Earlier today, Iowa issued a press release stating that defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski is leaving Iowa for another opportunity, with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz stating:
Defensive Line Coach Rick Kaczenski has decided to leave our staff for another coaching opportunity. During the last five years, Rick contributed greatly to our program. We wish Rick and his family the best."
Kaczenski is most likely headed to Nebraska, although no formal announcement has been released from the Husker athletic department. He has been coaching at Iowa since 2005, and the defensive line coach since 2007.
This would seem to put a nail in the idea that Bo Pelini is planing to hire an experienced, big name defensive coordinator, such as Mark Stoops or Ron Zook.
After all, why hire a position coach when you've already got one (John Papuchis) and when a new defensive coordinator would most likely want to bring in their own guys? Sticking with that theme, Iowa is set to find a new defensive coordinator as their existing coordinator, Norm Parker, retired this past week.
All signs point to Pelini moving Papuchis up the chain to become Nebraska's next defensive coordinator. While Papuchis may not be the "big name" that some Husker fans are looking for, his apparent promotion does lend itself to consistency in the program.
Lack of a big name hire doesn't appear to have affected recruiting, as tonight, top JUCO cornerback Mohammed Seisay committed to Nebraska over Arkansas, stating on twitter that his relationship with defensive secondary coach Corey Raymond was a deciding factor.