Barney Cotton Barney Cotton is the Associate Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team . Biography . Early life . Barney Cotton was born in Omaha , Nebraska on September 30 , 1956 , and graduated from Omaha Burke High School . Playing career . Cotton ' s college playing career began in 1975 at University of Nebraska after the conclusion of his high school career at Omaha Burke . He played his first two seasons as an Offensive Lineman , then spent the next season on the other side of the ball , playing Defensive Tackle . In his senior season , he returned to the offensive line , earning All - Big - Eight honors while helping Tom Osborne ' s 1978 team to a league championship . Cotton was a third - round pick in the 1979 NFL Draft and played for one season with the Cincinnati Bengals before moving to the St Louis Cardinals . In 1982 , after three seasons with St . Louis , a knee injury forced his retirement . Cotton then returned to Nebraska , completing a bachelor ’ s degree in 1983 . Coaching career . Cotton began his football coaching career in 1989 when he joined the staff at St . Cloud State as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach , helping St . Cloud State to a North Central Conference championship that same year . Cotton was also a student of St . Cloud State during his coaching career there , completing his Master ' s Degree in Athletic Administration during his last year as their coach in 1994 . In 1995 , Cotton was appointed as Head Coach for the first time in his career , back in his home state of Nebraska , at Hastings College . In 1995 , Hastings College won the Nebraska - Iowa Athletic Conference ( NIAC ) championship and made an appearance in the NAIA playoffs , and Cotton was named NIAC Coach of the Year . In 1997 , former Nebraska Cornhuskers player and New Mexico State Head Coach Tony Samuel hired Cotton to the same position he had held at St . Cloud State ; Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach . Although championships eluded New Mexico State during Cotton ' s six years with the program , the production of his offensive players generated impressive statistics . New Mexico State ranked nationally in the top 25 in overall offense in 1998 , 2000 and 2002 , and was ranked nationally in the top 25 in rushing offense for all six years . In his final season , New Mexico State led the Sun Belt Conference in passing efficiency , rushing offense and total offense . Six New Mexico State linemen earned All - Sunbelt Conference Honors during Cotton ' s tenure . Cotton was hired by Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich , once again to serve as Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach , and helping Nebraska finish with a 10 - 3 record in 2003 . Despite helping Nebraska to a national top ten rushing offense and mentoring four linemen to earn All - Big 12 Conference honors , Cotton was let go along with nearly all of the other assistants after Solich was replaced by Bill Callahan following the 2003 season . Iowa State promptly hired Cotton in 2004 , once again as Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach . In his first season , Iowa State overcame a soft start by finishing strong and defeating Miami ( OH ) in the 2004 Independence Bowl . Over the following two years , Cotton guided several Iowa State players to Big 12 Conference honors before he found himself once again let go after another coaching change . Unable to find a college coaching job , he spent the following year remaining in Ames Iowa , as an unpaid volunteer coaching assistant at Ames High School . In 2008 , Cotton again accepted a position with Nebraska . Former Nebraska Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini , who had also been let go along with Cotton following Solich ' s dismissal , was named Callahan ' s successor as Head Coach at Nebraska . Cotton was one of several assistants who had previously been associated with nebraska who were brought back to the program , and he accepted Pelini ' s offer to return as Offensive Line Coach and also to take on the title of Assistant Head Coach , to draw upon his prior head coaching experience and assist Pelini with some of the administrative responsibilities of the head coaching position . He remained in this role until the end of the 2012 season , when his primary position coaching focus was shifted from the offensive line to the tight ends beginning in the 2013 season .