Nebraska’s defensive staff is rounding into form.
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule formally announced Friday the hiring of Corey Brown as defensive line coach, a move that HuskerOnline reported Sunday.
Meanwhile, Miles Taylor was named safeties coach.
Taylor joins Nebraska’s defensive staff after spending the 2025 season as a coaching fellow for the Los Angeles Chargers. He helped the team to an AFC playoff appearance and the Chargers ranked in the top five in the NFL in both passing and total defense.
Before his time with the Chargers, Taylor spent five seasons as the defensive backs coach at South Dakota, where he worked for two seasons with new Husker defensive coordinator Rob Aurich.
“Miles Taylor has made a fast rise in the coaching profession, and we are excited for him to join our defensive staff,” Rhule said. “This past year he got experience coaching players at the highest level in the National Football League. Miles had great success during his time at South Dakota, helping elevate their program and specifically the pass defense. He has experience working with Rob Aurich and will be a great fit at Nebraska.”
Taylor begins coaching career at Iowa
Taylor’s defensive backs played a key role in the Coyotes’ success in Vermillion. USD reached FCS playoffs in 2021, and then had deep playoff runs in 2023 and 2024, when the Coyotes reached the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Taylor began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 2018 and 2019, helping the Hawkeyes to a 9-4 record in 2018 and a 10-3 campaign in 2019. Taylor played at Iowa where he appeared in 50 games for the Hawkeyes and finished his career with 169 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
As for Brown, he comes to Nebraska with 20 years of experience as a defensive assistant, including 18 seasons as a defensive line coach. He has spent the past three seasons as the defensive line coach at Miami (Ohio).
“Corey Brown is a huge hire for our football program,” Rhule said. “Corey’s defensive lines have consistently played at an elite level throughout his career. His lines at Miami (Ohio) have been among the nation’s best at producing sacks and affecting the passer. Corey is a great teacher, he thinks the game of football at a high level and brings Big Ten experience to our staff.”
Brown proven in key areas
Brown is known for producing defensive lines who excel at creating pressure to disrupt opposing offenses. Miami (Ohio) ranked in the top 25 nationally in sacks in two of Brown’s final three seasons, which also helped the RedHawks finish in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense both seasons.
Brown is also a proven developer of talent. In his three seasons on the Miami (Ohio) staff before he came to Nebraska, Brown produced a different first-team all-conference defensive linemen each year. Brown has also coached a player who ranked in the top 25 nationally in either sacks or tackles for loss each of his last three seasons.
In addition to two stints at Miami (Ohio), Brown has experience at South Dakota and spent time at Rutgers in the Big Ten.
He played collegiately at Iowa from 1995 to 1999.
“I am thankful for and excited about the opportunity to coach at the University of Nebraska,” Brown said. “This is a tradition-rich program with great leadership, and I can’t wait to get started.”