Callahan finally gets his man

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BYSTEVENM. SIPPLE

Few football coaches match Jay Norvell's knowledge of the West Coast offense, said Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan.

No wonder Callahan was willing to wait patiently for Norvell's services.

After four weeks of haggling with the NFL Oakland Raiders, Callahan on Friday announced that Norvell has been hired as Nebraska's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Norvell's hiring completes Callahan's staff of nine full-time assistants. Although Callahan will call the plays on offense, Norvell apparently will play a significant role as coordinator.

Indeed, Callahan said, Norvell will be "my eyes in the sky and someone who constantly assesses and evaluates the schematics and tactics across the line of scrimmage."

Norvell, a 40-year-old native of Madison, Wis., served the past two seasons as tight ends coach for Callahan in Oakland. The Raiders fired Callahan on Dec. 31, and he took over as Nebraska's head coach on Jan. 9.

Norvell, meanwhile, was under contract with Oakland through the 2004 season, and Raiders owner Al Davis had said in recent weeks he was unwilling to release Norvell from his deal. Callahan on two occasions had said the matter was "in counsel."

The two sides reached a mutual agreement, according to a Raiders spokesman, and Norvell on Friday officially was released from his contract.

"I am delighted that Coach Norvell will have the opportunity to serve as a coordinator in the Big 12 Conference," Callahan said in a prepared statement. "Jay has the ability to coach at an extremely high level. He has demonstrated that ability not only during his tenure in the National Football League, but also in his time at the collegiate level."

During Norvell's two seasons in Oakland, tight ends were a key component in the team's West Coast attack. In 2002, the Raiders featured the top offense in the NFL, averaging nearly 390 yards per game.

Callahan said Norvell played a key role in designing an Oakland passing attack that averaged 279.7 yards in 2002, 22 yards more than any other team. The Raiders advanced to the Super Bowl, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Before joining the Raiders' organization, Norvell spent a month at Oklahoma in 2002 as wide receivers coach after serving in the same capacity with the NFLIndianapolis Colts from 1998-2001. With the Colts, Norvell worked with All-Pro wideout Marvin Harrison.

Norvell was an Iowa State assistant working with quarterbacks and receivers from 1995-97, when the Cyclones finished a combined 6-27. However, the Cyclone passing attack improved from averaging 132.9 yards in 1995 to 231.9 yards in 1997.

Norvell was an assistant at Wisconsin from 1989-94, serving the final five years on a staff that included Callahan as offensive line coach and new Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove as linebackers coach. In addition, new Husker outside linebackers coach Bill Busch was a Badgers' graduate assistant in 1994.

Norvell began his coaching career in 1986 as a graduate assistant at Iowa before joining the Northern Iowa staff in 1988.

An All-Big Ten defensive back at Iowa in 1985, Norvell becomes the seventh coach from outside the Nebraska program to be hired by Callahan. Scott Downing and Turner Gill were retained from last season's Husker staff, dismantled following head coach Frank Solich's Nov. 29 firing.

Callahan and his assistants will be introduced at halftime of the Kansas-Nebraska basketball game, which begins at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Devaney Sports Center.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@;journalstar.com.