While the Nebraska football team prepares to wrap up the 2020 recruiting cycle and prepare for spring practice, several former Huskers are gearing up for new jobs or new contracts in the new year.

While the Cornhuskers' program has fallen on hard times in the eyes of most national pundits, the program's footprint continues to expand in the college and pro football world.

Some former Huskers have established themselves on new teams as the season wound down. That's what happened with former Nebraska football star Will Compton and the Oakland Raiders.

Coaching carousel for former Nebraska football coaches hits a few stops

When former defensive coordinator Bob Diaco left Lincoln after just one season, some Cornhusker fans thought his coaching career was officially derailed. It turns out, and he was able to get it back on track.

Diaco became a defensive analyst for the Oklahoma Sooners just one season after being fired by Nebraska. Then last year, he took over the defensive coordinating for Louisiana Tech.

Diaco built up a pretty good defense for the mid-major program. That culminated in a bowl game shutout of the Miami Hurricanes. Shortly after that, he took the co-defensive coordinator job with the Purdue Boilermakers. That means his first official game next year back in the Big Ten will be against the Nebraska football team.

There will still be a few players on the roster he coached back in the day.

Another former defensive coordinator, John Papuchis, got himself a new job towards the end of 2019 as well. Papuchis got a bit of a Christmas present for himself and his family when the Florida State Seminoles made his hiring official. According to FSU, Papuchis has gained a reputation as one of the best Special Teams Coordinators in the country.

Then, of course, there's former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich. Solich is preparing to lead his Ohio Bobcats to a bowl game against Nevada on Friday. Before they attempt to post their seventh win of the season, the school announced he'd been signed to a multi-year extension.

Terms of the deal weren't announced but his old contract was slated to expire at the end of this week.

He'll now officially be in Ohio for a few more seasons, at least.

Maher gets himself a new team

Former Cornhusker coaches aren't the only ones finding themselves on new teams. Brett Maher spent most of 2019 with the Dallas Cowboys, but they released him towards the end of the season.

It appears the former Nebraska football star will get another chance to keep his NFL career going. The New York Jets signed Maher to a "futures" contract, allowing him the opportunity to try and earn a spot on the roster as their kicker in 2020.
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