{"id":140051,"date":"2022-11-26T16:03:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T16:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nebraska-hires-matt-rhule-former-carolina-panthers-coach-will-try-to-rebuild-another-college-program\/"},"modified":"2022-11-26T16:03:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T16:03:02","slug":"nebraska-hires-matt-rhule-former-carolina-panthers-coach-will-try-to-rebuild-another-college-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nebraska-hires-matt-rhule-former-carolina-panthers-coach-will-try-to-rebuild-another-college-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska hires Matt Rhule: Former Carolina Panthers coach will try to rebuild another college program"},"content":{"rendered":"
Nebraska has officially hired Matt Rhule to be its next head coach, the school announced Saturday. Rhule, who led turnarounds at Temple and Baylor before trying his hand at the NFL, was fired as coach of the Carolina Panthers earlier this year in his third season with the franchise.<\/p>\n
“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to lead the Nebraska Football program,” Rhule said. “When you think of great, tradition-rich programs in college football Nebraska is right at the top of the list. The fan base is second to none, and I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to coach in Memorial Stadium on Tom Osborne Field. My family and I are so grateful to become a part of the Husker Family, and we can’t wait to get started.”<\/p>\n
Best known for taking Baylor from 1-11 to an 11-3 campaign and 2020 Sugar Bowl berth, Rhule spearheaded one of the quickest turnarounds in Power Five history. He also led Temple from 2-10 to back-to-back 10-win seasons and an AAC championship in 2016 prior to departing the Owls for the Bears. Temple has not won more than eight games since he left after the 2016 season, posting a 7-23 record.<\/p>\n
“It is a privilege to welcome Coach Matt Rhule, his wife Julie, and their family to Nebraska,” athletic director Trev Alberts said. “Coach Rhule has created a winning culture throughout his coaching career, and he will provide great leadership for the young men in our football program. Matt is detail-oriented, his teams are disciplined and play a physical brand of football. Matt also has the personality and relationship-building skills to build a great staff and excel in recruiting.”<\/p>\n
He will be tasked with resuscitating a Cornhuskers program hoping to rediscover its form after a brutal beginning to its Big Ten tenure. The historically dominant program has faced hard times during conference realignment, failing to win 10 games in a season since 2012, its first year in the league. Nebraska has not made a bowl game since 2016. <\/p>\n
Rhule follows Scott Frost as coach. Frost, a former championship-winning quarterback with the ‘Huskers, was seen as a program savior making his return to Lincoln, Nebraska. Instead, Frost accumulated a 16-31 record during one of the worst tenures by a coach in program history. He was fired three games into the 2022 season after a 1-2 start and loss to Georgia Southern. <\/p>\n
When Rhule got his previous two jobs — Baylor and Temple — both programs had deep depths to overcome. Baylor was in the aftermath of a massive Title IX scandal and only had one player committed when Rhule took over the program. Temple had a few successful seasons, but fell to 4-7 before Steve Addazio left to take the Boston College job. <\/p>\n
In both cases, Rhule tore the program down to the studs and rebuilt them in his image — one of development, toughness and high-IQ football. Rhule won the AAC with Temple, bringing home just the second conference championship in program history. While Rhule did not win the Big 12 Championship Game himself at Baylor, his players were the bulk of Dave Aranda’s Big 12 champions in 2021. <\/p>\n
After nearly a decade of atrophy, Nebraska is in need of a refresh. Rhule will have an opportunity to rebuild the Cornhuskers and potentially bring back some of the physicality fans have missed since the heyday of the Blackshirt era of Nebraska football. <\/p>\n
Rhule was in a cushy situation at Baylor, but interest from the NFL reached historic levels during the 2019 coaching cycle. Most expected Rhule to focus on the New York Giants — a team in his hometown for which he previously worked — but Carolina owner David Tepper offered Rhule a massive seven-year, $62 million contract before he interviewed anywhere else. <\/p>\n