not clear if his contract will progress as planned into its second year or whether he’d get a new two-year deal that Rhule plans for all of his non-coordinator assistants. 

Taciturn and focused, Raiola previously worked for the Chicago Bears, among other stops, and preached “overcommunication” with his Husker linemen. Raiola wants five linemen working “as one” on the field, and teaches a more aggressive, fire-off-the-ball style more befitting of the NFL. 

He was perhaps best known last season for reportedly coaching linemen so strenuously in workouts that he earned Frost’s admiration for how often the players threw up. 

“I laugh with the guys because there’s about probably 15 to 20 vomits every day from offensive linemen,” Frost said on his radio show one week before the season opener. “And it’s not because they’re not in shape. He’s just working them hard. I think they love it. He’s kind of freed them up to go be aggressive.”

Frost later said he “might have exaggerated” the vomiting.

NU averaged 3.52 yards per carry in 2022 — good for 102nd nationally and 11th in the Big Ten — and the line allowed 33 sacks, too, which ranked 96th nationally. According to Football Outsiders, the Huskers’ sack rate ranked 112th nationally, while its general “line yards average” — that is, the general number of yards a back could expect to gain before getting hit by a defender — ranked 83rd.

But interim head coach Mickey Joseph applauded Raiola’s work and suggested depth and recruiting were the bigger issues. Due to injuries, Raiola was forced to start five different lineups during the season, though the starting five stabilized over the final three games. 

Presuming none enter the transfer portal, three multi-year starters return for the Husker unit; a fourth brief starter, Teddy Prochazka, will be recovering from another knee injury. Two current Husker linemen — Brant Banks and Alex Conn — have already entered the transfer portal and NU is pursuing more players in the portal. Three in-state linemen — Omaha Creighton Prep guard Sam Sledge, Lincoln Southeast guard Gunnar Gottula and Scottsbluff tackle Brock Knutson — are committed to Raiola for the 2023 class. 

Raiola joins quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz and linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek as expected members of Rhule’s new group of assistants that has yet to be announced.

Five other assistants — offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Marcus Satterfield, special teams coordinator Ed Foley, running backs coach EJ Barthel, defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and defensive backs coach Evan Cooper — have been officially announced by Nebraska. That leaves two open spots: One for a defensive coordinator, and one for a receivers coach.