Iowa football: Former Hawkeye on hot seat at Nebraska

Former Iowa football player Eric Chinander is coaching for the enemy now, but he could be on the hot seat if Nebraska’s defense doesn’t improve.

Eric Chinander hasn’t played for the Iowa football program for nearly twenty years, but his presence still has an impact on the Hawks as he is currently the defensive coordinator of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

So when the Iowa football team put up 419 offensive yards and 31 points in 2018 season finale against Nebraska, that was against a former Iowa football player in Chinander.

Although he has been the defensive coordinator for Scott Frost-led teams for the past three seasons, the former walk-on could be on the hot seat in 2019.

Nebraska has high (maybe slightly unrealistic) expectations and their offense is supposed to be superb under the tutelage of offensive mastermind Scott Frost and sophomore quarterback phenom Adrian Martinez. However, if there is a weakness, it’s undoubtedly on the defensive side of the ball.

Last season, the Huskers ranked 92nd total yards allowed and 89 in points allowed per game at 31.3.

To be fair, it was an improvement over the previous season when Nebraska ranked 117th while allowing 36.4 points per game and when the Huskers ranked 98th in yards allowed.

The improvement in yards allowed, though, was negligible as Chinander’s defense allowed 32 yards less from 2017 to 2018.

In year two, Husker’s fans are likely expecting much more improvement from Chinander’s defense, but it’s not going to be easy. The Husker’s take on a plethora of strong offenses including Colorado, Ohio State, Purdue, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Although I will never root for Nebraska to succeed, I will be rooting for a former Iowa football guy in Eric Chinander to keep his job, but if things turn sideways in Lincoln, he may be the first guy on the chopping block in year two of the Scott Frost era.