Nebraska taps Adam Howard to fill assistant coach opening

After Matt Abdelmassih mutually parted ways with the Nebraska Cornhuskers last month, head coach Fred Hoiberg has officially tapped Adam Howard to fill the vacancy. The now former South Alabama associate head coach joins the Husker staff after spending the past four seasons in Mobile.

Howard spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach at South Alabama, being named the associate head coach for the 2021-2022 season. While there, he coordinated the Jaguars’ full- and half-court defensive sets and worked with the post players, helping three players earn all-conference recognition.

South Alabama went 75-51 during his four seasons with the program as an assistant, including a pair of 20-win seasons. That followed five straight losing seasons prior to his arrival with head coach Richie Riley. Howard’s defenses with the Jaguars ranked in the top-50 nationally in field goal defense in each of the past two years and lowered their opponent field goal and three-point percentage in each of the past three seasons.

Prior to South Alabama, Howard spent two seasons at Troy University during a span that saw the Trojans earn a NCAA Tournament bid and the most program wins in a seasons since 2003-2004. Prior to that, Howard spent one season at Tennessee and two seasons at Southern Miss prior to that.

Howard began his coaching career at Morehead State in 2009 as a graduate assistant and became a full time staff member the next season. He played college basketball at Western Kentucky from 2004-2008, a span that saw the Hilltoppers earn two NIT bids and a Sweet 16 appearance.

Howard’s coaching career started as a graduate assistant under Donnie Tyndall at Morehead State and he followed Tyndall to Southern Miss and Tennessee. In 2016, the NCAA imposed a 10-year show-cause penalty on Tyndall, which tied the longest penalty for any coach at that time. Tyndall’s Southern Miss staff illegally paid players and completed coursework for them according to the findings of the NCAA investigation. Southern Miss vacated 56 wins from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons which are the two that Howard spent with the program.

Howard later received immunity to testify against Tyndall according to his personal attorney. He spent two years away from coaching before returning to the field at Troy for the 2016-2017 season.