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Nebraska football hires Mark Whipple as offensive coordinator under Scott Frost

College Football, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Pittsburgh Panthers

Just one day after resigning as offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh, Mark Whipple has resurfaced at Nebraska in the same role under head football coach Scott Frost, it was announced Wednesday.

Whipple, 64, stepped down Tuesday after his third season at Pitt, where he had mentored Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett.

The Panthers ranked third nationally in scoring and sixth in passing in 2021. Pickett, who became Pitt's first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2003, set numerous team records this season, passing for 4,319 yards and an ACC-record 42 touchdowns. He also broke Dan Marino's team record for career touchdown passes with 81.

Whipple previously spent five seasons as head coach at UMass, and also coached quarterbacks at both the NFL and college levels.

Frost also announced the hiring of Chicago Bears assistant offensive line coach Donovan Raiola to lead the Huskers at the position.

"We are excited to add Mark Whipple and Donovan Raiola to our offensive staff," Frost said in a statement released Wednesday. "Mark has four decades of coaching experience and brings a long record of offensive success to Nebraska. ... I am confident their addition will have a positive impact on the young men in our program and the success of our offense."

The Cornhuskers went 3-7 this season amid offensive inconsistencies, and Frost fired four offensive assistants, including offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Matt Lubick.

Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Greg Austin, running backs coach Ryan Held and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco were also fired.

Frost last month said stepping back and turning over the offense to someone new will not be an easy adjustment for him, but he said it's necessary.

"There's things about being coach at Nebraska that I haven't been able to enjoy because of all the time I've been spending trying to fix problems and dig ourselves out of a hole and get the team better," Frost said last month. "I've spent a lot of time offensively, too. Not that I didn't have the right guys. I can't say enough good about them. But I need to really trust somebody. I'll still be involved. That will take a lot off my plate and I think help me be better in some other areas."

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.

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