How prior Nebraska linebacker Jeff Chaney got to be the caretaker of a $60 million Texas prep football estate
The current Pick Six Podcast episode has Evan Bland and Tom Shatel sharing their key insights from Tom’s conversation with Matt Rhule, as well as what they learned about the culture and principles of the second-year Nebraska coach via his office walls.
Texas’s Allen Jeff Chaney’s desk has a small inflatable football with the Nebraska emblem resting on it. A gentle reminder on a regular basis that the five years he spent away from home were worthwhile.
The expansive 177-acre campus of Allen High School features an indoor practice field that is visible from the former Husker offensive lineman’s office. One wall has thirteen banners honoring every NFL player the facility has produced, including Kyler Murray, the quarterback selected first overall in the 2019 draft.
Cross the corridor to get an end-zone view of Eagle Stadium, the venue that made national news fifteen years ago with its sixty million dollar price tag and eight thousand seats. A 14-year streak of state victories came to an end this winter in the wrestling room, which spans more than 5,000 square feet under the west concourse. A few doors down is a cutting-edge golf simulator.
It’s all evidence of how big Texas is. Furthermore, the man in command is a Nebraska-born Lone Star lifer.
When he joined in 1987, fresh out of the little west Texas town of Friona, he wasn’t a highly sought-after recruit, and he played both guard for the majority of his career, ranking No. 2 on the depth chart. Despite having the stature to match NU’s larger lineman, standing at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds as an upperclassman, he consistently performed well in practice.
Chaney declared, “I’m the reason they got good.” “I was brought up to Nebraska, where they realized they couldn’t win with guys like me.
When the Big Red machine ramped up for the 1990s, the late Milt Tenopir, Chaney’s position coach, liked to say he changed his recruiting philosophy to focus on bigger, more athletic blockers. The younger Will Shields (6-1, 305), backed up by Chaney. He served as Aaron Graham’s player host (6-4, 285). Additionally, he didn’t resemble younger lineman like Zach Wiegert, Rob Zatechka, Brenden Stai, or Christian Peter. That was excellent.
Chaney didn’t play much, but he smiles thinking back to the 1990 “49 pitch,” in which he pulled guard Derek Brown’s first touchdown run as an I-back. Since the squad left for the Orange Bowl after the 1991 season, he hasn’t returned to Lincoln
“I felt privileged to be involved in it,” Chaney remarked. If they had offered, where else would you go at that time? That was O-line U back then.
Chaney worked as an assistant coach at several rural Texas high schools. Four years in an El Paso program. The two from “Friday Night Lights” famous at Odessa. He became popular at Allen in the early 2000s when the north Dallas suburb saw an explosion in population growth and football success, winning five state titles between 2008 and 2017, thanks to the late 1990s telecom boom.
In 2011, Chaney’s last season with linemen, coaching was wearing on him. more team success brought with it more pressure to win. He seized the opportunity to become the coordinator of athletic facilities upon the opening of the Eagles’ opulent home the following year.
To Chaney’s amazement, the man who the field is named for — the now-retired Allen Athletic Director Steve Williams – nominated him for the recently opened position.
It’s awesome,” Chaney remarked. “Coach Williams always seems to have given the key to a $60 million Ferrari to a kid who really didn’t even have a license.”
The daily task is similar to that of a lineman in that it involves protecting the asset by whatever means necessary. His radio in his ear chatters and his phone buzzes on event days. He handles crowd management. Almost 1,800 graduating seniors and their family attended the field graduation last year. Football and soccer practices are as commonplace as traffic jams in parking lots.
Chaney remarked, “This place is used all day long.” “It’s not used for about an hour and a half.
Once local authorities nabbed an arriving chain gang for consuming beer in the parking lot during a football playoff game held at the stadium, which was used as a neutral venue. Chaney had to inform the coach that more volunteers were required on that particular night.
Before the epidemic, Allen often sold out of season tickets, a task Chaney handled. In addition to the football complex, he serves as the liaison between the coaches and maintenance for any necessary repairs to the basketball gymnasiums and the four combined baseball and softball grounds.
He claimed to have lost interest in actual football Xs and Os years ago, saying, “I don’t even know what they’re talking about anymore.” During the actual games, he is too busy making sure everything is operating correctly to consider blocking strategies.
He can still catch glimpses of the college football recruiting machine in action from his office, which is situated in close proximity to the head coach’s. He has witnessed several Nebraska coaches come and go through Allen, including Bill Busch, Barney Cotton, Frank Solich, and Kevin Steele, who was Chaney’s first coach in Lincoln. One day, Husker representatives might stop over to observe 2026 athlete and receiver Caleb Smith, who has already had ten scholarship offers, including NU.
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