Nebraska is turning to Matt Rhule to rebuild its football program and make it competitive in the Big Ten Conference after six consecutive losing campaigns. He has been offered an eight-year contract.
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Rhule, 47, was fired by Carolina in October after leading the Panthers to an 11-27 record over a period of more than two seasons. He still has a significant amount of green to get from the NFL team.
Reportedly, Panthers will pay him $40 million over the following four years. Under his leadership, his teams consistently struggled with quarterback play and never finished higher than 18th in scoring offense or defense.
The downfall of Matt Rhule — how and why he got fired by owner Dave Tepper.
There’s a short answer to this, but there’s a longer one, too.
My column for @theobserver as the Panthers part ways with Rhule, who went 11-27 in his 38-game tenure: https://t.co/RbklYvKiIe— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) October 10, 2022
Prior to the Panthers, Rhule oversaw two illustrious college-level reclamation initiatives. Prior to turning around Baylor in a three-year stretch that included an 11-3 season and a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2019, he guided Temple to a 47-43 record over four seasons, including two bowl games.
Matt Rhule signs 8-year contract with Nebraska
After firing head coach Scott Frost in September following a humiliating loss to Georgia Southern, Nebraska has turned to Matt. According to the school, Rhule will be introduced Monday at a news conference after signing an eight-year contract to lead the Cornhuskers.
Rhule takes over at Nebraska for Mickey Joseph, who was promoted to interim head coach following the firing of Frost. Under Joseph, the Huskers have a 3-6 record.
Matt Rhule agrees to eight-year deal with Nebraska following Panthers firing https://t.co/Una2yyo1H9 pic.twitter.com/0dVDT18YvN
— New York Post (@nypost) November 26, 2022
Rhule claimed that despite having a stable financial situation, he returned to coaching for two reasons. “The longer you are away, the more you miss the team, the locker room, and the coaching,” according to Rhule. “This is Nebraska, after all. I didn’t just grow up admiring this team; I also grew up watching them play.”
The terms of Rhule’s contract were not disclosed by Nebraska, but given that Nebraska is a public university, more information about the arrangement is likely to come out in the future. Rhule’s contract with the Panthers does have a dollar-for-dollar offset, which is based on what he would make at a new job.
