The worst-kept secret on the college football coaching carousel is now official. Former Carolina Panthers and Baylor Bears head coach Matt Rhule is now the man tasked with returning the Nebraska Cornhuskers to their former glory.
The school made the official announcement on Saturday morning after completing their 2022 regular season on Friday with a win over Iowa.
Rhule’s reign in the NFL was brief and unsuccessful. In his first two seasons with the Panthers, Rhule was unable to get much of anything going, finishing 5-11 and 5-12, respectively. After a disastrous 1-4 start this season, he was fired.
However, Rhule’s reputation as a program-builder in the college ranks remains very respected. In four seasons as head coach of the Temple Owls, he went from a 2-10 first year to back-to-back 10-win seasons by his third and fourth years. That earned him a chance to rebuild the Baylor program from the ashes of the Art Briles scandal and after a 1-11 first season he got the Bears back to 11-3 and a Sugar Bowl appearance in Year 3.
As any longtime college football fan would tell you, there was a time when Nebraska was considered one of the elite programs in the nation, winning five national titles, including three in the 1990s. However, the program fell off in the 21st century and has been a shell of its former self in recent years.
If anyone can come in and rebuild the program, it might just be Rhule.
The football world had some strong reactions to the news of Rhule’s hiring, including the fact that he could have just sat on his butt next year and collected the $40 million he was owed by Carolina.
[Nebraska]