Shawn Watson is in his fourth season at Nebraska and his third as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Watson has a proven track record as a successful offensive coordinator in the Big 12 Conference and has 27 years of college coaching experience, including three years as a head coach.

Watson's balanced attack in 2008 averaged 169.8 yards per game on the ground and 281.0 yards in the air, as the Huskers' 450.8 yards of total offense per game ranked 12th nationally. Nebraska also ranked in the top 20 nationally in passing offense and scoring offense, finished second nationally in time of possession and was in the top 20 in the country in third-down conversion percentage.

In 2008, senior quarterback Joe Ganz directed Watson's offense with precision and led an assault on the NU record book. Ganz set single-season school records for total yards with 3,826 and passing yards with 3,568. He threw for 25 touchdowns while completing 67.9 percent of his passes and gained 258 yards on the ground with five touchdowns, finishing his career with more than 20 Nebraska records.

Watson was promoted to offensive coordinator before the 2007 season and immediately impacted the Nebraska offense. In 2007, the Huskers threw for a school-record 3,886 yards, including the top three passing days in school history. The Nebraska offense ranked ninth nationally at 468.2 yards per game, NU's best average since 1997.

A pair of Watson's quarterbacks allowed Nebraska to rank seventh nationally in passing with a school-record 323.8 yards per game. Senior Sam Keller threw for 2,422 yards and 14 touchdowns in the first nine games before being injured. The NU offense did not miss a beat after Watson inserted Ganz into the starting role. The junior threw for more than 400 yards in each of the final three games, including school records of 510 yards and seven touchdowns in a victory over Kansas State.

In his first season at Nebraska, Watson coached the tight ends and was the recruiting coordinator. Among his proteges during his first year at Nebraska was Matt Herian, who finished his career with a Nebraska tight end record for receptions (65) and reception yardage (1,243).

Watson came to Nebraska after seven seasons on Gary Barnett's Colorado staff from 1999 to 2005, including the last six as offensive coordinator. Watson was on the staff of four Colorado teams that won the Big 12 North Division, including a conference title in 2001.

Under Watson, Colorado's offense showed its flexibility and the ability to adapt to the Buffs' offensive talent. Colorado ranked 20th nationally in total offense in 2001, and was only the third team in CU history to average both 200 yards rushing and passing. The 2003 Buffs featured a prolific passing attack, ranking 18th nationally at 279.3 yards per game.

Colorado's 2004 team produced a 1,000-yard rusher and a 2,000-yard passer for just the second time in school history. In 2005, Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt re-wrote the CU record book under Watson's guidance. Klatt finished his career as the holder of 44 school records, including career pass completions, attempts and passing yards.

Prior to Colorado, Watson worked for Barnett at Northwestern in 1997 and 1998, serving as quarterbacks coach for the Wildcats. Watson earned his spot at Northwestern following a three-year stint as the head coach at Southern Illinois, Watson's alma mater.

During his three years at the helm, SIU compiled an 11-22 record, and produced 20 all-conference players. Two of his standout players included Mark Gagliano, who led the nation in punting in 1996, and tight end Damon Jones, who was drafted in the fifth round by Jacksonville in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Watson was named the coach at Southern Illinois after an impressive seven-year run as an assistant coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. At Miami, Watson tutored the tight ends for three years, wide receivers for two years and served as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in his final two seasons.

Watson's first full-time assistant coaching job came on Mike White's Illinois staff. Watson first served as a graduate assistant in 1983 and 1984, then worked with the offensive tackles and tight ends in 1985, before serving as the Illini's wide receivers coach in 1986. Watson was a part of two bowl teams at Illinois, including the 1983 Rose Bowl team.

Watson began his collegiate playing career at Illinois in 1978, but transferred to Southern Illinois at Carbondale in 1979 and played two seasons with the Salukis as a safety. He earned a bachelor's degree from SIU in 1982, then served for one season as a graduate assistant with the Salukis in 1982.

Watson and his wife, Anita, have a daughter, Amber, and two sons, Aaron and Adam, a junior walk-on receiver for the Huskers.

Family: Wife, Anita; Children, Amber (28), Aaron (22) and Adam (21)

Education: Southern Illinois Carbondale, Bachelor’s, health education, 1982; High School: Carterville (Ill.) High School

Playing Experience: 1978, Illinois; 1979-80, Southern Illinois

Coaching Experience: 1982, Southern Illinois (graduate assistant coach); 1983-84, Illinois (graduate assistant coach); 1985, Illinois (assistant coach/tight ends and offensive tackles); 1986, Illinois (assistant coach/wide receivers); 1987-89, Miami (Ohio) University (assistant coach/tight ends); 1990-93, Miami (assistant coach/quarterbacks, recruiting coordinator); 1994-96, Southern Illinois (head coach); 1997-98, Northwestern (assistant coach/quarterbacks); 1999, Colorado (assistant coach/quarterbacks); 2000-2005, Colorado (assistant coach/offensive coordinator, quarterbacks); 2006, Nebraska (assistant coach/tight ends, recruiting coordinator); 2007-present, Nebraska (assistant coach/offensive coordinator, quarterbacks)