Nebraska is set to hire Tyler Yelk as its new safeties coach, filling the vacancy created when Miles Taylor left to join the Baltimore Ravens, a source confirms to HuskerOnline. The news was first reported by CBS.
Yelk comes to Lincoln after spending the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he most recently served as a defensive assistant. He will work under defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, taking over a position Taylor was set to hold.
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The move also reconnects Yelk and Aurich through a shared Missouri Valley Football Conference background, and later at Idaho. Yelk served as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at South Dakota from 2016-17, while Aurich was on the Coyotes’ staff from 2018-21. He would later join Aurich at Idaho in 2022 as his safeties coach.
Yelk was named a defensive assistant by Philadelphia during the 2025 offseason and enters his third year as a member of the Eagles’ staff after joining the organization in 2023.
In 2024, Yelk was part of a coaching staff that led Philadelphia to an NFL-record-tying 18 combined regular-season and postseason wins, culminating in a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
That season, the Eagles ranked first in the NFL in total defense, passing defense, points allowed per game, opponent three-and-out percentage and forced fumbles. Philadelphia also set a league record for combined rushing yards, including the postseason, and produced six All-Pro selections and six Pro Bowlers.
During the 2023 season, Yelk served as assistant to the head coach as Philadelphia went 11-6 and reached the playoffs, while developing eight Pro Bowlers and four All-Pro honorees.
Tyler Yelk. (Credit: South Dakota Athletics)
Yelk carries both a strong NFL and college coaching background
Before his NFL tenure, Yelk built an extensive college résumé, particularly in the secondary.
He coached safeties at Idaho in 2022, helping the Vandals lead the Big Sky Conference in interceptions and finish among the top teams in the FCS in total and passing defense.
Yelk spent three seasons at Temple from 2019-21, coaching safeties and nickelbacks, and worked with Northern Illinois in 2018, where he mentored an All-MAC selection and helped guide the Huskies to a conference championship.
From 2016-17, Yelk served as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at South Dakota. In 2017, the Coyotes ranked 12th nationally in sacks and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs, with five defensive players earning All-MVFC honors.
Earlier in his career, Yelk coached defensive backs and special teams at Western Illinois from 2013-15 and began his coaching journey at Minnesota-Duluth in 2009. He was part of the Bulldogs’ undefeated NCAA Division II championship staff in 2010, becoming the first player in program history to win a national title as both a player and coach.
As a player, Yelk was an All-American defensive back at Minnesota-Duluth and finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in tackles. He led the team in tackles three times, including during the Bulldogs’ 2008 championship season.
Yelk now brings that mix of NFL experience and college defensive background to Nebraska, where he will be tasked with continuing the development of the Huskers’ secondary under Aurich’s direction.