Quick hits from Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph’s presser

There’s been a change in leadership of the Nebraska football program.

Following Sunday’s breaking news that Scott Frost had been relieved of his duties as head coach by Athletic Director Trev Alberts, Alberts tabbed receivers coach Mickey Joseph as the interim head coach.

Alberts said it will be a national search for Nebraska’s next head coach, but left the door open for Joseph to take it for himself. Now the Louisiana native and former Husker quarterback has a chance to impress those in charge with nine regular season games left on the schedule.

On Tuesday morning, four days before No. 6 Oklahoma (2-0) comes to Lincoln for Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, Joseph met with the media for the first time as his alma mater’s interim head coach.

Here are the quick hits from his press conference:

>> Joseph confirmed what Inside Nebraska had reported this morning, that there were a couple changes to the structure of the coaching staff.

First, Mike Cassano has become a full-time assistant, and he’ll coach the receivers, Joseph’s old position group. Cassano was an offensive analyst before. Joseph later added that he’ll still have a presence with the receivers.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander will coach the safeties. He had previously coached the nickels.

Travis Fisher will focus on coaching the corners only. Joseph said everywhere he’s coached, there have been two coaches for the defensive backfield, so that’s what he wants on his team.

>> Joseph said he spoke with Chinander about the defense. He wants that unit to play faster. The team will tackle in practice more. The players will hold themselves accountable.

>> Right now, Joseph’s focus is the team and the players. He wants to make sure the 100-something players are doing OK.

“This is about Nebraska football,” Joseph said. “It’s bigger than me and anyone else. I want you all to understand that. It’s bigger than me and anyone else.

>> There will be tweaks to the practice schedules. Off days are now Mondays. Outside of that, everything will stay the same schedule-wise.

>> Joseph is the first Black head coach at Nebraska, across all sports. He said he hasn’t thought much about that. Joseph went back to what he said — Nebraska football is bigger than him.

“I’m more concerned about the boys, and getting the boys ready to play on Saturday. It’s bigger than me,” he said.

>> How will Joseph’s background as an ace recruiter help him in his new role? It’s all about relationships.

“I think everything has to do with relationships,” he said. “And I have a pretty good relationships with a pretty good percentage of the team. And I think they understand that.”

>> Joseph was asked how the team handled the past 48 hours. Like champs, he said. It’s important to remember that the players were recruited by Frost. He was the one sitting in their living rooms, and now he’s gone.

But at the end of the day, they play for Nebraska, not a coach.

“They understand that they play for the University of Nebraska,” Joseph said. “And it’s time to move on. And it’s time to get ready for OU on Saturday. They handled it like champs. They bounce back today.”

>> What was the issue the first three games of the season? Joseph said the team didn’t play well in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams.

“That’s how you win games. And that’s what we have to do,” Joseph said. “You can’t just put it on the offense, you can’t just put it on the defense, you can’t just put it on the special teams. Everybody has to pull on the same side of the rope.”

>> Joseph’s brother, Vance, is the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator. Vance played quarterback at Colorado and was a defensive back in the NFL. So, as an offensive coach, Mickey understands defense and where it needs to be. Just like Vance does.

“You got to know what’s going on the side of the ball. You know where it should be — it’s football, guys. It’s either four down on three down, it’s either two high or one high.”

Joseph said he’ll lean on his brother and his other family members because they’ll be truthful and honest. He respects their opinion.

>> Does Joseph want to be the head coach of Nebraska next season?

“I think when you accept the interim job as a head coach, I think that’s the opportunity that you’re working for, is to become the head coach,” Joseph said. “But we understand what goes along with this profession. It’s wins and losses. And that’s what it’s going to depend on.”

>> Joseph met with Tom Osborne on Monday. Joseph joked that Osborne still talks to him like he’s a 19-year-old.

“He gave me good advice that he believes in what what I’m going to do, and discuss what he thinks we need to do,” Joseph said. “I don’t think I need to go into that, what our conversation was about. But he still believes in Nebraska football and he’s still a wise guy. He’s still wise. He’s really wise. He’s got wisdom still there.

“So it’s good. It was good to talk to him yesterday and I’ll do that weekly with him.”

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