‘It’s bigger than me’: Mickey Joseph takes rein as Husker interim head coach

Nolan Dorn,

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Husker football’s interim head coach, Mickey Joseph, spoke on Tuesday for the first time since the firing of Scott Frost.

“I want to thank the fans for continuing to support us and to ride with us and stay with us through thick and thin,” Joseph said.

Frost was fired on Sunday after the 45-42 loss against Georgia Southern, ending his tenure with a 16-31 record.

See also: Husker coach Scott Frost fired following loss to Georgia Southern

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts then named Joseph as the interim head coach.

See also: Nebraska football names Mickey Joseph as interim head coach

Joseph will take advantage of this opportunity and said he is working toward becoming the next coach.

“I think when you accept the interim job as the head coach, that’s the opportunity that you working for,” he said.  “But we understand what goes along with this profession: It’s wins and losses, and that’s what it’s gonna depend on.”

During a Sunday press conference, Alberts confirmed that Nebraska would begin a nationwide search for a coach but mentioned that Joseph would be an “obvious” candidate.

Joseph said the team is now preparing to take on No. 6 Oklahoma at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

But he’s working to get the team back on track mentally after Frost’s firing.

“At the end of the day, that ball is gonna kick off on Saturday,” Joseph said.  “So mentally, we had to get them back and get them ready.”

The team “bounced back” after Tuesday’s practice, according to Joseph.  He said the team handled the changes like champs.

And Nebraska will need to be ready for the game against its former conference rival, which remains undefeated after two games.

“It’s a big opportunity for the players, and I think they’re excited,” Joseph said.

Joseph was asked about being the first Black coach in the university’s history.  Right now, he said he’s more focused on getting the team ready for Saturday.

“Like I said, it’s about Nebraska football; it’s bigger than me,” Joseph said.  “I haven’t really thought about that because I’ve been a football coach, I’ve been a Black football coach, all my life.”

Nebraska has begun its season 1-2 after losses to Northwestern and Georgia Southern.  The Huskers’ only win came against Football Championship Subdivision team North Dakota.

Joseph believes that despite the team not winning games, it doesn’t have a losing culture.

“A losing culture is kids that don’t come to work, you know,” he said. “Now these kids, they’re playing in a lot of tight games, you know. I don’t think they’ve ever been blown out. They’re playing in a lot of tight game. So now we gotta figure out how to get them over the hump.”

Joseph went on to break down this message to the team and some of the changes he expects from the Huskers.

“I’m gonna be detailed,” he said.  “I’m gonna be high energy, and I expect them to leave it all out on the field.”

Joseph also detailed changes to the team’s defense, which gave up the most yards ever allowed in Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

This will include having defensive coordinator Erik Chinander focus more on the safeties, while coach Travis Fisher will work more closely with the corners and nickels.

Joseph said most teams have two defensive back coaches.

Missed tackles plagued the team during its first three games, so Joseph now plans to have the Huskers start tackling in practice.

“We’ll try to fix the problems,” he said.

Joseph said the No. 1 problem has been that the team hasn’t played well in the three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

He thinks that all three squads need to work together for the team to be successful.

“You can’t just put it on offense, you can’t just put it on the defense, you can’t just put it on the special teams,” Joseph said.  “Everyone has to pull on the same side of the rope.”

On Monday, legendary Husker coach Tom Osborne met with the newly named interim head coach.

“He believes in what I’m gonna do and you know what discuss what he thinks we need to do,” Joseph said.  “He’s really wise, the wisdom is still there.”

Saturday’s 11 a.m. game against Oklahoma will be broadcast on Fox and will be featured on the network’s “Big Noon Saturday” show.

See also: Seven possible picks for Nebraska football coach

In other news, Nebraska announced that offensive analyst Mike Cassano was promoted to wide receivers coach, filling the vacancy left by Joseph.

Categories: Husker Sports, Sports, Top Stories
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Download the Channel 8 News app

Related