Nebraska adds three coaches to defensive staff – University of Nebraska

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule today announced the addition of three coaches to the Huskers’ defensive staff. Terry Bradden has been hired as Nebraska’s defensive line coach, Phil Snow will serve in the role of associate head coach and Addison Williams will be Nebraska’s defensive backs coach.

“Terry Bradden, Phil Snow and Addison Williams are excellent additions to our coaching staff,” said Rhule. “Each of them is ideal for their role on our defensive staff. They are all elite teachers who have been a part of winning programs and organizations. The experience they bring to our defensive staff will be invaluable as we defend a wide array of offenses in the Big Ten Conference.”

Bradden comes to Nebraska from the Kansas City Chiefs, where he serves as an assistant defensive line coach. The 2024 campaign is Bradden’s eighth in Kansas City and his fourth in his current role with the team, after serving as a defensive quality control coach (2018-20) and a defensive assistant (2017).

During Bradden’s time with the organization, the Chiefs have captured three Super Bowl titles, including back-to-back crowns the past two seasons. This season, the Chiefs rank third in the NFL against the run and are sixth in total defense.

In 2023, Bradden assisted a defensive line that recorded 57.0 sacks to rank second in the NFL. Defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end George Karlaftis each recorded 10.5 sacks. The defensive line also paved the way for the Chiefs to record 55.0 sacks in 2022, which also ranked second in the league.

In addition to his defensive line work, Bradden also spent time in the defensive backfield with the Chiefs in 2019. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Bradden served as a quarterback graduate assistant at Bethune-Cookman University in 2016. He was named to the first AFCA Top 30 Under 30 class that year. Bradden spent 2014 at FAU as a special teams quality control coach and then served as the head coach and athletic director in 2015 at his alma mater, Inlet Grove High School.

The Florida native played three seasons at Howard University (2009-11) in Washington, DC before transferring to Tuskegee University (2011-13), where he also played quarterback.

A veteran defensive coach with a track record of success, Snow reunites with Rhule after serving as defensive coordinator on Rhule’s staffs at Temple, Baylor and with the Carolina Panthers.

A veteran with 37 years of collegiate coaching experience, Snow has served as defensive coordinator at seven previous schools, including UCLA, Washington, Arizona State, Boise State, Eastern Michigan, Temple and Baylor. He also has eight years of NFL experience with the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.

Snow has worked in a consulting role for the Huskers this season and spent the 2023 season as a senior defensive analyst with the Chicago Bears. Prior to that, Snow served on Rhule’s coaching staff for 10 consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2022.

Snow was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers from 2020 to 2022, highlighted by the 2021 season when the Panthers finished second in the National Football League in total defense.

The play of Snow’s defense at Baylor and Temple helped both of those programs with dramatic turnarounds. In 2019, Baylor reached the Big 12 Championship game, where the Bear defense finished second nationally in takeaways (30), third in interceptions (17), eighth in sacks per game (3.31) and fifth in turnover margin (1.08). During Snow’s final year in Waco, Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch finished fifth in the nation in sacks (13.5) and was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Prior to Baylor, Snow spent four seasons at Temple under Rhule, where his teams led the AAC in scoring defense in both 2015 and 2016. The 2016 defense ranked third nationally in total defense (282.5 ypg) and 11th in scoring (18.4 ppg) to help lead the Owls to an AAC championship and a 10-4 record. Snow coached All-AAC linebacker and eventual first-round draft pick Haason Reddick, selected 13th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2017.

Rhule and Snow first came together at UCLA in 2001, where Snow was the defensive coordinator and Rhule served as an assistant defensive line coach. In 2001, the Bruins led the Pac-10 in total defense.

Originally from Winters, Calif., Snow attended Cal-State Hayward and began his collegiate coaching career at Laney College in 1979 and had coaching stops at Boise State, Cal, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington before his first stint in the NFL with the Lions.

Williams joins the Huskers’ coaching staff after spending the past four seasons at UCF, including coordinating the Knights’ defense in 2023 and 2024.

A native of Atlanta, Williams has 15 years of experience as a college coach. In 2023, Williams guided a Knights defense that led the Big 12 Conference in fewest passing yards allowed at 196.7 per game. match. UCF also ranked third in the league in team pass efficiency defense at 120.32. The Knights allowed just 12 opposing touchdown passes, the program’s fewest allowed since 2001.

Upon arriving at UCF, Williams made an immediate impact with the Knights’ pass defense. In 2021, UCF ranked seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense (an improvement of 97 spots in the NCAA statistical rankings). The Knights finished the year with six wins in their last seven assignments to finish 9-4. UCF’s cornerbacks played critical roles as the Knights improved 86 slots in the passing yards allowed category and moved to 35^th in 2021, allowing 89.1 fewer yards per carry. match than in 2020.

Williams spent the 2020 season as the safeties coach at Coastal Carolina, helping the Chanticleers to an undefeated and record-setting 2020 regular season, an 11-1 overall record and final rankings of 14^th in both the AP and Coaches polls. Williams helped Coastal Carolina rank third nationally in 2020 with 16 interceptions (plus second in total takeaways with 25) and 16^th in team pass efficiency defense.

Williams also served as an analyst at Auburn in 2019 after coaching at Furman for two seasons, helping the team to the 2018 Southern Conference title. Williams also served as defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Tusculum from 2013 to 2016.

Williams played three seasons as a cornerback at South Carolina for coach Steve Spurrier from 2007 to 2009, playing in 26 games. He began his coaching career as a student assistant with the Gamecocks in 2010 and served as a defensive graduate assistant for South Carolina in 2011 and 2012, helping USC to a 22-4 record over those two seasons.