Marcus Satterfield speaks on USC tenure, reuniting with Matt Rhule at Nebraska

Marcus Satterfield scrolled through his phone on his way back from South Carolina’s 31-30 win against Clemson, seeing an abundance of texts after the Gamecocks’ historic win.

But one message in particular stood out — a text from Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule that simply read, “Call me.”

Satterfield had a long-standing relationship with Rhule, so he hoped that the call from the newly hired Huskers coach would be one that offered him a job in Lincoln.

“When he did, I didn’t even let him get it out of his mouth,” Satterfield told reporters on Friday at his introductory press conference at Nebraska. “I was like, ‘Heck yeah. Let’s go.’”

Satterfield was hired Dec. 1 as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator, just days after USC’s regular-season finale against the Tigers. Rhule was hired Nov. 26 and began building his staff from there.

Satterfield coached alongside Rhule in 2005 when the two were assistant coaches at Western Carolina. Satterfield later coached under Rhule as a tight ends coach at Baylor from 2018-19 and then as an assistant offensive line coach when Rhule was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2020.

“Even though I’ve been at different jobs, we’re still really, really close,” Satterfield said. “We expect football to be played a certain way. We expect coaches to coach a certain way. I think we’re truly aligned from that standpoint.”

Satterfield came under fire at times for his offensive play-calling from South Carolina fans. He ended his USC career on a high note, with the team’s explosive 63-point performance against Tennessee and the 31-30 victory over Clemson the following week.

South Carolina went 15-10 with Satterfield as the coordinator, as he did not coach in the Gator Bowl in December. USC’s offense averaged 22.6 points per game in his first year and 31.7 in his second — excluding the Gator Bowl.

“Whether it was warranted or not, it’s just part of the gig,” Satterfield said of criticism from fans. “If you’re the head coach, offensive coordinator or quarterback, you’re usually gonna get a lot of the blame or a lot of the credit, whether it’s deserved or not.

“I enjoyed my time there. Loved it. It was a great experience, great opportunity. It’s only toughened, calloused me up to be more successful here.”

Satterfield is now spending time recruiting and getting to know the rest of the Nebraska team. He said that he wants to bring a “pro-style offense” to Nebraska as he makes the transition to Big 10 football.

In his life now away from the Gamecocks, Satterfield looks to build with Rhule once again. He called his new school a “big deal” because of its history as a college football program.

“All the great wins, the national championships, the traditions, Memorial Stadium, the fan base,” Satterfield said. “Whenever coach Rhule started talking about Nebraska, it got us going.”