Texas just announced that Nickels coach Keynodo Hudson will not return to the program in 2026 despite being promoted in 2025.
Hudson was hired in 2024 to be a defensive analyst under then defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. He did a great job helping with the secondary in his first season with the Longhorns, as they lead the FBS in interceptions with 22. Jahdae Barron and Michael Taaffe both flourished with Hudson in 2024, leading to his promotion in February 2025 to full-time Nickels coach.
Barron ended up winning the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, along with being Texas' first-ever defensive back to be a Nagurski Award finalist
Texas nickels coach Keynodo Hudson will not return to the program, @InsideTexas has learned.
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) January 2, 2026
Hudson, who was previously an analyst for the Longhorns, was promoted to nickels coach ahead of the 2025 season. CJ Vogel was first to report.
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Before heading to Texas, he was the cornerbacks coach at Ole Miss for one season. In 2023, Mississippi ranked third in the SEC with 18 turnovers gained and team passing efficiency defense at 128.66.
In fact, wherever he's been in his career, his defensive backs usually perform pretty darn well. Even in 2025 Graceson Littleton, Kade Phillips, and Malik Muhammad played incredibly well in both phases of the game.
Hudson is known to be a pretty good coach so the news of his departure is fairly surprising, but it might just be the simple fact that new DC Will Muschamp wants to bring his own guys on board. There have also been rumors of Blake Gideon possibly wanting to come back to Texas over the past couple of weeks, so a move like this could help push that idea along if it's true.